Page 70 of Suddenly Entwined

“Hey.” I lift a hand in an awkward wave.

“Don’t just stare at the girl,” Berg says, walking further into the large room that’s dominated by a long dining table.

“You must be confused, Berg,” Ashlyn replies, pulling down a wine glass off an open shelf. “Carolina is awoman.”

“Here, here,” Anna chimes in.

I bite my lip. If there’s one thing Berg isn’t confused about, it’s that. Happily accepting the wine with a smile, I try to relax. I’m not really a wine girl, or much of a drinker in general, but the deep red liquid is sweet and warm on my tongue and goes down way too easily. The moment of awkwardness passes and I find a spot at the table between Berg and Anna. Chris has one of the girls on each of his knees and he keeps giving me side-long glances. The men can’t resist talking about work so I tune them out. The rising price of lumber isn’t really at the top of my list of things to talk about at a party.

“You want another one?” Ashlyn gestures to my almost empty glass with the bottle.

Holy, that disappeared fast.

“Oh, I shouldn’t,” I start, before remembering that I don’t have to drive and it’s my weekend.

“Actually, I changed my mind. Yes, please.”

As I’m sipping, Anna tugs a tiny section of my hair.

“Come see me. I want to get my hands on these curls.” She holds up her palms like she’s barely resisting tousling my entire head.

I’m more than overdue for a cut. The last time I tried to trim some of the split ends myself I nearly went cross-eyed.

“That’s okay. I’m growing it out.”

Anna levels me with a look. “It’s grown.”

“Don’t worry,” Ashlyn says, sitting down for a moment with her own drink. “You’re not the only person she harasses about hair care. How are things at the bar?”

I perk up, excited to share that I’m doing something much more my own speed these days.

“Oh, I’m actually nannying for Berg now.”

He smiles at me encouragingly when I glance over, and there’s perhaps a hint of pride as he nods.

Chris coughs on a sip of his beer, patting his chest. “You’re doing what?”

“Na-nny-ing,” I break the syllables down for my brother who I know heard my simple sentence perfectly well.

“You’re not a nanny.”

“Am now,” I say.

“Yeah. Is now,” Berg quips, scooping a tortilla chip through a bowl of salsa and popping it into his mouth.

Dean clasps his hands beneath his chin, watching our exchange with raised eyebrows like it’s highly amusing. “Siblings. Am I right?” he says to nobody in particular.

“You’re an only child.” Isaac shakes his head at him.

Chris is still stuck on my news, though.

“What about school in September?”

Berg answers for me and I could kiss him right here. “What about it? That’s months away.”

Since my admission that I’m not actually registered for school, we’ve talked about it a fair bit. I told him about dropping out after my third year of my Psychology degree and how my grades dropped more and more with every exam. In fact, we’ve even spent some time looking at my options for the fall if I do decide to get my butt back into classes. He’s never pressured me to do one thing or the other, and I appreciate that more than he knows.

“Caro is the best,” Louisa says, grabbing her own chip and skipping the salsa.

---