Page 39 of When We Were Us
“I was gonna pour it out on the ground when we got out. I’m so sorry,” she says with a grimace as I try and clean up what I can.
“It’s ok, Finn.” I crane my neck to look in the backseat. “Do you have a jacket or something I can throw on?”
“I think so. Here, let me...” she says, twisting in her seat to lean far into the back. “Or I might have an extra shirt.”
I laugh because, of course, she does. It’s Finn, the woman with the bottomless bag. And car, apparently.
“Here. Put this on.” She hands me a light blue T-shirt. It’s oversized, but I can tuck it into my jeans, or tie the hem in a knot and it’ll be ok.
“Thanks. Give me the jacket, too, and I’ll put it on over my shirt until I can get to the bathroom and change.”
She looks around the dark lot. “Just change right now. Game’s about to start.” She drums her thumb on the steering wheel, straining her neck likeshe might be able to see the field from here.
I look around. “What? Here? Just out in the open?”
“You’re not out in the open. You’re in a dark car, and there’s literally no one around. Because the game’s. About. To. Start.”
“Fine. But make sure no one’s looking.”
I quickly throw off my top and I'm relieved to see my bra isn’t wet. I pull the shirt over my head and pull my hair out of the neck. It’s wet at the ends from the coffee.
“Have a hair tie?”
Finn fishes one out of her bag and hands it to me. I flip down the visor mirror and throw my hair up in a messy bun, pulling and tucking hair until I’m satisfied with how it looks. When I’m finished, I flip the visor up and reach for the door handle.
We climb out and Finn strips off the light flannel she was wearing in the car, leaving her in a T-shirt as well. Tossing it on the seat, she shuts the door and meets my eyes across the roof.
“Ready?”
I nod and shut my door as she engages the locks. As we round the front of the car, she wraps an arm around my waist.
“You ready for some Titans softball?” she says with a grin.
“Titans?”
“Yeah, Timber Forge Titans.” Her enthusiasm is actually pretty contagious, and I can’t remember the last time I did anything like this just for fun.
“Let’s do it.”
“You gotta cheer loud.”
“Ok.”
“Hey!!” a chorus of female voices sound off to the right of us as we hit the sidewalk to the softball fields.
Finn and I both turn to see a group of four women striding toward us across the sidewalk. It’s just past dusk, but as they get closer, I recognize Nat, Norah, and Hayley, and with them is a woman I don’t know.
“There’s the other half of our cheering squad!” Hayley calls as they approach.
Hugs go all around, and when Hayley pulls back, she points at the woman standing next to her.
“Wrenley, this is my best friend, Josie Blake. Josie, this is Wrenley.”
Josie’s eyebrows hike up her forehead, shooting me a look of momentary surprise, but then she gives me a smile.
“Nice to meet you, Wrenley.”
I return her smile. “You too.”
