Page 9 of Fall Favor
“What? Hell no! It’s actually because of a song.Wagon Wheelby Darius Rucker was playing on the radio the first day I met you. Besides, you’re what? Maybe five years older than me? Big deal.”
If I were a teenage girl, I’d be rolling my eyes. Leah snickers but keeps her eyes on the road. I like that she’s an attentive driver.
“I hate to break it to you, butWagon Wheelwas an unfinished movie demo written by Bob Dylan in 1973. The complete version was co-written by Dylan and Ketch Secor and released by Secor’s band the Old Crow Medicine Show in the early two thousands.”
“How do you know that?” I pull the history of the song up on my phone. “Well, shit, you’re right. To the top of our list it goes.”
“I know because I was a teenager when it was released. My grandpa was into that folksy-country, bluegrass stuff, so we listened to it a lot.”
I flash her a grin and begin downloading both versions of the song. This is the first time she’s mentioned any family. One thought leads to another, and I replay the conversation and start doing the math.
“There’s no way you’re in your forties!” I shout.
She shakes her head, but that little intriguing smile pulls at the corner of her lips. “I’ll be forty-two in January.”
My mind is officially blown. “I’ll be thirty in December. You look so young. Wait. That came out wrong, but holy shit, Mama… you’re the hot older woman fantasy come to life.”
Thank God, she starts giggling instead of my big mouth hurting her feelings or pissing her off.
“If it’s any consolation, I think the last time I was carded was when I was thirty-eight? Yeah, thirty-eight. I was teaching a three-day workshop in Wisconsin, and the students invited me out for dinner and drinks after our last class. Ah, the good old days.”
We’re laughing and discussing the differences between men and women being carded when my phone begins ringing through the truck’s speakers.
“Mind if I answer it?” I ask. At Leah’s ‘go ahead,’ I tap the button beneath the radio tuner. “Hello?”
“Hey, Manny. Can you come in and work for me today?” Jorie wheedles, using the little girl voice that seems to turn Ezra on.
I know they have a Dom and brat relationship at home, but I really wish it didn’t spill over into working hours at the garage. I’d be lying if I didn’t say hearing them in his office makes me uncomfortable, but I’ve kept that to myself so far.
“I can’t, Jorie. I’m out of town for the day.”
“You are not. I drove past your house on the way to work, and your truck was in the driveway. Try again, Manny.”
That’s weird and kind of stalkerish. My house isn’t on her way to work. In fact, I live on the opposite side of town. Granted, it’s a small town, but still. I swear, since Jolie left, Jorie has gone off her rocker.
“I am out of town, and my truck is there because I’m riding with someone else. Now I’m going to let you go because we’re being rude to my date.”
“Oh my gawd, it’s that rebound chick you have living with you, isn’t it? I can’t believe you’d do this, Manny!”
“Goodbye, Jorie.” I push the button to end the call; it immediately begins ringing again. Sighing, I mute the damned phone.
“You have one voice message from Jorie,” an accented voice announces a minute later through the truck’s speakers. “You have two new voice messages,” it announces a second time in the same amount of minutes.Shit.I power off my phone, our song game forgotten.
“She sounds… interesting. Sibling or girlfriend?” There’s something off in Leah’s tone. Her knuckles are also turning white against the dark gray of the steering wheel.
“God, no! Jorie is my boss, Ezra’s wife. She’s also a mechanic at the shop. It’s how they met.”
Her grip relaxes, and after a few moments, she takes one hand at a time off the wheel and flexes her fingers. I decide there’s no time like the present to fill her in on my last relationship.
“I did date her twin sister, though, for a while.”
Leah is quiet while I explain how Jolie and I were always thrown together as a couple in group settings and how even though we weren’t really attracted to one another, it was just easier to go with the flow to keep Jorie happy. In hindsight, I can see how Jolie and I are at fault for letting Jorie manipulate us into something that shouldn’t have gone beyond friendship.
“I don’t want you to think Jorie is a mean person. She’s not, but there’s been somethingoffwith her since her sister left. Talking about her like this doesn’t showcase her in the best light. She really is a wonderful person once you get to know her.”
“Hmm, maybe she’s pregnant?”
“She can’t be pregnant. She just had a baby in June!” I stare at Leah in horror, having flashbacks to the previous months of poltergeist-like vomiting, mood swings, and crying jags.
