Page 59 of Hot Tea & Bird Calls

“Skye’s my girlfriend.” Celene’s glance over was thoughtful, authentic. Skye’s heart pounded, wondering when she’d gained the ability to tell. “I’m enjoying her before telling the family.”

“That’s stupendous. Oh, what a relief!” Briana gasped, her shoulders shooting upwards when Celene glared. “Your parents worry. I can’t help I’m around when they do.”

Skye dredged up the nerve to speak, heat rising that she couldn’t explain. “With me or not, Celene’s been committed to making this house perfect. She manages to marry the old with the new.”

Donovan and Briana’s brows bobbed up. They exchanged nods, grinning.

“Dad should’ve trusted you sooner.” Donovan simulated a punch to Celene’s arm. Celene edged away but smiled. “Maybe he’ll give you a cut when it’s sold. Then, you can live wherever you want.”

The Vales spoke about more—like the new deck plans, Celene’s upcoming counter replacement, and the doe grazing the yard before the girls scared her off. However, Skye couldn’t get Donovan’s statement out of her mind.

‘Live wherever you want.’

They were on borrowed time. Surely, Celene had a future in a location with a bigger population, where their claim to fame wasn’t toasted bread. Celene would move on and never look back.

“Hey.” Celene brought her to the present, frowning. She peeked at the other couple who’d run off to peel the oldest girl off Boob Mountain. “You’re welcome to stay.”

Skye knew she couldn’t hide her disappointment. And it knotted in her chest, smashed at her heart. “I’d rather not. If that’s okay.”

“I understand. I’m furious about the interruption.”

“Don’t be. It’s a great time when Cosmo comes by with his family. You should cherish these moments, too.”

Celene licked her lips, and Skye further mourned not experiencing them. “Can we finish our conversation later?”

“I’ll be prepping for Monday morning at the collective, so…” Skye motioned to where she’d left her bag. “Text me. No pressure, though.”

Clearly unconvinced, Celene loosened her hold anyway. Skye mounted her bike, aware that her evening ahead would be a slog. She’d complete Luce’s tasks, proceed on the Forever Fuchsia, yet every movement would lay heavily on her.

Glancing up at the triangular gable window stickered to deter any other collisions, Skye headed home, wishing her heart could get some decals, too.

15

Exposing one’s relationship status was a double-edged sword, notably to family. Fewer relatives assumed her free time for the taking than as a single woman.

Insipidly insulting. Intentionally or not, it painted her existence as inferior—an old maid who could drop anything, as it couldn’t be as essential as a romantic partner or a child.

Withstanding, she wouldn’t trade places with Donovan. Fiona and Isolde were outspoken and inventive, which bred an intelligent, energeticracket. They woke the house Monday and Tuesday with sing-alongs, jumping jacks, and demands for fruity cereal like human roosters.

Celene picked up a toy every other step, pitching them into a recycling bin repurposed for playtime. She wondered how they’d fit so much stuff in their backpacks. One of them featured the Disney Princesses, and Celene smiled despite herself.

Her nieces, regardless of their expensive toys, used Celene’s collected real estate agent cards as characters in their pretend city, where they’d arranged boxes from the cabinets into buildings. Fiona conned little Isolde into getting all the male agents, and the younger sister finally caught on. An argumentand tantrum ensued. In the meantime, Donovan and Briana tiffed over something sports team-related.

The zen of the Vale house had been disrupted by the Vales. Again. Celene must’ve checked her watchless wrist thirty times.

She snatched the gray cardigan. Her mother confirmed it once belonged to her, so in the spirit of Edna Vale, she escaped on her own, peeling out of the driveway without saying bye.

Intercepting the chaos came her father, whose sentimentality conflicted with progress. On a three-way call with realtor Mavis Dunbar, whose megawatt smile-y magnet card stayed high upon the fridge, out of children’s reach. Byron encouraged Celene to take her time to ‘love on’ the house more. To furnish it in a way he approved of before Mavis could do her fucking job and put it on the market. Theo fussed in the background the whole time.

How could Celene live like this? Especially with surprise sibling guests? It’d historically been a home open for the whole family.

And who stressed Celene out?Family.

Now that the exterior and yard had been spruced up, Elise and Donovan not-so-mysteriously found interest. Celene couldn’t deal.

Twenty minutes later, jingling wind chimes, a Bob Marley track, and two life-size, crystal-studded iguanas greeted Celene’s arrival into Luce’s Mosaic Wonderland. She admired the thousands of hues encompassing them. Seemed nice, like their staff couldn’t be angry for long.

Celene bet this all paled to the colors taking center stage in Skye’s mind. In significant silences, Skye’s gaze floated off to another world, and Celene kind of longed to go, too.