pop open.
“Wow, Amber, you’re aunt’s a little party girl,” Sally says.
“Oh my God.” I groan. “Let’s go.” I shake my head, a smile spreads over my lips. Yeah, she’s pretty cool.
The elevator carries us to the lobby. Walking across it, Sally leads the way chatting up my aunt. I don’t know why I would think she would go for an understated outfit. In cutoffs and boots, her breasts strain to stay in her white t-shirt. Complete with a straw cowboy hat, her blond hair tied into a braid down her back.
The driver opens the door, and we climb in. Sally checks out the bar in the car and pours us some whiskey. She hands me a tumbler. “Hair of the dog, honey. You should stick with whiskey tonight anyway.”
“So, what’s the name of the band we’re hearing tonight?”
Sally glances at Aunt Patty saying, “My friend sends me these invites when they play. I think their name is Route Forty Band. They haven’t played in a while, but they’re good. I hope y’all like ‘em.”
With a broad smile, Aunt Patty’s eyes are lit with strange excitement. She looks much younger than her age. I think Sally did her makeup, too. She doesn’t wear much usually, but Sally has managed to play up her pretty sea green eyes and high cheekbones. I guess someone is planning on getting lucky tonight. I grimace at the thought. Glancing at her again, I smile at her excitement. She looks so happy. Her pretty face beams and has been kissed by the sun. I bet she’ll have to beat them off with a stick tonight.
“I’m sure we will, honey.” Turning to Sally, she asks, “Is the restaurant much further? I’m starving.”
“It’s only about fifteen minutes up Mopac. We should be there soon depending on traffic. So, Patty, what do you do for a living?” Sally says.
“I work in a finance department at American Greetings.” Aunt Patty plays with her skirt with her hands. “I’ve been with them for almost fifteen years. I started as an accounting clerk and worked my way up to an accountant.”
“That’s great. I know you’re single, obviously. Have you ever been married?” Sally asks.
I cringe at the question and wait for Aunt Patty’s explanation of what happened between her and my uncle. I never knew the guy really. Aunt Patty and he were divorced when I was three.
“Yes, I was married for three years to a guy who I thought was a nice guy. We had been friends for a while and we got along well. He wasn’t the love of my life, but he was a nice man.” Her sweet smile never touches her eyes as she continues, “When my mom kicked me out, I floundered for a while trying to get a job. I didn’t want to stay in Chicago so I moved to Cleveland. I had a girlfriend there, and she told me I could live with her until I got on my feet. Cleveland was fine. Hell, anywhere would have been fine as long as it wasn’t Chicago.” Her voice hardens as she looks out the limo window.
Sally’s eyes shine with a kindness that surprises me. She squeezes her hand. “That must have been hard. I can’t imagine.”
Aunt Patty’s face relaxes and she smiles at Sally. “Thanks. You know you girls remind me a lot of Marion and me,” she says looking between us, a new awareness passes over her face. “When I met her in boarding school, we were instant friends. She’s still a close friend, and I’m thankful every day that she let me stay with her.” She sighs and perks up with a smile, taking a sip of her drink. “Anyway, when I moved there I found a job as an accounting clerk in a manufacturing company, and that’s where I met Larry. He worked in manufacturing as a technician. We dated, got married, and bought a house.”
“What went wrong?” Sally asks. I shoot her a warning glance, but in typical Sally-fashion, she asks, “What?” A look of compete confusion on her face.
“It’s ok, Amber,” my aunt says with a worried glance. Taking a deep breath, she says, “I caught him in bed with my co-worker. I kicked him out, and we divorced. I was hurt, but all-in-all it was an amicable split. We weren’t in love. We had fun together, got along well, and the sex was great. Unfortunately, that wasn’t a good enough reason to get married. It was one of those, get