“I know of a local interior designer who does very good work,” Josie joined our conversation, a can of Pledge and a dusting cloth in her hand, even though I had no idea what she could possibly be polishing since I’d sold my dining room table (that had been for sale) and she’d been nowhere near the end table.
“I want whatever I create here to be all me,” I replied carefully, not wanting to hurt her feelings and also not sharing that I had no idea who that me would turn out to be.
She tipped her head to the side as her lips curved up. “Then that’s what it’ll be.”
Alyssa threw her hands in the air shouting, “Girlie home décor shopping trip!”
More like fifty of them. I had a big house, and except for the kids’ rooms that were still untouched, it was now a clean slate.
On this thought, while Alyssa still had hands in the air and was celebrating, Josie turned concerned eyes to her friend. “Amelia will not want her home to look like a bordello.”
I sucked in an audible breath at what this might mean but more, how Alyssa might take it.
I let it out when Alyssa dropped her arms, burst out laughing, allowing herself to do that with abandon for a few moments before pushing out words while still doing it, “Are you sayin’ my place looks like a whorehouse?”
“I’m saying you decorate heavily in scarves,” Josie replied.
“Every girl knows lighting is everything,” Alyssa returned.
“Agreed. Thus those who have that ability provide light bulbs of a multitude of different wattages and finishes in order to offer us a variety of lighting opportunities,” Josie retorted.
Alyssa turned to me and jerked a thumb at Josie. “Ain’t this bitch a kick?”
She was.
However, I wasn’t sure Josie knew how she was and thus shared in the amusement making it okay to be amused so I decided to say nothing.
“Babe!”
I stiffened then turned at hearing Mickey’s voice.
With the women as well as kids that were female in my house, there were currently eight “babes” he could be speaking to.
Upon catching his eyes, eyes that were aimed my way, I found this particular “babe” was me.
“Two o’clock tomorrow good for you?” he asked when he got my attention.
“Sorry?” I asked back.
“Brats, chicken, you kickin’ back,” he reminded me.
Oh…shit.
I’d totally forgotten.
“Uh…well…”
“Two,” he stated firmly. “And don’t even think of offerin’ to bring anything. Just come over. We’ll have you covered.” Before I could come up with a suitable way to decline his invitation, he looked to his daughter and called, “Ash, baby, you ready?”
“Yeah, Dad,” she called back quietly and I looked her way to see her eyes come to me. “It went awesome, Miz Hathaway.”
“Partially thanks to you, blossom,” I told her.
She lifted her shoulders, dropped them, tipped her head to the side, looked to the ground and made no reply, doing all of this while heading toward the door.
I watched, feeling my eyes narrow, not certain why those brief, subtle movements made by Aisling troubled me, just certain that they did.
“Two.”
I jumped and looked at Mickey who’d repeated himself and again did it firmly.
How to get out of this?
How?
“Two, Mickey,” my mouth said.
Well, that was how not to get out of it.
Shit.
He nodded, swept his eyes through the room and called a general, “Later.”
Then he disappeared, closing the door behind him and his daughter.
It barely clicked before I found my body shifting an inch to the right at the same time I felt a piercing pain in my ribs, all because Alyssa had elbowed me and did it hard.
I looked her way in surprise.
She waggled her eyebrows, saying, “Mickey?”
“I like this,” Josie said softly and I looked to her to see she did like it. A lot.
“I don’t like it, I love it,” Alyssa declared, and my eyes went back to her. “Mickey Donovan. The Irishman. Total score,” she decreed.
If this was that, she would not be wrong.
However, this was absolutely not that.
“We’re neighbors,” I told them both.
“Neighbors where one of you has boy parts and one of you has girl parts,” Alyssa pointed out suggestively and unnecessarily.
“Yes,” I agreed, also unnecessarily. “But his kids will be there.”
Alyssa’s grin got big. “All the better. Though, not about the boy-girl parts. Just about the invitin’ you over with the family part.”
“No, Alyssa,” I said softly. “I’m a neighbor. Just a neighbor. Sure, a female one, but this is how it goes,” I began to explain. “You’ll never know it because you and Junior look at each other like you’re passing in the halls in high school on a Friday afternoon and you have a hot date planned that night so you’ll never have to do this. But if this was a neighbor with boy parts and one with girl parts scenario, I’d meet his kids probably in six months after we spent six weeks planning for that particular meeting.”
“This is, unfortunately, true,” Josie murmured.
I nodded, even though I wasn’t fond of her confirming. She didn’t need to. “So this has nothing to do with boy and girl parts. This is just Mickey being a good guy.”
“Bet, you go over there with cleavage, his good guy will get better,” Alyssa suggested.
I shook my head but did it grinning.
Josie snapped, “It’s hardly appropriate for her to wear cleavage in front of Mickey’s children.”
Alyssa looked to Josie, raising her brows. “Why? I wear it front of my kids.”
“They’re your children, Alyssa, with your children you can do what you wish,” Josie pointed out. “And if something were to happen between Amelia and Mickey, and the children got used to her and she became a part of their family, then she could do what she wishes.”
“Oh…right,” Alyssa muttered.
“Anyway,” I cut in. “It’s nothing to get excited about. Just brats, chicken and relaxing with a new neighbor.”
“Bummed,” Alyssa kept muttering. Then she perked up. “Though, means you’re good to go on the prowl, which means we can go on the prowl with you.”
On her we, she elbowed Josie, who didn’t shift an inch to the side, but she did glare at Alyssa.
“You’re kinda very married,” I reminded her.
“I’m definitely very married,” she agreed with me. “That doesn’t mean I don’t get to go out. Junior knows I wouldn’t stray. He doesn’t care.” She turned to Josie. “You in?”
“I’m always in for something that would allow me to dress up,” Josie announced.
I was uncertain about this, therefore told them, “I’m not sure I’m ready.”
“Okay, then don’t be ready,” Alyssa gave in instantly. “First, we pimp your house. Then, we go on the prowl. You call it. We’re there. Lunch wore off about half a minute after they ate it so now I gotta get my brood home or they’re gonna start eating your couch and that’s the only thing you got left to sit on.”