Page 41 of Hot Tea & Bird Calls
“Right,” Skye grunted through unscrewing the sticky maple syrup cap. It always glued itself shut. “Celene won’t be in town until tomorrow. I’m hanging out with June and Zini tonight. Which reminds me...” She poke-checked the thawed packet of chicken breasts in the fridge. Her meat-eating days were long behind her, but she didn’t mind throwing something together that Luce wouldn’t forget. “I’ll make you chicken stew.”
“Mm, would you? Walter loves your stew.”
One of Luce’s versions of ‘I love you.’ Invoking Granddad. Sadness brushing her smile, Skye brought their extra cinnamon-y breakfast to a low boil.
Functioning at Luce’s beck and call had Skye grinning her most exhausted hours later, as Zinnia handed her a wineberry Moscow Mule—a virgin, since she’d be driving back. June set out skewers pulled hot off the grill, a delicious contrast to the crisp air on their gigantic patio deck. With someone from the Gertrude dynasty living there, no one would expect anything less than two swings, a long handcrafted table, and rows of wooden chairs. Their dinner spread outmatched the appetite of their small party, but June named it a celebration.
“Zini, I’m blown away,” Skye gushed at six copies of a local lifestyle magazine spread out on the table, bearing Zinnia on the cover. “I’m taking one home, right? Luce will probably frame it.”
“Then, take two,” Zinnia offered, her cheek dimpling in a self-assured smirk. Apart from teaching budding illustrators, June’s fiancée had a background as a plus-size model, side hustling for publications around Pennsylvania. “Anything for my loyal supporters.”
Skye produced a marker from her ochre bag, cherishing these moments for her friend. “Autograph them, too.”
An unserious groan fell from June, who’d dropped a stack of metal cutlery in the middle of the table. “Her head’s not gonna fit through that door. She’ll have to sleep outside.”
“Sounds like you want me to sign one for you, too, miss,” Zinnia said without missing a beat. She inked on signatures with brief, heartfelt messages underneath each. “Please stand in line.”
June rounded the table to squeeze Zinnia close, pressing a loud kiss to her cheek. Skye fanned the marker dry as the couple squealed. Opposed to Skye, Zinnia did everything out loud. One of many reasons June fell so eagerly.
Securing a chair beside Skye, Zinnia peeled foil off a platter.“I can’t wait to meet Celene. June’s impression of her and your sexy Nell’s date tell two different stories.”
“Celene’s scary.” June scooted into a chair across from them, enacting a shudder. “Gotta respect her speaking up for herself, though. I get a little eager with my suggestions when it comes to Yielding.”
“I believe it.” Skye plucked out a vegetable skewer and tugged a mushroom off with her teeth. Luce wasn’t a fan of takeout, so a break from cooking eased her on a spiritual level.
Zinnia fed a piece of grilled carrot to Dr. Kibble, Medical Dogtor, their border collie lying across Skye’s feet. Dr. Kibble’s tail beat the floor like a white feather duster. “Celene’s going to pose as your girlfriend, then. And only June and I know?”
“You, June, and I think a couple of Celene’s friends in New York.” They had to keep the numbers down to pull this off. Then, Skye spoke what’d been lurking in her gut. “Is this pathetic?”
June and Zinnia responded equally supportive. Zinnia a lot more energetically, saying, “Not to me! One minute, you could be driving to the post office, and the next, logs break free from a truck and smash through your windshield like that scene inFinal Destination 2. Life’s too short to second-guess.”
“Zini, god.” June’s jaw hung loose, aghast. Quickly recovering, she rolled her chicken wing into a pool of sauce on her plate. “Uh, anyway. If it gives you more time away from Luce working you like a dog, do it.”
“She doesn’t work me like adog,” Skye muttered, blinking at remnants of the extinguished grill smoke. The real dog under the table whined, not big on these canine sayings, either, she assumed. “Luce lost her husband. Her partner in businessandlife. It’s growing pains.”
“Mr. Walter died over a year ago. It’ll take time to heal, but how long will these growing pains affect you?”
Zinnia intercepted potential discord, clapping hands that jingled with jewelry as much as Thalia’s. “Personally, I think Celene wants your body.”
June held out the charred tip of her wing. “Agreed.”
Suddenly sweltering within her long-sleeved top, Skye flapped her arms to her sides for some air. “Stop, she doesn’t.”
“June didn’t touchmyleg until our fourth date,” Zinnia murmured, stirring a straw into her cup. “Celene’s a professional office kinda lady, yeah? She’s all about transactions. Nobody agrees to be a fake love interest without personal gain.”
Hair shining from the patio lights, June nodded, wiping her fingers clean. “Mean ass Mrs. Locke goes to my mom’s church, and she hasn’t spoken a damn near peep about your date. Her not gossiping is unheard of. Can you and Celene silently take down any other evil closet cases, one flirty gesture at a time?”
Skye almost expired when Celene’s tongue had lapped at that spoon in faux seduction. Any indication of her wanting to use that tongue on Skye would ruin her. She gulped straight from her mocktail, needing its ice. “Give me a list and I’ll see what we can do.”
June laughed loudly, swatting away a gnat. “This isn’t true dating, but it’ll put you outside your box. Instead of being packed into boxes for your grandma, marked with Xs.”
They veered onto safer topics, like old classmates visiting Yielding, the process of Zinnia’s last photoshoot, and Dr. Kibble’s new herding ball. June chronicled her team’s improvements on the Vale house so far, giddy at the magic of restoration.
Skye listened to Zinnia and June talk, mostly. Their typical dynamic for hangouts. She held her covered wrist still for a sweetfern moth to trail closer, then flap on top. Its wings, though a dull tan, revealed patterns and swirls she only wished she could replicate in future sculptures.
Conscious not to scare it off, Skye gingerly tapped her phone, which vibrated with new text messages.
Celene – 7:59 pm
