Page 1 of Feel It All

Chapter 1

Winry

Chapter 1

“Oh,blessyourdaddy’sheart.” That’s it, that’s the line my sisters and I have heard over and over. Apparently, having three daughters calls for blessings and prayers for the father. “Didn’t get his boy, did he?” That one was my favorite. Griffin Bennett was a proud girl dad and never regretted not getting “his boy” for one minute. He probably wouldn’t turn away prayers though. My sisters and I were forces to be reckoned with and total daddy’s girls.

We have had him wrapped around our fingers since birth. I’m the oldest at 24, then Waverley, then Wyla. I am two years older than Waverly, and our parents got down to business after because there is only a year between Waverley and Wyla.

We get this comment so much that when we do something to which anyone would say “Oh, bless your heart,” we tease, “Bless your dad’s heart.” And it’s being used today too, to my own dismay.

Today, my sisters and I are at my home away from home: my store, Crossroads Books & Café. We have met here every Sunday morning since I opened last September with my business partner and best friend, Ivy. There aren’t many people outside of my family I connect with, but my girl Ivy wiggled her way in the first day of kindergarten. We have dreamed of opening a joint bookstore and coffee/pastry shop since sophomore year of high school. Last year, we finally made our dream come true, and we could not be prouder of Crossroads. Ivy is the master barista and pastry gal, and I manage the books and the business side of things.

“Win, did you tell them your ‘bless your dad’ moment?” Ivy beams as she passes our table. I told her this morning about the most embarrassing night of my life last night. I knew I would have to tell my sisters but hoped I could eat my muffin first.

“Oh, you have a moment? And you weren’t going to say anything!” Waverley snaps as she slaps my hand away from my muffin.

“Ow, jeez, thanks, Ivy.” I stare dagger at her as she walks away cackling. “Ugh, this one takes the cake for sure. So, you know how Huck has moved into a living facility?” Huck is my neighbor—well, former neighbor now. My sisters nod. “Well, his niece has been staying for the past two nights getting it emptied and cleaned for the new renters. Flynn was over last night, and we were, you know…”

“Having sex,” Waverley blurts out as she sips her coffee.

“Yes, okay but I wasn’t going to say that aloud in my business,” I say, which gets me eye rolls from both my sisters.

“Keep going,” Wyla whisper-shouts.

“Well in the middle of our…activity…we hear pounding on the door. Naturally, we freak out because it’s like two in the morning, so when I go to open the door…”

“Wait, wait, why didn’t Flynn answer the door? You said it was two in the morning, right? What if it had been a murderer?” Wyla interrupts. Neither of my sisters is a fan of my current boyfriend, Flynn. To be honest, I’m not sure how big of a fan I am either.

“Because he started freaking out and being chicken shit, saying it’s my house so I should be the one to answer the door. That’s not even the worst part. When I open the door, it’s two city police officers who said they had received a call for a woman in distress.”

“What!” my sisters say in unison.

“Yup.”

“No!” again in unison.

“Yes, that bitty called us in saying that I sounded like a woman in distress. And the worst part is I was overcompensating my noises because if I don’t Flynn gets all paranoid and weirds out like I’m the reason he can’t make me come.”

At this point, my sisters are practically in the floor in a laughing fit, gasping for air with coffee coming out of their noses. “Oh, what happened next, what did the officers say?” Wyla breathed in between laughing.

“They busted out laughing just like y’all are right now. They made Flynn come out after they finally caught their breath just to make sure everything was okay, but ultimately it was mortifying, and I wanted to die. I mean, I got lucky one of the officers was Owen West. I threatened to feed him his balls if he told Dad.”

Our dad is the police chief in Aster Creek, which always has us worrying about him. Mom used to stay up all night listening to the police radio on nights that he would patrol. Dad eventually made her get rid of it because she would never sleep.

“You were right. This is the best ‘bless your dad’ moment ever,” Waverly exclaims, looking satisfied by my nightmare.

“In all seriousness, Winry, please tell me you are planning to break up with Flynn soon. I mean, come on, Winry, if the sex isn’t good what is even the point?” Wyla questions.

“I know, I know. I am going to do it. You know how I am; I hate stuff like that. I am a people pleaser,” I shuffle in my seat. Hard conversations have not always been my thing.

“It would be great if he pleased you for once,” Waverley mocks and takes a bite of her scone.

Wasn’t that the truth. I have been dating Flynn for three months. Wait, maybe it’s four, if that gives you any indication about how attached to this relationship I am. He’s not a bad guy. In fact, he seems good on paper. He is attractive and has a decent job, a good family, and a nice house. There is just no heat, no chemistry. I know I need to end things, but I have such anxiety about it. Granted, everything makes me anxious and overwhelmed, so I really should just get it over with.

“They are right, Win: It’s time to cut things off with Flynn,” Ivy chimes in as she brings me my favorite of her coffees, a Snickers iced latte with whipped cream.

“I’ll do it, I swear.”

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