Page 9 of The Sweet Part
“It’s a grown-up word,” May says with a note of finality. She gives me an apologetic look.
“Great to see the place,” I say. “See ya soon.”
I let myself out. I’m halfway down the sidewalk when my phone chimes with a text from May:Thanks for stopping by. Sorry if Sophie was in your face too much. I’ll keep her busy when you’re fixing stuff.
No prob. In your face pretty much describes my entire family.
Ha!
I get into my truck and start it, turning the heat up. It’s freezing in here. I was at May’s place longer than I thought. I send a quick text while the truck warms up.Hope Sophie gets to eat cake and dance at the wedding.
Three dots appear and then disappear.
Well, it was Sophie’s idea. I just spontaneously asked them both. I exhale sharply and back out of the driveway.
I head towards home. No big. I’ll go to the wedding solo like I was planning and do the usual, dance with someone pretty and not related to me. One of Shayla’s friends should be fun.
I never should’ve asked May in the first place.
3
May
“He didn’t want to go with me in the first place!” I whisper-shout to Alice. We’re in the kitchen at her place. Sophie’s doing a tiger jigsaw puzzle Alice keeps for her in the living room.
Alice levels me with a determined look and lifts a finger. “One, he’s doing free repairs for you on his time off.” Another finger goes up. “Two, men don’t ask you to a wedding if they don’t mean it.”
“He only said that because Sophie was excited by the idea of a wedding.”
She holds up another finger. “Three, he’s hot.”
I groan. “Alice.”
“It’s a fact. Why do you think the ratings are so high on his show? He’s gorgeous. That’s the real reason you watch, isn’t it?”
I take a sip of tea. “I like learning about cars.”
“Bullshit.”
“Shh. Sophie’s right there. Did I tell you she said badass in front of him?”
Alice giggles. “Oops. That was from me.”
“No kidding.”
“Did she call him a badass?”
“She was talking about Grandmom Maggie.”
Alice gets serious. “There’s your answer. WWMD?” She means What Would Maggie Do? We often think of her when we need a little extra courage to do something. She always colored outside the lines. The woman wore a leopard bodysuit with a tutu in her nineties. She seduced her much younger tango instructor. She said exactly what she thought, and she did as she pleased, even if that meant eating Snickers for breakfast, stealing Dad’s Harley, or ziplining. All that was in her seventies! God, I miss her.
I look to the ceiling. “WWMD doesn’t apply here.”
“Sure it does.”
“Grandmom was never a single mom.”
“But you and Sophie can both go. Come on, it’ll be fun. You can dance, mingle with a few movie stars, and tell me every detail. I’d go in a heartbeat.”
