Page 8 of August Heat
While it wasn’t unusual to come on hump day, it wasn’t the most common occurrence. Yet Krys’s friend Lorri said she had a big announcement to make.Makes me inclined to show up, I guess.
“Anyone here wanna shoot some pool?” Krys came up behind her friends at the bar and offered a hand to their shoulders. Jalen jumped halfway out of her seat. Lorri merely turned from her beer and rolled her eyes at Krys’s grand entrance. “Because I practiced all day at the station and am pretty sure I can whip both of your butts.”
“Pass,” Lorri said. “You may have been bored, but I was lugging boxes from nine to five. I’m not getting up from this seat until it’s time to go home. Or until I have to whizz.”
Krys looked to Jalen, whose big puppy eyes were closed as soon as she realized her friend was serious. “Hell, no. I suck at pool. Fact, bet that’s what you’re countin’ on!”
“I ain’t gonna stiff you guys of your hard-earned money.” Krys shoved herself onto the stool between them and flagged the bartender on duty that night. She ordered the same beer as Lorri, because Lorri had excellent tastes in beer. Unlike Jalen, who always went for the fruitier stuff like she wanted tomaskthe taste of alcohol. “I’m here to drink, and to hear what Lorri wants to so badly tell us.”
Come on, the woman was about to burst with her news. Lorri was someone who usually kept her personal life to herself, unless some big money was to be made. Somehow, Krys didn’t think that’s what was going on. More likely it was something else. Something big involving her domestic partner, Joan.
“Out with it,” Krys said, hand wrapping around the beer freshly delivered to her spot.
Lorri waited for the bartender to be out of the way before lowering her face toward her friends. “Joanie’s pregnant. For real this time.”
Jalen yelped so loudly that they drew attention to themselves. Krys whipped her arm around Jalen’s shoulders and slapped a hand over that big mouth. Lorri, however, was nothing but smiles as she soaked in the news that she was finally going to be a mom.
“That’s amazing, Lor.” Krys released the mumbling mouth in her grasp. Jalen mimicked a giant gasp for air as she sat back up and released a kink from her neck. “For real. It’s really happening this time?” Poor Joan had suffered two miscarriages in the past year and a half, but both of those happened in the first trimester. “I had a feeling she was pregnant again. Figured you were waiting to tell us until it was farther along.”
“You figured it out?” Jalen laughed. “I had no clue!”
You ain’t the most observant lady in town, Jay.“Why else would a woman wear those big frumpy clothes in the middle of a mountain summer? Come on. She was hidin’ it.”
Lorri was still laughing. “Yeah, we got confirmation we’re past the scary part. I mean, anything can happen, but trying a new donor seems to have worked so far. Poor Joanie’s still heading toward bed rest, though. Doc doesn’t want to take any chances.”
Krys slammed one hand on the counter and pulled her friend into a bear hug with the other. “That’s amazing. Congrats, you stupid idiot.”
Lorri shrugged out of the hold with an uncharacteristic grin flashing on her face. “Good thing that baby ain’t gettin’ my genes, then. Since I’m a stupid idiot, and all.”
“Exactly. Joan’s got a good head on her shoulders, so maybe there’s hope for your new family.” Krys matched Lorri’s grin. “Can’t believe you’re having a baby. Things are gonna be different in a few months, huh?” That’s what she thought the first time Lorri announced she and Joan were having a baby. The second time, everyone remained hopeful, but didn’t allow themselves to get too excited. Now, though… maybe the third time was the charm. Maybe this time next year Lorri would have a baby and these mid-week rendezvouses at the bar would be fewer and farther in between. Assuming Lorri pulled her weight in the parenting. Then again, Joan might not let her! “Between you and Jalen over here flying down to LA to hang out with celebrities, who knows what I’m gonna be doing when you two are so busy.”
She hadn’t meant to sound down on herself. Krys was fine with being alone. She still preferred having companionship, though. That’s why she had a roommate, although she could’ve had her own smaller place. It was also why she used to date around a lot.That wasn’t about getting married or anything, though.Krys wasn’t opposed to a serious relationship, but the past few years had been more about figuring out who she was and what she wanted to do with her life. Since moving to Paradise Valley from Portland a few years ago, she had determined that small town life was more agreeable to her. Slower pace. Less crime. A sense of community built around the same people one saw every day.With the exception of pretty vets who never come into town.Go figure. A woman thought she knew everyone…
“You know we’re not moving anywhere, right?” Lorri chuckled. “Hell, if we’ve got a baby tethering us to the house, that means you guys can come over more often. Bring some casserole and we’ll let you clean our abandoned bathroom.”
Jalen snorted. “I ain’t taking care of your babies, Lor. I don’t think Krys is, either.”
“Who said anything about taking care of the baby Joan’s not gonna let go of, anyway? I said bring casseroles and clean the toilet. Ain’t that much better?”
“Oh, yeah,” Jalen said. “A real hoot. Think I’ll be busy.”
Lorri shook her hand, as if to smudge the words coming out of Jalen’s mouth. Krys merely drank her beer and tried to imagine a Paradise Valley without either of her best friends to hang out with like they always used to. Before, dealing with Lorri’s family-making hadn’t been too big of a deal. But that was when Jalen was single, too.At least I had her to keep business as usual, even if Lorri fell off the face of the earth for a while.Jalen had to go and get that big celebrity girlfriend, though. Fleur was a nice enough lady –for a Californian –but if she and Jalen wanted to hang out, it meant Jay left more often. Krys feared that if things progressed with Fleur, Jalen would move away. She may not have any lingering romantic feelings for the woman she dated a while back, but Jalen was still her best friend.
What if Krys was alone at the end of the year?
Things change so quickly in this town.She wondered if small towns were always like this, or if it had to do with the quickly advancing times. People always had somewhere to go and something to do, even if they lived in a quiet little mountain town. Maybe this time next year Krys would be living in Boise, Idaho with a dog and two kids.Hell if I know at this point!People came, and people went. Krys simply hadn’t thought it might happen so close to home in the span of a few months.
“Like I said,” Lorri continued. “Joanie and I ain’t moving anywhere. We’ve got a mortgage! It’s Jalen who can’t be bothered to hang around anymore.”
“What we need to do is get you a real girlfriend. Like what we have, Krys.” Ooh, Jalen was loving this, wasn’t she? Got a real kick out of being the one with a steady girlfriend before Krys, who used to always have someone to date before she woke up one day and decided to take a break. Jalen had never been as lucky in love, thanks to her awkward demeanor and, quite frankly, lack of natural charisma. She was the pinnacle of country butch who had done her best at school but decided that the tradeswoman life was for her.I make it sound like I’m so much better than her. I survived community college, but that’s it.Krys had the upper dating hand, though. She was supposed to, thanks to growing up in the city and enjoying more experience with the ladies. Jalen was practically a virgin by the time she moved to Paradise Valley. Or so Krys would go to her grave believing, regardless of what her friend said.
“Seriously, when was the last time you had a girlfriend?” Lorri asked. “Been a while since I heard you talking about someone, let alone saw you strutting around town with a new girl on your arm.”
Krys slowly turned her beer bottle around, tracing the logo with her eyes. That soothing motion almost made her forget what Lorri had said. “Told you I was taking a break from dating.”
“Yeah, yeah. Admit you can’t get a girl for once in your life,” Lorri said.
“I’m telling the truth. I could get a date if I wanted. I just wanted to take a bit of a break.”
