idea?”
“Probably not, but I overheard Daddy talking to Mom about putting her in the hospice, so I am guessing the cancer is back, and that it’s bad,” I told her, my voice soft.
“Ouch, I’m sorry, hon; want me to come out when you show up?”
“Can I head there first? I have a lot to fill you in on,” I gushed, and got all warm thinking about taking the brothers, one at a time. Technically I took both at once for about twenty seconds, but that didn’t count, really.
“Yeah, just give me a call. I’m going be working at the casino the next couple of nights, anyways,”
“Tips still going good?”
“Yeah, it’s Vegas; I just try to get drinks for all the high rollers. I had a guy drop two thousand in chips on me last night for a tip. He was so drunk I don’t think he realized it, but with the pile of chips he had, nobody flinched,” she told me, her voice full of pride.
“Wow, that’s awesome!”
“Yeah, and tonight I’m going to the club I told you about,” she said, and I could tell, even without seeing her, that she had a Cheshire cat grin on her face.
“Well, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” I teased and she just laughed at that. If she only knew.
“Oh, I don’t know, I think I’m going to be doing things I wouldn’t do. I’ve sort of changed, and how do you say it, broadened my horizons? Became less inhibited?”
“You were never inhibited.”
“Now I’m an outright slut,” she told me with a chuckle.
“You’re not the only one,” I quipped and the words were out before I could take them back.
“Wait, you finally went through with it? Who was it? Was it any good?” she started gushing.
“They were great, and I’ll tell you about it when I drive over there,”
“They, they, as in plural? Was it a husband and a wife? Two girls? Oh my God, Caroline, there’s no fucking way. You’re pulling my leg, right? Spill it, girl!”
I was laughing, and I figured that somehow she knew I wasn’t pulling her leg, and so I cut off any conversation of who, what, when, where, and how, promising to tell her everything in a few days. I hung up the phone with her still prying me for details, and I had my first long loud laugh since the boys had left for the Gulf.
I was intrigued by this club she kept cryptically mentioning, and if going there made my slutty friend feel even more like a slut, well, it was something that sounded interesting. She’d have to tell me all about it before I filled her in on Derek and Daniel, I promised myself. I was growing up, I realized. I’d had my first fling, and I loved it, and was already looking forward to my next.
Falling in love and getting married wasn’t anything that was on my radar, though. I’d decided this week that I’d go back, try to mend things with my mother, and go to graduate school. I had a lot of forms to start filling out, and being a cocktail waitress in Vegas pays well, but not well enough, so I had student loan paperwork to complete as well.
I was going to spend a couple of days at the Grand Canyon, but after doing it again for the twentieth time or so, I decided to spend the second day packing up and getting ready to go back. I had a couple of phone calls to make, though, before I just showed back up.
I debated calling the house phone, but decided to call Daddy’s cell instead.
“Hey, little girl, I was hoping you’d call someday,” he told me, and for once I could tell he genuinely meant it.
“I miss you guys too; how is Mom doing?”
“That’s part of why I wanted to talk to you, hon, they say the cancer is back.”
“I kind of thought so. How bad is it this time?”
“Getting the doctor to give you a straight answer is like the weatherman being accurate; they always talk about percentages, then hedge it with ‘what if’s,’ as if that helps
“Probably not, but I overheard Daddy talking to Mom about putting her in the hospice, so I am guessing the cancer is back, and that it’s bad,” I told her, my voice soft.
“Ouch, I’m sorry, hon; want me to come out when you show up?”
“Can I head there first? I have a lot to fill you in on,” I gushed, and got all warm thinking about taking the brothers, one at a time. Technically I took both at once for about twenty seconds, but that didn’t count, really.
“Yeah, just give me a call. I’m going be working at the casino the next couple of nights, anyways,”
“Tips still going good?”
“Yeah, it’s Vegas; I just try to get drinks for all the high rollers. I had a guy drop two thousand in chips on me last night for a tip. He was so drunk I don’t think he realized it, but with the pile of chips he had, nobody flinched,” she told me, her voice full of pride.
“Wow, that’s awesome!”
“Yeah, and tonight I’m going to the club I told you about,” she said, and I could tell, even without seeing her, that she had a Cheshire cat grin on her face.
“Well, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” I teased and she just laughed at that. If she only knew.
“Oh, I don’t know, I think I’m going to be doing things I wouldn’t do. I’ve sort of changed, and how do you say it, broadened my horizons? Became less inhibited?”
“You were never inhibited.”
“Now I’m an outright slut,” she told me with a chuckle.
“You’re not the only one,” I quipped and the words were out before I could take them back.
“Wait, you finally went through with it? Who was it? Was it any good?” she started gushing.
“They were great, and I’ll tell you about it when I drive over there,”
“They, they, as in plural? Was it a husband and a wife? Two girls? Oh my God, Caroline, there’s no fucking way. You’re pulling my leg, right? Spill it, girl!”
I was laughing, and I figured that somehow she knew I wasn’t pulling her leg, and so I cut off any conversation of who, what, when, where, and how, promising to tell her everything in a few days. I hung up the phone with her still prying me for details, and I had my first long loud laugh since the boys had left for the Gulf.
I was intrigued by this club she kept cryptically mentioning, and if going there made my slutty friend feel even more like a slut, well, it was something that sounded interesting. She’d have to tell me all about it before I filled her in on Derek and Daniel, I promised myself. I was growing up, I realized. I’d had my first fling, and I loved it, and was already looking forward to my next.
Falling in love and getting married wasn’t anything that was on my radar, though. I’d decided this week that I’d go back, try to mend things with my mother, and go to graduate school. I had a lot of forms to start filling out, and being a cocktail waitress in Vegas pays well, but not well enough, so I had student loan paperwork to complete as well.
I was going to spend a couple of days at the Grand Canyon, but after doing it again for the twentieth time or so, I decided to spend the second day packing up and getting ready to go back. I had a couple of phone calls to make, though, before I just showed back up.
I debated calling the house phone, but decided to call Daddy’s cell instead.
“Hey, little girl, I was hoping you’d call someday,” he told me, and for once I could tell he genuinely meant it.
“I miss you guys too; how is Mom doing?”
“That’s part of why I wanted to talk to you, hon, they say the cancer is back.”
“I kind of thought so. How bad is it this time?”
“Getting the doctor to give you a straight answer is like the weatherman being accurate; they always talk about percentages, then hedge it with ‘what if’s,’ as if that helps
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