Page 54 of Here's to Tomorrow

I toss the fry I’ve been holding for the past few minutes back down onto my plate and push it away. “All right, I’m officially stuffed,” I say, slouching down and resting my hands on my slightly soft stomach. “What’s next? You said you wanted to hit up Jane’s on Main. Want to head there now?”

“Please. I need to find me some new boots to go with my new sweater dress.”

“Let’s get going then. I’m want to try to sneak in a few hours with the Winchesters before work tonight.”

Maura rolls her eyes. “I don’t see the appeal in those two.”

“Watch your tongue, woman! I’ll make you walk to the store,” I say, shooting daggers at her.

She shrugs, unfazed by my threat.

Turns out we both walk anyway, deciding we need the exercise after devouring those burgers, fries, and floats.

“Hey girls!” Jane, the tall brunette boutique owner calls out when we walk in.

“Hey Jane!” we say in unison.

We may come here a little too much. Okay, fine, probably over half of our wardrobes come from here. In fact, we’re here so often, it’s safe to say Jane is like our unofficial fairy godmother. Sure, she’s only a couple years older than us, but we go to her for everything. This is our spot whenever something happens in our lives and we need to cope with things. Sometimes we walk in looking for something specific, and sometimes we come to walk around and chitchat with Jane since she gives the best advice.

This visit is a mix of the two.

“Looking for anything specific today, Maura?” Jane knows what’s up; she gets that Maura’s the fashion-lover out of the two of us.

“Boots. I need cute boots. Rocker chic. Have anything?”

Jane throws her a look saying she should know better than to question her. “Follow me.”

We follow her over to a rack full of adorable boots. Maura squeals and starts grabbing some to try on. I walk away and browse through the vintage tees and funky cardigans.

“So, this weekend, are you nervous at all?” I ask loudly so Maura can hear me, not caring if Jane hears us. I know she’d never breathe a word of any of it.

“Are you kidding? Hell fucking yes I’m nervous! You’ve met my parents. They’re crazy as hell! I think theymayrespect Tanner for his service, but I doubt that’s going to be enough. I kind of feel bad for him, but he’s the one who insists on meeting them since he’ll be gone soon.”

“Really? That surprises me. Tanner doesn’t seem to be the ‘meet the parents’ type of guy.”

“You know, I didn’t expect that at first either. He’s this good-time guy who is kind of an asshole and he seems sleazy—even I can’t deny that—but he’s not. Like I said before, I think it’s just a front he puts on around everyone else. That guy is nothing but a total sweetheart to me and perfect boyfriend material.”

“Well, good, but I cannot even imagine how your parents are going to react. This is the first guy you’ve ever introduced them to. You didn’t even take what’s-his-nuts home for the weekend.”

“Reminder not necessary. That’s part of the reason I’m freaking out. How about these?” she asks, appearing at the end of the aisle, modeling the boots for me.

“Hmm. What color is the dress?”

“Teal?”

“Why is that a question?”

“Because I suck at naming colors. Just go with teal.”

“Then I like. Very cute, and they’d look good with a summer dress.”

“Rae?”

“Hmm?”

“Did you just…give me fashion advice?” she asks, surprise coloring her voice.

I shrug. “Hey, I’m notthatbad at putting an outfit together. I manage to look pretty damn decent most days.”

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