The Reunion (Fashionable Friends)

“If I did, I wouldn’t be standing here on a ladder with my fingers sticking out the ground like a zombie coming back to life now, would I?”

I recognized that voice, and that sarcastic banter. “Zoe?”

“That’s me. Say, is that Muriel?”

“It is.” We were old, good-natured foes from volleyball. I hadn’t heard from her since we left school.

“Well, this is a weird way to meet up after so long. Say, any chance you can find someone to help me out of here? I’ve been in here for hours, and I don’t want to have to pis— pee in a bucket again if I can help it.”

“Sure, give me a minute, and I’ll see what I can do.”

I called Hugh. He’d managed to gather a small group of men to help secure Jason’s house; once they were done, they’d come straight over to rescue Zoe. I went back to tell her and her daughter the good news.

“Oooh, Hugh?” Zoe said, and I cursed the fact that small-town gossip was so powerful it was deemed even more important than life-or-death rescue attempts. “I didn’t know you two were a thing still. I heard you headed off to California to make your fortune.”

I forced out a smile to appease the distressed little girl who sat next to me. “Not exactly a fortune, but I am living out in LA. Hugh and I are just friends; I was in town for Chrissy’s wedding.”

There it was again: the denial—just friends. I felt terrible for saying it.

“Friends, uh-huh.” She used a wry tone that made me bristle. “And who was that other one you were always with... Ryan, was it?”

“Cameron,” I corrected her. “Yeah, just friends with him too.”

There was a long, sarcastic sigh. “I believe you, Muri, and thousands wouldn’t.”

“Girls and boys can be just friends, you know.”

I was caught between wanting to head back out on my own, avoiding this sort of questioning, and feeling obliged to help Zoe, who was clearly in distress. The right thing to do was to stay, so I tried to nudge the conversation in a different direction.

“Your daughter here is beautiful,” I said, and the little girl smiled for the first time since I’d met her. “And brave too, going out to find help. You are very lucky.”

“Oh, Marie’s a doll,” Zoe replied, squeezing her free fingers against the little girl’s hand. “You’ll remember her dad, Ralph?”

“Aw, Ralphie?” I remembered the adorable little boy in class who used to almost pee his pants every time anyone asked him a question.

“Yeah. I think you were in math together? Well, anyway, he got me knocked up not long after we finished high school, and now here we are.”

“That’s sweet,” I said. I wasn’t particularly impressed with Zoe’s turn of phrase in front of her daughter, but my job here was to stop either of them from going into panic mode before the cavalry arrived. “I hope I get what you have someday.”

“You could have it right now, I reckon,” Zoe replied. “Word around town is those two boys haven’t stopped pining over you since you left.”

I thought my eyes were going to roll right out of my head. Oh, for Christ’s sake, was there no real news in this place?

Why would some random girl I used to throw a ball at years ago knows almost as much about my own love life as I do. But that was small-town life. The downside of everybody knowing your name was that everybody knew your business too.

I wondered whether Zoe knew that Cameron and Hugh had shared women before; did she know Hannah? My cheeks flushed with shame at the thought of it.

“I’m not so sure about that.” I tried to laugh off Zoe’s suggestion.

Before she had a chance to pry any further, I caught a glimpse of Hugh walking toward us with a group of men behind him, like a superhero arriving at the last possible moment.

“The rescue squad’s here,” I called out, and Marie squealed with excitement.

“They’re going to get Mommy out.”

“Yes, they are.” I clapped my hands to match the little girl’s energy.

“Hey,” Hugh said as he arrived. “This doesn’t seem so bad; we’ll have your mommy out in just a minute, okay?”

Marie nodded, and Hugh offered his fist for her to bump.

I swear my ovaries twitched for the first time in my life, but I chose to ignore the sensation. I had enough going on without adding a baby into the mix, thank you very much.

Hugh gathered the men around the large pieces of siding that blocked Zoe’s exit. I grabbed a section too and encouraged Marie to do the same so she’d feel like she was helping her mom.

One by one we heaved the large pieces of siding aside, and eventually we got the entrance uncovered so Zoe could climb out.