Page 93 of August
“Oh,” Elisa said and looked across the table at Myra, who just smiled at her and shook her head.
“Logan’s apartment isn’t great, and there are… reasons I’d like her to live with me. One, I love her and want that for us, but also because of otherpeoplein her apartment building.”
By the way Rory said ‘people,’ Elisa figured she shouldn’t probe any further and just let it go.
“What is it you do for a living?” Asher asked her.
“Oh. Nothing right now,” Elisa replied. “I took a few years off work when my kids were young. Then, I got a job working in an office as basically whatever they needed, and when I decided to separate from my husband, I quit that job and focused on figuring out my life for a while. Now that I’m here, though, I’m interviewing. The kids will be out of the house soon, so I’ll need something to do with my time.”
“What kinds of jobs are you interviewing for?” Asher asked.
“Mainly, anything with a flexible schedule and no college degree requirement, which is really hard these days. I’m hoping to find something part-time if I can. I want to ease my way back into things, and I just got a dog yesterday, so I want to spend as much time with him as I can during his transition to his new family.”
“You just got a dog?” Caroline asked. “Do you have any pictures? What’s his name?”
“Yesterday,” Myra said. “And he’s a rescue. He’s veryenergetic and doesn’t seem to understand privacy.”
Elisa’s eyes widened, and Myra laughed.
“To be fair, we didn’t exactly close the door last night,” Elisa said, deciding to participate in this now.
“That’s true.”
“I know you’re talking about sex, and that’s great; happy for you. Butarethere dog pictures?” Caroline asked.
Enid just laughed at her girlfriend and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“I have a few on my phone.” Elisa pulled out her phone, found the pictures she’d just taken of Buster, and handed it over to Enid so that she could hand it to Caroline, who was a little farther away. “His name was Buster already, and I didn’t want to change it because he responds to it. He’s also kind of just such a Buster.”
“Busta Bust,” Gwen said as she walked into the bar, overhearing Elisa. “That’s one of my new nicknames for him.”
“I thought it was Busta Rhymes,” Myra noted.
“What? You two are making up nicknames formydog?” Elisa laughed.
“Forgive her; Elisa hasn’t ever had a dog. She doesn’t know the rules about calling them everything but their actual names.” Gwen placed her hands on Elisa’s shoulders as she stood behind her chair. “He’s good, by the way. I checked on him.”
“Thank you,” she said. “And, everyone, this is Gwen.”
“I’m the ex-sister-in-law,” Gwen said, offering a small wave. “And, really, just asisterto Elisa here.”
Myra rolled her eyes and replied, “I’m never living that down, am I?”
“Livingwhatdown?” Jill asked.
“Nothing,” Myra said.
“Myra here thought I was on a date with her girl when, really, I’ve known Elisa since I was thirteen, and I’ve got less than zero interest in having sex with her.”
“Gwen, gross!” Elisa said.
“Yes, gross. Exactly,” Gwen agreed. “I’m getting myself a drink. Anyone need anything?”
Over an hour later, some of the women had gone home for the night, but Jodie and Viv had shown up and were now sitting in a booth with Rory and Logan. Both couples looked really good together. Myra was talking to Sophie and Candace at the bar, and Elisa had just walked out of the bathroom. She moved behind Myra and wrapped her arms around her.
“Hey, are you ready to go?” she asked quietly.
“Sure,” Myra said and finished the glass of water she’d started on after she had stopped drinking over an hour ago. “Tired?” she asked, turning in Elisa’s arms.
