Page 10 of Three Not-So-Little Words
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I stop her. “Veronica Lawson isn’tputting down roots.I’m just renting a house.”
“Whatever you say. Pretty soon, you’ll be baking and gardening.”
“The only time you’ll ever hearRonniepaired with the termsbakingorgardeningwill be referring to smoking weed.”
“We’ll see.”
Feeling my defenses start to rise, I change the subject. “So, why are you really here? And don’t tell me you just came to change the sheets. You’re getting married soon. Shouldn’t you be picking out china patterns or something?”
“You know that Mom has all that shit handled. I just needed a little bit of a break from all the chaos. This place is quiet.”
I nod. “If it makes you feel any better, Dad went home to wrangle her for the evening.”
“Oh, thank God.” She exhales a sigh of relief.
“If you didn’t want this big of a wedding, why didn’t you just tell her?”
“Oh, I tried. She’s just so excited. And at the rate the Lawson siblings are going, I may be the only one to actually walk down the aisle. I guess I can let her have this one.”
“So, you were the martyr but then came here to avoid everything?”
She smiles. “Exactly.”
“I get it. You know you can come chill here whenever you want. We can do a sleepover.”
“While I appreciate the offer, I probably need to get home to Jack and Beth.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. I’ll leave you alone to get settled in,” she says while gathering her things.
“I’m not trying to kick you out. It’s your house after all.”
She turns to me. “No, Ronnie. It’syourhouse now.”
With a hug and a quick goodbye, she’s out the door.
Now, I really am alone. Most people might view that as a bad thing, but not me. Most of my life, I’ve lived alone. Despite all the people I meet, my job is a fairly solitary one. If I want company, I go find it. Easy as that.
Yes, most people may hate being alone.
But I’m going to make the most of it.
Time to walk around naked.
four
Thanks, Dr. Phil
Drew
“Where are we going?” Colton asks from the backseat.
“Well, I need to stop by and talk to my new boss, and then, I figure you and I could explore the town a little bit.”
“Okay.”
My eyes glance in the rearview mirror to see him looking out the window. He’s a little quieter than normal, but I’m hoping he’s just tired.
