Page 17 of Love Bitters

I chuckle at the thought, then inquire, “Where would we meet? We could always use my new apartment. I just moved in and everything, but you know they let me borrow the furniture. There’s plenty of space.”

“You got so lucky having her as a family friend. I’ve heard nightmare stories about people’s first apartments,” she says shuddering slightly. “I got lucky too but not in that capacity. We don’t need to add that to the list of your concerns right now, though. So, thanks for offering, but my place is perfectly fine.”

Making a mental note to find out just what she means later, I shrug with a smile and give her the answer already sitting on the tip of my tongue. “Count me in then.”

She makes a cute little motion with her hand as she hisses, “Yes! Okay, so you should come over for dinner tonight if you’re not busy. I’d love for you to meet Jade, and we can chat more about the book club.”

I snort softly. “You should know by now that the only date I have later is with this paperback and a jar of peanut butter.”

“Duh,” she retorts, gently slapping a palm to her forehead. “That should’ve been my first hint about you know...” She nonchalantly points toward my belly, and I’m grateful she didn’t come out and say it. I haven’t had a chance to talk to Nancy about it yet, and I’m not looking forward to the conversation. Honestly, I think somewhere in the back of my mind I’m hoping that I don’t have to tell anyone about it. Ever. Which is absolutely ridiculous because they’re bound to notice eventually. My procrastination train just has no intention of leaving the station anytime soon.

“What time should I be there?” I ask.

“Around seven would work for us if it does for you,” she replies. At my slight nod, she adds, “Awesome. I’ll text you our address when we’re leaving today. I’m so excited. I always wanted to join a book club, but I felt like they’d think I was too weird.”

“You are weird,” I say, grinning. “We both are.”

She huffs out a laugh. “That’s why this is going to work out perfectly.”

I’d be lying if I didn’t think the same exact thing and say I wasn’t just as excited as she is.

A few hours later, I’m knocking on the front door of a cute little house in the suburbs. It’s one of those that looks like it just popped out of a time capsule from the 1950s. From the white picket fence that boxes in the front yard to the light blue color of the paint and white shutters. The porch stretches across the entire front of the house, home to a couple rocking chairs and even a swing hung from the ceiling.

Until this point, I never realized how much I’d really love to have something like this in my life. The normalcy that would come from living in a house this quaint and perfect. Of course, if I had it my way, the building would be the biggest lie I’ve ever lived because I’d have five men living under that perfect little roof, and there’s nothing normal about that. One day, though, I’ll give my baby and myself this kind of life.

A voice calls out from somewhere deep inside the house, but it’s muffled and I can’t understand what it says. Turns out to be a moot point when the door swings open, revealing a girl a couple years younger than Jolene and me.

“Imogene?” she says in a question.

The corners of my lips lift in a polite smile. “Hi.”

She pushes the screendoor open as she introduces herself. “Hey, I’m Jade. Jolene’s sister.”

“Nice to meet you,” I say politely, stepping inside.

“Back at you,” she replies before adding, “Jolene is in the kitchen down the hall. I’ve got to finish up my homework, and then I’ll be down.”

“Sure.” I nod and start the direction she points as she heads toward what looks like the living room.

I come to a standstill as I cross the threshold into the kitchen. Jolene is at the counter with her back to me, but that isn’t what stops me in my tracks. If the outside of the house was a step back in time, this room laughs in its face. All of the appliances are the new age versions of their grandparents. Cabinets as blue as a cloudless sky take up two-thirds of the room, and the whole vibe just screams Leave It To Beaver.

“Oh, you better not be judging me by this kitchen,” Jolene teases as she turns around to catch me still gaping.

“No,” I lie. “It’s...nice.”

She lets out a boisterous laugh. “Bullshit. This is seriously the worst idea my mom ever had. She was always in love with different eras. It could’ve been a lot worse. Wait until you see the hippie shit in the guest bathroom.”

I laugh with her even when a flicker of pain passes over her expression. Knowing I probably shouldn’t, I can’t help but ask, “You live here with your mom?”

But it isn’t Jolene who answers. It’s Jade, coming in behind me. “No, we used to. Before they gave her a bed at Rockcliff.”

Anyone who has lived around here for any length of time knows Rockcliff is one of the local mental hospitals.

“Damn it, Jade, you can’t just spring that on people,” Jolene chastises her sister who simply shrugs in return.

“What?” she supplies. “It’s true. There’s no sense in lying to her like we do everyone else.”

I try my best not to wince at her words as I take in her appearance. Facially structured just like Jolene, it’d be hard not to pass for sisters standing side by side. That’s about where their similarities end. Unlike Jolene’s long dark hair, Jade’s is a blonde with dark roots underneath and it barely taps her chin. Even with most of it casually thrown to the side like it is. Her eyes are a light hazel color, but they’re slightly wider than her sister’s. They’ve both got high cheekbones and small noses. Jolene, obviously free from work restraints, has a hoop through her nose. Jade went the higher route and opted for an eyebrow piercing and several in different areas of the ear that’s visible. They’re both super pretty, which leaves me to wonder why they’d feel the need for the kind of book club we’re forming. I always assumed that being skinny and pretty came with less love life problems. This year is proving to be very enlightening indeed.

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