Page 10 of Known By You
I followed him in, wondering at his ability to make light of something that seemed like it might be heavy. Was he delusional? Or was the wisdom I’d seen a flash of earlier actually what guided him, and he just couldn’t suppress his sense of humor for anything? Orwouldn’twould be more accurate.
Once we’d settled back at the table, Kenny joined the conversation already mid-step about someone I didn’t know, and I decided now was as good a time as any to make my way to obligation number two of the night.
Jo saw me coming and hauled me to her with arms wide open before I reached the table where she and her friends had set up. “I’m so,sohappy you came! I know you came for work, too, but I’m so glad to have you here.”
Dove, the petite blond woman with what I thought might be white owls on a cherry red dress, raised her glass. “We all are!”
“Hear, hear!” Elise echoed. She had darker features than Jo or Dove, and her hair had been pulled back away from her face.
Nikki, Winnie, and Catherine all did the same and raised their glasses, so I joined them, clinking in the middle and glad I’d had the foresight to bring my drink along with me.
“Seriously, it’s so good to see you again. I just love seeing you two side by side.” Dove grinned, eyes ticking back and forth between me and Jo, who still had an arm around my shoulders.
Something had shifted between us this past summerwhen I visited. I’d showed up on a whim just in time to assist with her rescue operation and discover that my own sister was a fairly well-known romance author. More significantly, I’d found out she’d kept this truth from me and the rest of our family because she’d worried we thought it wasn’t weighty enough—that compared to my work or even my father’s in the bookstore or my mother’s as a real estate agent, we wouldn’t understand.
It had gutted me on one level, and yet I’d understood her impulse to hide. I still did. If Jo’s default was to hide, mine was, much to my dismay, to run.
Not that I’d run here. I’d been forced to take a break and of course I’d come back stateside. Why would I have waited it out there when I’d been told to leave?
Entering what felt like a different planet and timeline had me a little shaky and getting that odd sense one might call the “we’re not in Kansas anymore” effect, but it wasn’t running.
Keep telling yourself that, Malcom.
For Jo, I’d done what I could to make clear how much I esteemed her for doing something she loved that brought joy to others. I’d instantly purchased all her books and blazed through them, then ventured on to other escapes.
Formerly, I’d been primarily a non-fiction reader, with an occasional dip into a thriller on a rare vacation. Now I could easily call myself a romance girly, much to the teenage version of me’s dismay.
“I’m glad to see you all again,” I said, meaning it. These women took care of Jo—they’d become her extended family.
It was beautiful, and yet it gave me this gnawing sense I was still standing outside in that chilly winter air, watching it all play out.
“Please tell me you’re coming to book club next weekend,”Jo asked, and Winnie nodded eagerly. Dove clapped and said, “Yessss” while everyone else assented in her own way.
“Oh, no. I don’t—I haven’t read the book.” I stumbled over the words enough that Jo would absolutely notice.
She did instantly, leaning away from me to eye my face.
Nikki leaned in, her red-brown hair looking surprisingly glamorous considering what I knew about her as a math genius and game developer and how Jo had spoken about her. “You don’t have to read the book. We’d be glad for you to come.”
“Absolutely,” Elise confirmed.
“Sometimes, people are too busy even when they have advanced notice, but they still come. You might not even be the only one who hasn’t read it,” Dove said.
An invisible hand pressed against my sternum, but I exhaled sharply to banish the sensations. “Not sure yet. I’m working on an assignment starting tomorrow, so I’m not sure how the rest of the week will go. I’ll keep it in mind, though.”
There. That was good enough to avoid refusing outright, but leave me room to not attend if… I needed to.
They seemed accepting of my delay tactic and encouraged me to read the book but to come even if I hadn’t. I drank the rest of my beer and set it down on a coaster, an itch to head home begging to be scratched.
“It was great to see you all, but I need to head out and get prepped.”
I took a step, but Jo’s arm shot out and wrapped around my waist.
“Thanks for coming. I know this wasn’t your favorite,” she said low enough so only I could hear.
“Love you,” I returned before releasing her.
I thanked them all, wished them a good evening, and swung by the Saint table to do the same. No one seemed surprised or upset I was leaving, nor did they make me feel bad I was slipping out less than an hour after arriving.
