Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 64337 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 257(@250wpm)___ 214(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64337 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 257(@250wpm)___ 214(@300wpm)
I hum sympathetically. “Poor thing. Being expected to stay up past ten o’clock at the doddering old age of twenty-three? That’s awful.”
“It is awful,” she says, but there’s laughter in her voice as she adds, “I have to get out of this house and away from Mom’s crack-of-dawn exercise fetish before I become even more lame than I am already. I’m going to see if I can find a sublet or something short term to rent until I find out where I’m going to be working. Then I’ll worry about explaining my move to Mom and Dad if I find something.”
“Sounds smart,” I say. “I’ll keep my ear to the ground and let you know if I hear of anyone who’s looking for a roommate.”
“Thank you,” she says.
“You’re welcome, and you can repay me by calling your friend Lilac and asking who’s going on her Golden Spire climbing tour this week, the one that’s thirty percent off. I don’t start at the tattoo studio until next Wednesday and the good weather is supposed to hold for a while. I’d be interested in joining the fun as long as there aren’t any Craigs or Petes on her list.”
Wendy Ann laughs. “Craigs or Petes? Why Craigs or Petes? There are way worse names. Chad, for example. Brad and Thad are also bad.”
“Agreed, but it’s not about the name in general. It’s about a particular Craig and Pete who run in the rock-climbing circles around here. They never shut up. It’s just a constant, stream-of-consciousness chat fest. And when they’re not talking, they’re blasting 90’s bro rock on their portable speaker. The one and only time I did a climb with them, I wanted to stab my ears out.”
“Ah, gotcha,” Wendy Ann says. “I’ll shoot her a text and ask. Do you want me to have her save you a spot if Craig and Pete aren’t on the list?”
“Yes, please, that would be great,” I say. “Would you want to come, too? I know you don’t have a lot of experience with climbing, but I could help you. This climb isn’t supposed to be that hard. It’s famous for the views and the hot springs along the way, not the difficulty.”
“Thanks, but no,” she says. “I’m still sore from carrying flowers up to the tent on Saturday.”
“You only carried four arrangements. And they were the small ones.”
“Exactly. Grad school wasn’t great for my physical fitness. The brain is strong, but the muscles are weak.” Her voice brightens as she adds, “But I think you’ll have a great time. Let me touch base with Lilac and get back to you.”
“Okay, thanks,” I say, smiling at Mr. Prickles, who seems pleased by this development as well.
Or maybe he’s just enjoying the sunshine.
“You’re welcome and…Binx?”
“Yeah?” I ask, my ears perking up at her tone. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, everything’s good. I mean, mostly good. I just…I love you. You know that, right? And that I’m always on your side no matter what?”
Touched, I say, “Yes, weirdo. And same. Oh! If I land a spot on the trip, why don’t you come stay at my place while I’m gone? You can get some time away from Mom and Dad, and I know Mr. Prickles would appreciate the company.”
She laughs. “Your pet cactus? Is he still alive?”
“Alive and kickin.’ Or pricklin’, as he likes to say, and he really does enjoy company around the house, so you’d be most welcome.”
She snorts. “And you call me a weirdo. Have a good day. I’ll get back to you as soon as I hear from Lilac. Oh, and don’t be late to the shower. They only rented out the bar for two hours, so they want everyone there on time tonight.”
I blink faster, sputtering as I hurry to catch her before she hangs up, “Wait, what? What shower? Tatum isn’t due for months. And we already had a shower for Phoebe. Do we have to do one for every baby? Because I think that’s going to get excessive. Drew and Tatum like raw dogging way too much.”
“Ew. Why do you always find the grossest way to talk about sex?”
I grin. “I do not. I could have said something way grosser. You want to hear?”
“No,” she says quickly. “And it’s not a baby shower. It’s for Starling and Christian.” She pauses, adding when I respond with confused silence. “Their combo wedding shower and bachelor/bachelorette party? The one they’ve been planning for months?”
I frown harder. “What? This is the first I’m hearing about any of this.”
“No, it isn’t. You said you would bring Jello shots.”
I sit up straighter, my stomach sinking as this begins to sound familiar. “Oh no. Was this discussed on poker night back in July?”
“Yes, the one where you took Christian for two hundred bucks and Starling had a fit because the deposit for the bar was due the next day, and they’d just dropped a bunch of money on the wedding venue, too.”