thought things were different the last time you came home. I thought that you might’ve caught the bug.”
“The bug?”’
“The homesick bug.”
She was right. I had caught the bug, but there was no way I was going to admit that to her.
“Have you been keeping in touch with Josie?”
“We’ve texted a few times.” It was more like every day but, again, I wasn’t going to mention that to her. Although, knowing my mother, she probably already knew.
“Mia said that you two have been texting quite a lot. Every day in fact.”
“If you already knew the answer, why did you ask?”
“It’s the Dolly Briggs litmus test.”
“The Dolly Briggs litmus test?”
“Yes, I ask questions that I already know the answer to so I can gauge how much of the truth you are telling me.”
Fair enough.
“Your answer revealed that you are trying to downplay your communication with Josie, which means that it’s more than just a friendship.”
“I’m not sure I follow your logic.”
“How often do you talk to Holden?”
“We’ve been texting every day since he got hurt.” He’d been thrown off a bull and seriously injured his back. He’d had three surgeries and had a long road of recovery in front of him.
“Exactly.”
“How does me talking to Holden every day prove anything?”
“It doesn’t. You telling me that you talk every day does. If Josie was just a friend, you would’ve told me that you’d been texting every day. That means that she’s more than just a friend to you.”
I still didn’t see how that proved anything, but I wasn’t about to argue with my mom about it. Especially since she was right. Josie was a lot more than just a friend to me. And it was about damn time that I did something about it.
Chapter 34
Josie
“Darling, marriage is just a contract between two people, the terms of which are always negotiable.”
~ Josephine Grace Clarke
“She’s really in her element.” Mia observed as we both stood in the back of the community center and watched my grandmother hold court.
“Yes. She is.” Even though I’d grown up around her magic, it was still captivating to watch.
We were at the cast and crew screening of What is Love?, but the true star of the night was my grandmother. A crowd of at least thirty people of all ages were gathered around her as she regaled them with stories ranging from the Golden Age of film to Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s Oscar party. Men, women, teens, and children alike were hanging on her every word. She had an anecdote for every demographic.
I turned to Dolly who was standing beside me cuddling her newest granddaughter, Willow Faith, who just so happened to be the prettiest baby I’d ever seen. “Do you think Mr. Briggs is okay?”
When we’d arrived, my grandmother had asked Dolly if she could “borrow” her “handsomely rugged husband” as her escort for the evening. Walker had turned the shade of a ripe tomato. Even his ears were bright red. Dolly had graciously given her blessing, but I wasn’t so sure Walker was on board. Not that he’d had much choice in the matter. My grandmother had taken his arm and started working the room with him as her personal man-candy prop. She was her brightest and shiniest when she was the center of attention. I could not say the same for Mr. Briggs.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen that man blush so much.” Dolly’s bright smile spread from ear to ear.
“I’m so sorry,” I apologized. “I had no idea that she was going to do that.”
“Are you kidding me? This is great! He’s living out his childhood dream,” Dolly cheerily proclaimed.
Looking at Walker’s bright red skin as my grandmother hung onto his forearm, I felt the need to point out, “I feel like he might be embarrassed.”
“Oh, he absolutely is,” Dolly agreed whole heartedly. “But that’s what makes it even more fun!”
Mia and Dolly both chuckled, but I couldn’t help the knot of guilt that had formed in my stomach. I bit my lip as I started to formulate a plan for how to rescue him. It couldn’t be anything that would draw more attention.
Willow Faith started to fuss, and Dolly shushed her as she lifted her to her shoulder and patted her back, assuring me, “Sweetie pie, he’s a big boy. If he’s uncomfortable he is perfectly capable of handling it.”
I nodded and wished, not for the first time, that Dolly was a permanent fixture in my life. She’d been so supportive over these past few months.