Q & A with Nico and Amy

 

Is there anything you don't know about each other that you want to talk about?

NICO: [he laughs and shakes his head, no] I already know she has a boyfriend. Besides, I know I'm really not her type.

AMY: Things have been different since [she presses her lips as if she'd rather not say] since Eli's been so......I had no idea he'd be this way about...my best friend Junie. I mean, I didn't know. [She looks as if this is all Eli's fault, not hers. She hugs herself] Maybe..maybe our love had... an expiration date.

NICO: Now don't you go blaming him, I think it was over a long time ago, and you just didn't want to face it. You didn't think you'd meet anyone. That's it. Yeah, it's expired all right. 

AMY: I dunno. [she looks as if he might cry, but she doesn't.] I know he means well, but we just don't have the connection. [she sighs and looks at Nico.] We were good, but it didn't happen overnight, you know..with Eli. Not really. We've known each other since, middle school. I wanted to believe he was the one, but it took work. We had this goodbye thing that we both waited for at the end of the date. It's not like we...we ever did it. Sex. You know. But I've just gotten used to how it is. At the end. Kissing. At first it was so new, and later it got old. I guess. I don't mean for it to end this way. But he knows it too. I know he does.

NICO: Don't you think it'll be that way with us, too? [He looks at her out of the corner of his eye as if she might have been using him for an excuse].

AMY: [Shakes her head no.]

NICO: You don't really know me. [He stares at her hard] I don't look like your family's type. Besides, I like to buck dance.

AMY: [She looks at  him as if he's talking about a strange sex life, perhaps].

NICO: [laughs and points his finger at her] I knew I'd get you on that one. I come from a whole different world. A world where everyone wants to be the same, and they'll go out of their way and make life hell for you until you realise you are the same. And then you're stuck. [He's straight-lipped yet a little sad] You don't want to go out of your way to be any better. They call it unity, but the truth is they want to drag you down as far as they can. And if you don't, well, they'll kill you. 

AMY: What's Buck Dancing?

NICO: [shakes with laughter] I thought you'd never ask. [He grins from ear to ear] My grandma used to play the fiddle, and she knew an awful lot about the Tennessee walk. It's not exactly tap dancing, but you gotta keep up with the music. It's not that I've ever been in a competition, but sometimes when I got nothing to do, I remember. Maybe I do the soft shoe for her, or maybe it's just for me.

I beg your pardon I never promised you a rose garden

 

Carol had heard enough out of Tyra wanting her to retire. She couldn't. Not right now. Especially, with the husband home.

No way did she want to let her daughters know how hard it was getting used to this truckdriver at home.  They might as well have been in quiet divorce mode. Now this didn't mean they'd actually get a divorce. They were cheap, and she did need his insurance even if she was already on Medicare. She needed to work to pay for it. Besides, they were nice to each other, even if she was very tired of his jokes that were never funny to begin with.

"Things are fine at the coffee shop." Wasn't like she was there every day, but if she wasn't a cashier, she was mending ways with the cook and his girl (who was supposed to be the manager while Millie was having morning sickness). But even the manager needed a day or two away from the Coffee Shop.

"We're just lucky your sister is going to give us a grandchild." Carol let slip. She didn't mean to put Tyra down, but she felt the girl was a little selfish. Deep down, it was a dream that Tyra and her significant other would start a family, but she knew it wouldn't happen, even in those dreams where she imagined having a baby for them.

Why was it that she was always having to take care of the baby in those dreams? Hell if she knew what these dreams meant.

Carol didn't apologize to Tyra. She meant to, but she couldn't. It felt to her these days she was being treated like the misled teenager, and Tyra was her overbearing mother. Still, the conversation kept her up at night. Tyra came back with nothing, and the flowers she had given her for Mother's Day were dying in the kitchen. It would have been nice to have gotten a gift card from Amazon or even Walmart, but she'd never suggest it.

Perhaps she was the worst mother. She couldn't think of their good times at the moment. She felt she was slumming in this old house that she knew he'd never think of leaving. He had too much junk that he couldn't live without. After a while, Carol had made it a competition. She got her own stuffies. Even rescued a few from thrifting. There was a whole room of them now. She took over Millie's room before her husband could.

What was Tyra expecting if she retired? Bedazzling her wardrobe.

And when Spring gets to me

 "God, when is this going to stop!" Nico threw the wet dish towel into the steel sink. He was tired of all these questions from CW. Wasn't it enough that he still worked the weekends at the coffee shop? He was there for the Mother's Day Special. So was Amy.

"Something is going on with you two," CW pointed a finger at him, as it were just the two of them cleaning the kitchen after the place closed. "I just know it."

Nico rolled his eyes at him. They weren't even fussing. They were giving each other the silent treatment. It was perhaps a truce. It had to be this way, or....

He kept a straight lip that posed a grim frown. At least, he was still in the building. He hadn't gone anywhere. He worked at Joe's mechanic's place during the week. He'd shown he was good at the simple tasks, like changing oil and filters.

"Just shut up," Nico was tired of CW, accusing him of liking Amy. "She's a kid with a smart mouth, that's all." Besides, he wasn't one to be smitten. He'd learned the hard way to just be alone. Always. He gritted, turning away from CW.

"No, no, you two are trouble, I just know it." CW shook his head and went back to wiping down the stove to get ready for tomorrow. 

Nico went numb, stopping himself from going back to when it happened. The kiss. He sighed, thinking he'd grown accustomed to being a crusty old fart that was immune to such a thing. Obviously, that was not true. 

Yes, they were putting each other down at closing time, not so long ago. CW left early for some reason, while Nico was left on his own. He tried to get stuff done, but Amy popped him on the arse with a dish towel. That was like a wake-up call, evidently. Before he knew it they were playing around all giddy and silly. Maybe it was the laughter that got to him. When they fell into each other, their lips touched with a burst of laughter, and yet to make it better, they kissed again as if they might be perfect for the dance. And they were.

Now it made him want to squeeze his eyes shut. Neither had admitted to defeat. It was silent now. Just where it should be. Couldn't CW understand this? It wasn't like he was that much older than her, but old enough to know better.

Happy Mother's Day Weekend 💗

 

Kat was in total shock when her dad handed her the debit card. Was this for real? She knew Gavin had one, and so did her cousin, but they were older, and she knew she didn't have a real job yet, just babysitting.

"Now think of it more of a gift card than a debit card," he practically winked. "I know it's a long time coming, but you deserve something, taking care of your sister like you do."

She nodded. She knew he wouldn't have given it to her if her older sibling hadn't gotten on at the nearby grocery store. She looked at it as if it might be a gold card.

"I know you want to get your mother and your grandmothers something for Mother's Day." Her dad grinned as if he knew her well.

"Um, we've been crocheting dishcloths." She'd managed a couple, even if they were lopsided, and her little sister was still working on making a big ball of chain that might make the perfect present for Grandy's cat (Her father's mother). She'd planned to find something nice at Dollar Tree for her Mom and some soap from her grandmothers. Kat knew they expected practical gifts. She knew no one wanted a candle because it gave Grandy headaches and Grand Betty said candles caused fires.

Kat had been laid down the law about gift giving by the two of them. They both said they loved homemade gifts best and most of all, handmade Mother's Day cards. But her mother was a different story. She was still pushing everyone away, wanting to be alone most of the time. Just when Kat thought things might be back to normal during the holidays, they weren't. Her mom might give them a squeeze, but she generally ended up crying. And then they would end up crying (Kat and her sister, while her brother stayed stoic). Kat didn't like it. Still, she wanted them to spend time together. At the moment, she found herself getting the sniffles thinking about it. All they knew was that she was sick.

But now, she was alone with her dad in the kitchen at home. "Now, I know you think your mother has cancer." Her dad said out of the blue. He never said anything about her anymore. For a while, she thought her mom was moving back in, but that only lasted a weekend. They were divorced. "She is sick, but it's not cancer."

Kat sighed. She pressed her lips tight. She didn't think she could be wrong about this, but if this is what she wanted, then she'd pretend.

"She's bipolar."

For a second, she thought he was talking about sex. She looked at him, stunned. 

"You know what that is? Right?"

Kat shrugged.

"At first, it was just manic depressive. Like she'd be happy, but then she wasn't. She got us into debt. She would spend money we didn't have." Her father admitted. "And, and I wasn't sure how she might act around all of you."

Kat winced. She grew up knowing her mother was high-strung. But usually she just yelled at Dad. 

Kat licked her dry bottom lip. Maybe that was why she was on edge even if she'd grown accustomed to the drama.

"Your mom is having a hard time finding a job right now." Her dad told her this was why she was staying at Grand Betty's.

Kat sucked in a breath.

"It comes and goes." Her dad left it at that. But his words made her sad. She raked the back of her hand across her hot tears. Gavin would be here any moment. They were going with her cousin to find Mother's Day gifts.