Page 52 of Knot Their Boo
“You love kids,” I point out, and Plum shrugs.
“If my future kid ever wants to dress up as stinky feet for Halloween, I’m sending them straight to your house.” Plum grimaces, looking truly disgusted.
“That kid would be the best dressed stinky feet in history,” I say, already proud of my future niece or nephew.
“Yeah, I’ll just bet. Anyway, stop trying to get out of this conversation. Do you respect any of these people?” She asks, getting right to the point, before turning to face me, watching me with a very judgmental look, if I do say so myself.
“Not really, I mean, some of them, I guess,” I say, shrugging. Thinking of the few people in this town whose opinions do matter to me.
“Do the people you respect talk shit on you?” she pushes, looking as if she knows damn well they don’t.
“I don’t think so. I mean, I fucking hope not,” I say, throwing my hands up, and letting them land in my lap with a smack.
“Exactly, so if you don’t even respect them, why the fuck do you care what they have to say, or what they think?” Plum gestures at Tiffany and Jen, who stand at the bottom of the stairs as their kids come to grab handfuls of candy from the bowl. “Them, for example. Who gives a shit what they think?” Plum whispers, because while they’re bitches, my bestie isn’t going to talk badly about them in front of their kids. Not loud enough for them to hear her, anyway. “We’re going to the bar tonight because what we’re not going to do is let judgy old hags ruin our Halloween.” There’s a hint of something in her tone that tells me no matter what I say, I’m not getting out of this.
I’m about to ask her what's up with her, when Bee finally arrives.
“What are you girls gossiping about?” Bee asks as she makes her way to the stairs. I had been so caught up in my bullshit that I didn’t notice her coming. Her layered, swirling skirts lend the look of a forest hag, while she carries a woven basket that definitely hides her margarita stash. The woman hasn’t changed a bit.
“I was telling Sable that she can’t let judgy butt heads stop her from having a good night,” Plum says with a smile as I jump up to help Bee up the stairs, even though she tries to wave me off, swatting me with her cane.
“Quit your protesting,” I tell her as I grab her hand so she can lean on me, while Plum takes the basket of goodies from her other arm. These stairs are old. If she falls, I’ll never forgive myself. Colter said he’d fix them. Maybe I should bribe him with more, um, desserts.
“You and my son both fuss too much,” Bee grumbles as she takes the seat I had just been in. I panic a little when Bee mentions her son, and glance over at Plum. “Anyway, Plum isright. Forget what some brainless twit says about you. You know your heart, and that’s all that matters.” Bee nods once, letting us know the discussion ends there. She hands out the mason jars of witchy margarita goodness and sighs in contentment. After all, what argument could we possibly have against that?
“How’s Kai been?” Plum asks softly, after a long pause of silence, where I think Bee might be falling asleep.
There’s a lull in the kids coming to grab candy. The younger ones are finishing up, and the older ones will be out here soon. I don’t care how old someone is. If they want candy, they can come get candy. Costume or not, I don’t care.
Some kids don’t have access to costumes. Some don’t like dressing up for one reason or another. I don’t judge. My heart twists imagining the kids who go trick-or-treating because the candy is the only meal they might get that night. Someday when I’m rich, when, not if, I’ll pay the town's school lunches. All of them.
I glance at Plum, remembering how we met. After her mom died, she almost lost her dad too. At first, I shared my school lunches with her, but when I came home hungry every day, Grams got suspicious. When she learned about Plum, she started sending me to school with plenty of extra food to share.
“One day, no kid will go hungry in this town,”Plum had said to me with tears in her ten-year-old eyes, so big and full of sadness. It’s her dream, and as her best friend, it’s my job to help her see it come true.
“He’s doin’ good. Be better if he were still with you, but when do men ever listen to their mothers, hmm? Once it’s too late, that's when,” Bee grumbles, huffing an exasperated sigh. “He’ll be back soon, if you didn’t know,” she adds, glancing toward Plum, who’s staring off into the distance. Lost in her thoughts.
“I heard. He’s the best man for Stella's wedding. He and her fiancé hit it off, I guess.” Plum keeps her voice suspiciously neutral.
“Yep. How you feelin’ about that?” Bee asks Plum, who just shrugs.
“It’s not my wedding, I’m just a bridesmaid. I’m sure he’ll head back to the big city he loves so much once it's over.” Plum’s voice is a little higher-pitched than normal, even though she’s trying to look nonchalant.
“Mm,” Bee grunts, giving a noncommittal shrug.
Riiiiight.
Plum never fully got over Kai. I always kind of thought she used her crush on Nick as an excuse not to face the past, but what do I know?
“He bought me a new house. Damn thing’s a new build. None of that small town charm I raised him to appreciate. Thinks I need fancy stuff.” Bee chuckles, looking over to me. “Betas,” she snorts, and I smirk. I’m not going to say anything about my best friend’s ex, in front of his mother, a woman who happens to be very important to me.
“Imagine having Bee for a mother-in-law,” I say with a laugh, and Plum finally snaps out of her thoughts to glare at me.
“I did, once,” she snarks with a sassy look, and I suck my lips between my teeth, eye bulging as I try not to laugh too hard.
“Ope,” I wince, wrinkling my nose at her as I make a face that says, ‘Uh oh, I’m in trouble.’
“Bitch,” Plum says with a smile, looking away from me so she doesn’t crack and start laughing.
