Page 39 of Pretty Poison

“Let’s show her how much we love her,” Daisy said. “I want Marla to know the community she loves so much will honor her every single day. I can’t think of a better gift.”

Neither could Rocky. “What did you have in mind?”

“A drag show at The Dive Bar, of course,” Daisy replied. “A night of endless tributes fit for the queen of all queens.”

“Sounds amazing,” Felix said.

Jonah laughed. “This reminds me of one of her favorite episodes ofThe Golden Girls. Do you remember the one where Sophia decides she wants her memorial while she’s still alive so she can hear the nice things people have to say about her?”

“But Rose sent out the invitations without including the tidbit that Sophia was still alive,” Felix replied.

“And they all arrived thinking Sophia had passed away and got pissed off when they found out she was there,” Rocky added.

The four of them shared a laugh before the reality of their situation sobered them.

“We’ll do better than Rose,” Daisy assured them.

“Do we make it a surprise party?” Felix asked.

“Nah,” Jonah said. “She’d want her family there. Amos goes to Atlanta and picks her folks up every other weekend so Marla can spend time with them. I suspect he’ll start picking them up every weekend before much longer.”

“Marla would be really pissed if we sprung a party on her and she wasn’t dressed appropriately,” Felix added.

“When isn’t she dressed appropriately?” Rocky countered.

“True,” Felix agreed, “but I think Marla would love the buildup to her party.”

“That we can all agree on,” Daisy said. “Let me start throwing some ideas together with the girls, and I’ll be in touch.” She kissed Felix since he was close and blew air kisses to Jonah and Rocky before sliding out of the booth. She snatched the bill from the table. “This one’s on me. Just take good care of Renee.”

“Of course,” Rocky said, reaching for his wallet. He dropped his last twenty-dollar bill on the table, which meant he’d have to stop at an ATM to get money to pay off his debt to Queen Bea.

Jonah and Felix each contributed to the tip, then they slid from the booth and exited the diner. On the sidewalk, the three men hugged before setting off for their vehicles. Rocky felt lighter for having spent time with them, even if part of it was spent bickering and another chunk was dedicated to planning a life celebration for someone they didn’t want to lose.

His friends had given him a purpose to live when he needed it the most and kept him grounded when he felt as if he were drifting away. Rocky’s overactive brain spewed out an endless spiral of thoughts about how delicate and precarious life was. He was so tired of constantly being afraid of fucking up or losing the people he loved or even living.

It was no way to exist.

What happened if Rocky confronted the fear head-on and laughed in its face? What if he mentally slammed on the brakes every time his mind pointed out all the bad things he’d witnessed and replaced it with something beautiful? How much better off would Rocky be if he swapped out what might’ve been with what could be? It sounded simple enough, but he knew damn well it required a herculean effort to shift those negative thoughts on some days.

Rocky’s cell phone rang, startling him from his daydream in the diner parking lot. He glanced at the caller ID and saw it was Peter calling. “Hey, partner,” Rocky said. “What’s up?”

“Shelly’s water broke, and I’m driving her to the hospital,” Peter said calmly, even though Rocky knew how excited he was to meet their first child.

“Already?” Rocky asked. He didn’t know the mortality rate for expectant mothers, but after losing his own at birth, he knew that losing one was too many.

“Already?” Shelly asked. Peter had either called him on speakerphone or Rocky had yelled really loud. “It’s been thirty-eight weeks.”

“But who’s counting, right?” Rocky teased.

“I am,” Shelly growled.

“We knew this was a possibility, so I’ve updated the notes on all my current cases,” Peter said.

“Wait, you’re not just dropping her off and coming to the office for a few hours?” Rocky asked.

Shelly laughed. “I’d kick his ass from here to Seattle.”

“Okay, fine,” Rocky said. “I’ll head to the office now and look through your notes and juggle my schedule around. You’ll be back to work tomorrow, right?”