Frenemies

“My bloomers should be seen in public.”

“You were wearing a lace thong. My lace thong.”

She sighed. “And still, you don’t have a date.”

I rubbed my temples with my fingers. No wonder Mason had ended up cutting the grass—the woman talked you in circles until you were one bright light away from a migraine.

“Grandma. Listen to me right now.”

“What do you think I’m doing, dear?”

“Honestly? Pretending to listen while plotting how to get me married by my next birthday.”

“It’s still possible.”

“It’s in three months. Nobody gets married in three months.”

“Cinderella did. So did Jasmine and that Snow White girl.”

“Nobody outside Disney movies gets married in three months,” I corrected myself. “I mean it. Whatever you’re doing trying to get me and Mason in close proximity has to stop.”

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head from side to side at the same time.

It was a wonder she didn’t give herself a migraine.

“You liked the boy. He’s single. You’re single. I’m not hurting anyone.”

“You are.” I sat up straight again and looked her in the eye. “You are, Grandma, that’s what you don’t understand. He hurt me, and while he’s finally apologized, that doesn’t mean I’m not dealing with things I thought I’d buried.”

She actually had the good grace to look ashamed.

Only slightly, mind you.

“I never thought I’d ever, ever see him again. I was pretty much in love with him back then, and that’s a lot of feelings to deal with. So while you’re sitting there plotting all the ways you can shoot arrows into our asses in your little game of Cupid, you forget that I’m a real person with real feelings. Not to mention that Mason has a child. A child, Grandma.”

“She’s a good kid,” she said in a gentle voice. “And you’re right. I’m sorry. I won’t mess with you anymore.”

What?

Did she agree?

“Don’t look at me like you don’t trust me, Imogen.”

“I don’t trust you,” I replied. “You never give in that easily. Or ever.”

Grandma adjusted her glasses and opened her book again. “I can be reasonable. It probably won’t happen again this year, though.”

“I suppose that’s the best I can ask for.” I pushed up from the sofa and kissed the side of her head. “I’m going to watch TV in bed.”

“Okay, dear. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” I glanced back at her three or four times, but she was already engrossed in her book and paying me no attention whatsoever.

I was definitely suspicious of her. I knew my grandmother and the only time she’d ever given into something that easily was when her car battery had died and I had to drive her around for three days.

I actually think she liked that, though, so the joke was on me.

I headed upstairs to my room and shut the door behind me. It was deathly silent up here, but instead of turning on my TV, I sat on the bed and stared at the blank screen.

All the ideas I’d had, all the plans to be a civil person, they’d all gone out of the window. I hadn’t lied with what I’d said to both Mason and Grandma today. I had feelings I had to deal with because I was only human.

Only when I’d done that could I begin to actually grow a pair and be an adult.

Hey. At least I was aware of my shortcomings.

Fixing them?

That was another matter entirely…

CHAPTER EIGHT – IMMY

Clown In A Box

“I don’t have any of the pink, but I can order some today. It’ll be here Tuesday,” I told the woman in front of me. She was about to become a grandma and wanted to knit her new grandbaby something special, but I was out of the color she wanted in the yarn she wanted.

“Ooh, I don’t know.” She fiddled with the strap of her purse. “I did hope to purchase it today.”

“Ma’am, I can honestly say that most stores around here won’t stock this yarn, and if they do, they probably won’t in this color. It’s not one of my regular stocks and we have the biggest selection in the county.”

She nibbled on her bottom lip. “Will it definitely be here on Tuesday?”

“Let me put it into the software real quick for you.” I turned to the laptop and input the order, triple checking the delivery date before I confirmed that it would be here by midday on Tuesday.

After another minute or two of decision-making where I served another customer, she agreed, paid, and left.

I blew out a breath into the empty store. Thank God for that—I needed to have lunch before the class this afternoon.

I flipped the sign on the door to closed and locked it, then headed to the back for my lunch. It didn’t take long to eat, although that might have been because the news I was reading on my phone wasn’t all that appetizing.