That Morning

"You know that one-week vacation you have threatened me with? I'm taking it. With love, Tari." Carly reads off my two am text message to her for the fifth time.

I mindlessly reach my hand out for the orange and try not to make eye contact with Carly.

"We bought oranges at the farmers' market," says Eve. The Camera from today's film day in her hand. I drop the orange onto the pyramid. Eve's always on the hunt for color shots for the video. Jo-lee with spices in hand rejoins our little group in the fresh produce section. Today's episode is about pickled oranges and onions. At first, I thought it sounded gross, but it's for salads. And as always, Carly was right, just like when we were kids. When it comes to food, no one beats Carly, but she's a second-best for Jo-Lee whose specialty is more hard candies. Jo-Lee came much later in our lives when she moved here for her YouTube channel. Carts pass by, loaded to the brim with bulk items.

"Sooooooooooo?" Carly asks again, drawing out the ooo as long as humanly possible.

"I had some vacation time, I used it. I enjoyed myself." I broke my pussy, then got on and rode some more. A secret smile I should have kept off my face crept up on me.

"What's that smile?" Jo-Lee the ever perceptive asks.

"Something's changed," Eve states, and knows me all too well.

"Give," Carly chimes in.

"I'm in a thing," I say

"That's a little too Cryptic. Is this the fireman, Mr. Black Kryptonite?" Eve asks.

"No," says Jo-Lee. She already sucked me dry of info from the crash and burn date. Eve's head tilts, and she peers at me.

"It's Noah," Eve says in a gasp. "Dood, no way!" Eve has been more like a little sister to me then cousin and the woman can read me. It's annoying, but growing up with her and her uncle after my father died makes her have an inside view of me. The look on the other woman's faces was blank. As if they were running through contact lists, searching for a different Noah. Not the 6'9 massive man who would pass for a wrestler more than an artist.

"Nooo?" Carly whispers, leaning over into the oranges. I don't answer her. I will not get pulled into a convo about sex with Noah in the middle of Costco.

"She did," Jo-Lee gives that confirmed sound in the back of her throat. Like a cat that is midway through the cheese. I've rarely made Jo-Lee proud, but she gave me that. Oh, you did it girl expression. Her fair skin turns red. "Was it good?"

"Weren't we supposed to do some YouTube work?" I blurt.

"We recorded most of it at the Farmers Market," Eve replied while walking away. While I was with the movers for Noah's Crocker Art Museum exhibit, the distraction tactic failed. She went to another aisle, then disappeared down it. Eve returns shortly with a big Costco bulk buy of condoms. I shake my head at her.

"Was he any good?" Jo-Lee asked. Eve, ever the observant one, tilts her head at me.

"What's wrong with him?" Eve inquired. I didn't realize my expression had changed, but it must have.

"How can something be wrong with him?" Carly perplexed, in full optimistic mode. Carly always believes in love. She didn't like my Ex, but she tells me that love comes in a lot of forms. Carly isn't about living that judgmental lifestyle, she's about that love. The person he was when we were younger isn't the person who cheated on me. It was simply the man he became, and that moment of cheating on me isn't the whole of his existence. Life changes everyone, and Theo has his moments. He is a man who guards the things he cares about any way he can and that leads him down paths he shouldn't go. When Carly expressed that to me, it gave me something to think about. It also reminded me Carly is deep down always going to be team love.

I am so uncomfortable talking about this. "He's different and I need to be careful." I tried to leave it at that. We're so deep in each other's business sometimes. If it's Carly's wild child ideas to build a restaurant, that's slowly starting to work out. Jo-Lee and her daughter are having issues getting along because of her family back in Georgia. Or my cousin and the perpetual mischievousness that leads her down the troll path too often. We are so deep in our back pockets it can get agonizingly personal. It's not something I can organize and color-code away.

"You're ok though, right?" Carly whispers. The worry in her voice is palatable. She gathers me in for a big hug. Jo-Lee and Eve join us in the hug.

"I'm good. I just got a lot of surprises, and I am not sure how to deal with it. He doesn't talk much and I don't know what kind of relationship I'm in." With us all together it's that home smell of mixing warmth, freshly baked bread with a hint of cocoa butter.

Jo-Lee sighs. "Sometimes, you can't define everything. Marty, may he rest in peace." Her husband died in Iraq on his 6th tour. "He did right by me when he knocked me up. He did right by Bonabell. And maybe it wasn't hearts, kisses, and I love you. He was good to us all the same." Her thick southern accent found a way for the pain to stretch out the words even more. "But sometimes you need to take men where they are at, if they are good for you. I know I said differently for Theo, but you weren't pregnant. Not making tough choices to take care of a child. You had options, but you wanted to rush in. You wanted to rush past the exploration of your youth, and that was coming from a place of fear. Not the fear of raising a child by yourself, but just plain fear. You were too young for that. The move to that house has been the happiest I've seen you in a long time"

Jo-Lee chortled, "plus the view is one hell of a view." We laugh with her. Shoppers pass us by the group hug, but sometimes you just don't want to let go. "It's not like he was bad, or didn't treat you right, or is a VIRGIN." I make a completely involuntary hiss sound at the VIRGIN word.

Jo-Lee's head comes up like a dog hearing prey. Eve says, "No, way. Way to go, Mrs. Robinson deflowering virgins." We back out of the hug. An orange rolls off the top of the oranges and almost hits the ground. Jo-Lee catches midway and adds a few to the cart after all.

Jo-Lee goes in for the kill. She grabs a large banana. "So?" Jo-Lee waves the banana suggestively at me.

"What are you, fifteen?" I chirped at Jo-Lee.

"I think it's a little too small," Eve says with a big handful of condoms. She sets the bulk condom box on top of the oranges and reaches back for a monster of a hothouse cucumber. She joins the giggle fit.

Every single one of my traitorous friends picks up a large cucumber. Each one is heavier than the next. They hum the bars of "Mrs. Robinson" by Simon and Garfunkel into the cucumber mics. I grasp the shopping cart in a death grip and head for check out. Crazy women. Oh, now they got dance moves too. Little mashed potatoes, dance moves, followed by the twist and pony. I love the joy my sex life brings them, but it's fucking embarrassing. I fight my smile and lose against my crazy friends.

The check-out lady, the same one I bought all that damn toilet paper last time. How did I get the same checkout lady again? How! Why is it always this woman!

Eve reaches over and drops the huge sex-fest size box of condoms on the conveyor belt.

Beep.

Oranges.

Beep.

Spices.

Beep.

Magnum XL.

Eve leans over. "Magnum XL is the biggest size, I had a feeling Neptune might be girthy. Kamehameha!"

My eyes glance at the name badge. "Thank you, for ringing me up, Jada."

"No, thank you." Jada gives me a lusty wink. I'm mortified.

Each one of my hoe friends bought their cucumbers to go.

Beep, Beep, Beep.

"Hoes," I laugh.

~

A/n thanks for reading another post in 5 days. Triple fast post week last one.