Page 20 of Thick & Thin

I would have to go by there. I wasn’t ready for that yet, but she would know something was up if I didn’t go pick up my baby right away. Also, it wasn’t like I could go over, snag my truck, and leave. That would make it obvious, too. Which meant I would be facing Jenny much sooner than I wanted to.

Me: Ok. Be there in a bit.

The hot shower I took lasted longer than usual. Standing under the spray, I prayed to feel normal again, but my stomach wouldn’t settle, and my headache was out of hand. Once I was done with my shower, I went into the kitchen to get an aspirin and a glass of water.

I stood at the sink, staring out the window at our family farm while I swallowed the pill and hoped it would start working as soon as possible.

“You look like shit,” my older sister Genie said when she came into the kitchen.

“Thanks.”

“Have fun last night?”

I shrugged instead of answering. It hurt to talk.

“Jenny drop you off and take your truck to her place?”

I nodded, feeling the dagger dig deeper into my brain with each move of my head.

“I’ll take you to pick up your truck. I gotta run to Walmart anyway.”

“Is Jimmy working today?” I asked.

Jimmy was my sister’s husband. They had only been married a year when Jimmy lost his job, and they had to move back in with us. Since then, he had gotten an even better job, and Genie and Jimmy spent most of their afternoons house shopping.

“Isn’t he always?”

I nodded.

Ten minutes later, I found myself in the passenger side of my sister’s SUV, feeling like I was seconds away from puking my guts up. I wasn’t sure if it was my hangover or Genie’s driving, but either way, I was happy when we pulled into Jenny’s driveway.

Her brother and his little girl, Emma, were out front. Emma was chasing after a butterfly, and Devin was leaning over the hood of a red Mustang.

When he heard my car door shut, he looked up. “She’s inside.” He nodded toward the front door.

Genie waved and pulled away, leaving me behind.

The screen door creaked and then snapped back into place behind me with a loud slam. Jenny was sitting on the couch watching a movie and looked up when the door slammed.

“Hey,” she said, grabbing the remote and turning the movie off.

“Hey.”

“You look like shit.”

“I feel like shit.”

She stood from the couch, and I followed her into the kitchen.

Leaning against the counter, I stood quietly while she moved around the space, cleaning and putting away a peanut butter and jelly mess I assumed Emma had left behind.

The silence between us was deafening, pressing against my nerves and making me feel itchy.

“About last night …” I started, feeling awkward around Jenny for the first time in our friendship. “I’m sorry. I was drunk, and I didn’t know what I was doing.”

“It was nothing. Don’t even stress it,” she said, tossing the dish towel onto the counter. “Are we still going fishing today?”

I got whiplash from her sudden change in subject, and the idea that the moment in my truck didn’t affect her the way it affected me stung a little.

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