Page 12 of Single Girl in the City
“Then you’d better get a more accurate picker,” Gage said. “You’ve got a month to find the right one.”
Chapter Four
Happy Things:
Smiles that hurt your cheeks
Abi would like to say that she hadn’t thought about Owen once over the past week. But that would be a lie. A big, fat, pants-on-fire kind of lie that irritated her.
Even standing there in the drizzle, while her hair frizzed to record-breaking status, and waiting for her sister—who was already twenty minutes late—a little smile crept in. A smile that was stupid since it would lead nowhere except Heartbreak Alley. Not that her heart was involved, but other parts of her were bordering on betrayal, the little turncoats.
Instead of smiling, she should be fuming. It was cold and wet, and the beginning stages of frostbite were setting in, but not even Dotti being Dotti could dampen her mood.
Plus, Dotti was technically doing Abi a favor. She didn’t have to drive across town in the dark to pick up her kid sister because said kid sister was too scared to step on a bus and too broke to rely on rideshares. But in a way, Dotti owed her.
While both sisters inherited their grandma’s house, after Dotti got married she and Hank moved in and moved Abi out. It was as if her sister was trying to prove that possession was nine-tenths of the law since she’d taken over nine-tenths of the house. Which was how Abi wound up teaching in Mobile to begin with. She’d felt so displaced she’d taken a job as far away from Oregon as she could. As it turned out, she’d loved her time being back in the South. It was how she’d met Jenny. But a small part of her, the eight-year-old part who’d been shuffled from one house to the next, hoped that Dotti would have asked her to come back.
Only she hadn’t.
Even after the bus crash, Abi had been the one to ask if she could come home to heal in the one place that made her feel safe. Except instead of sleeping in the room she’d spent every summer for over twenty-seven years, she was stuck on the couch. Two of the bedrooms had been turned into her niece’s and nephew’s rooms, Abi’s childhood bedroom was her brother-in-law’s home office, and Dotti had overtaken Mee-maw Ruth’s room. Leaving Abi an outsider in her own house.
She considered demanding her room back but then decided it wasn’t worth the energy since she’d be leaving soon. She wasn’t exactly sure what soon meant but she felt it lurking around every corner.
She pulled out her phone and swiped off a text.
Abi: Where are you?
Dotti: I’m otherwise detained.
Abi: The shop closed twenty minutes ago.
Dotti: I’m not your Uber driver.
And just like that the smile vanished, which was for the best since smiling over a guy who was likely to hate her come reckoning day was a bad move.
Abi: No of course not but you knew what time I got off. I’ve been in the rain waiting for you.
Dotti: And I’ve been waiting for Hank to get home so I can leave.
As if being slapped around by Mother Nature wasn’t enough, no one could ruin her mood quite like Hank. Not only because he was the reason Abi was in the rain after dark, but because he’d never fully appreciated how much Dotti did for the family.
Abi: He knew I was working until closing.
Dotti: You knew I had the kids alone today.
Abi: Fair point.
Abi looked up at the sky, which was glaring back, and calculated just how broke she was. The answer was flat broke. Then she calculated how exhausted her sister must be, which eclipsed how badly Abi’s feet ached. This was a clear case of WWJD—what would Jenny do. Jenny would let Dotti off the hook.
Abi: Don’t worry. I can catch a ride from—
Her fingers came to an abrupt stop. There was no one. Not really. While she’d made friends at work, she hadn’t reallymadefriends.The accident had erected new walls around her already impenetrable fortress. Very few people would work their way into Abi’s heart—she was going to vet each and every one.
After her parents’ divorce, Abi hadn’t been in one place long enough to establish deep connections. Being shuffled between houses, Abi wasn’t around enough to play with neighborhood kids or go to birthday parties, making it difficult to cement friendships. In fact, Jenny had been her first and only best friend.
They were more than friends. Their relationship fulfilled the kind of bond Abi had always wanted with Dotti. While they were half sisters, they weren’t all that close. Not only had there been a big age gap to overcome but they’d always been in different stages of life. Plus, living in Dotti’s shadow was hard.
Dotti was outgoing, optimistic, and adored by all. Abi was more of an acquired taste in that class clown kind of way. She had a way of lightening the mood and making people laugh, but she’d been told she could be a lot to take in large doses. Dotti took after their mom whereas Abi was just like her dad, leaving Abi feeling a little like the odd duck in her familial flock.
