Page 65 of Forever Flirting

“Well, it’s about darn time that you called me, young lady. I told my boy that I wasn’t going to be begging you to reach out and that if you had any scruples, you’d do the reaching. Now, are you coming alone - or are you bringing the trollop with you?”

“Alone… with Caleb,” she croaked nervously.

“You’ll do,” the woman said bluntly, uttering her address, before saying “I’ll see you at two tomorrow – bingo starts at six.”

… And hung up on her.

Yes, this was certainly going to be an interesting afternoon.

Twenty minutes later, as she pulled into the driveway, she saw the firetruck in front of the house as her heart pounded with fear. If she had arrived as the woman was having some medical emergency or a fire, this was going to be more than she was prepared to handle with Caleb – or tell Alex.

Getting out of the car, she expected someone to stop her or say something as she slowly walked towards the front of the house where the storm door was open and waiting… only to look back and see a few firefighters on the truck smiling, laughing, and talking with each other.

No one was in a hurry or a rush.

Walking up to the door, she heard a man exclaim loudly from the interior of the house.

“Bolas!!My prostate is just fine, lady! Sheesh!”

“What the…” Everly gaped in shock, her eyes nearly popping out of her head as a firefighter flew through the doorway, clenching at his bottom, hollering over his shoulder.

“Call us if you have a real emergency, Mrs. Kendall,” the man hollered wildly…

As the sweetest, most innocent-looking, little old lady stepped forward to stand in the doorway with her hands on her hips. She was barely five feet tall, wearing a pink quilted zip-up robe, had bright pink blush on her cheeks, blue eyeshadow, and dark red lipstick in severe contrast to the tiny yellow rollers that were pinned on her head with the plastic pink sticks.

“Ohhh there’s my sweet baby…” the old woman crooned immediately, reaching for Caleb and hugging him warmly. “Come inside and don’t let the flies in.”

“What was all of that?” Everly said bluntly, seeing the firetruck drive off in a hurry.

“That was sex-on-a-stick, dearie…” the old woman pursed her lips and winked at her.

“EXCUSE ME?”

“Oh gracious, tell me Alex did not pick some prudish girlfriend…” the little old woman said openly, frowning at Everly. “That firefighter has fooled around with half the women in town under thirty years old. Mentally - I’m in his age bracket. The body might be eight-five, but I promise my heart, mind, and soul are barely twenty-one. I couldn’t help myself to that hot Portuguese piece of grade-A beefcake... I think it’s something with the uniform that gets my blood a-boiling. Besides, Fridays are always our coffee days… only they don’t usually run away quite so fast.”

“Did you…” Everly stared in disbelief, pointing at the doorway, stunned at the woman before her who was cradling Caleb and offering him a frosted animal cracker, like nothing had occurred.

“Did you grab his…his bottom? Am I at the right place? You know that’s harassment - and assault?!”

“Well, now you sound just like my Alex,” the older woman muttered, frowning. “Get the coffee, honey. I’ll have one sugar and one creamer in mine… and use the brown mug for me that says ‘Nana’. It’s in the cabinet above the stove. My boy bought it for me. You might as well not let that fresh pot of coffee go to waste.”

“Excuse me?”

“I didn’t stutter, child – and call me Ruthie or Nana. Mrs. Kendall sounds so stuffy. And what kind of name is ‘Everly’ anyhow? Did your mother forget the B on the front? We are going to be good friends, you and I.”

“I’m not sure that we will be.”

“Oh, put a sock in it, dearie,” Nana said bluntly, getting up slowly from her chair. “Caleb, you keep Nana’s chair warm and hold the television remote for me – and you?” she began, pointing at Everly.

“We aren’t shy in this house, because being timid gets zilch accomplished, and you remember that with my sweet Alex. Now, get that pretty face in here and let me show you around the place. What’s that in your hands? Did you bring something? Speak up, girlie.”

“I brought some Amish sweet bread.”

“Has it got booze in it?”

“No…”

“Darn-it…”

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