Wrecked (Stories of Serendipity #8): #8 (4 page)

“When did you start watching “Seinfeld?” I thought you hated that show.”

“Can’t find the damn remote.” Joe’s hands were agitated, worrying the hem of his t-shirt, picking at the frayed edges.

Jason gestured to the arm of his chair. “Isn’t that it? Right next to you?”

“Naw… That’s one of those cellular telephones your brother wants me to use. I’ve been trying to call him on it all damned day, but nothing’s happening.”

“That’s because it’s the remote, Dad. Here.” He picked it up and pointed it towards the TV, changing the station to “Wheel of Fortune.”

Turning his attention back to the financials his brother had sent, Jason realized this was going to take more than a week and a half to fix. He’d spent the first part of the week trying to find someone to take care of his dad until he got back on his feet and in an apartment. Now he was going to save his business? To what end? So his dad could go back to his old ways and run it back into the ground?

Jason was afraid of what would happen to Joe’s mental state if he no longer worked with the public every day. The shop got him out of bed every morning, gave him something to do with his life. If he and Jodie shut it down, what would happen to his dad?

For the first time, Jason contemplated moving to Serendipity. What would he do for a living? He could run a graphics business out of his dad’s store, bring in some more income. Would he live with his dad? No. Not in the tiny apartment he’d just rented for him. He could stay in the living quarters above the shop until his dad’s rental agreement ran out, then if things were working out, they could live together somewhere else. By then his dad should be back on his feet, and the store should be profitable.

But what was here for Jason? Friends of his dad’s? Single church ladies? Friday nights at the local honky-tonk?

Jesus. What was he getting himself into?

He decided to table the idea for another week and then make a decision. Jodie might have a different idea.

R
enae hung up the phone, heaving a sigh of relief and mentally crossing one more thing to try off her list. It was Ms. Cochran, telling her she was welcome to continue coming to the quilting circle for fellowship, if she wished, but she wouldn’t be able to work on the church quilt. Mrs. Levi had ripped all of her stitches out after she’d left, and it would probably be easier for all involved if Renae just worked on her own personal sewing projects. Of course, if she needed any help, the ladies would be more than happy to oblige.

Renae didn’t have any hard feelings about it. She could tell her stitches were awful in comparison to the others’ who had years of quilting experience, whereas Renae had hours of it. In fact, she was relieved. She liked the ladies but just couldn’t really relate to them all that much. They had, for the most part, all been married for dozens of years or were recently widowed with long marriages behind them. Renae had been married fifteen years to a total asshole nearly twenty years ago.

So she sat down on her couch and curled her legs underneath her to conquer this crochet thing. She wanted to crochet a scarf for Kelly for Christmas. It would probably take her that long to do it. As she looked at the pictures in the
Crocheting is Easy
book she’d bought herself, she tried to wind the pretty green yarn around her fingers the way the book showed. Then, holding the hook in her hand, she managed to tangle it in the yarn and made a knot straight-aways. Sighing again, she tried once more. This time, she managed to make two chain links, then pulled it too tightly somehow, and got the hook stuck in the yarn. She was pulling out the mess when her phone rang.

“Hey there, sugar-britches. What’s going on?”

“Hi, Les. I’m having an epic battle with a yarn ball. You?”

He chuckled at her, and Renae relaxed from her yarn battle. “I’m playing a gig tonight at the Gin and was calling to invite you out to come watch.”

“You need groupies?”

“Naw… I don’t need groupies, just a friendly face or two. You in?”

She hated to encourage Les. He’d been asking her out for years, but she honestly didn’t feel that way towards him. He was nice looking and a sweet guy, but he was like a brother to her.

“I don’t know. I sort of had plans…”

“Ah Jesus, Renae. Don’t throw me over for knitting needles. Way to make a guy feel like shit.”

“I didn’t mean it like that, and you know it. Besides, it’s crocheting. Not knitting. Big difference. I just wanted to be alone tonight.” Who was she kidding? She didn’t know how to be alone. If the last week had taught her anything, it was that she hated silence, couldn’t sew, didn’t know how to work out, and couldn’t stand the feel of yarn tickling between her fingers.

“You don’t need to be alone tonight. Grab the girls and come out. Better yet, I’ll call them, and they’ll make you come out.”

“You’re probably right, there.” She sighed again, her new signature sound. “Okay, fine. I’ll go. Let me call Alyssa and see if she and Dalton want to come. But this is not a hook-up night for you. You know that, right?”

“Absolutely. I will not put any moves on you. Scout’s honor.”

She knew he lied with every breath he took when it came to swearing he wouldn’t flirt shamelessly with her. She’d never known him not to.

“What time do you want us there?”

“We go on at nine o’clock.”

“See you then.”

That gave Renae a few hours to figure out what to wear. She wasn’t going to try too hard. She was only being supportive to a friend, not trying to hook up. So jeans should work. Renae had plenty of time. She rolled up her yarn ball, put it back in the basket by the couch, and went into the kitchen to make herself a sandwich.

She had finished eating and was cleaning up her mess when her doorbell rang. She answered it to her sister-in-law Alyssa and her friend Claire.

“What’s going on?”

Alyssa held up a bag, and Claire’s arms were full of clothes. A boulder crashed into Renae’s stomach.

“We’re going out tonight, and you’re not wearing jeans,” Alyssa stated simply before pushing past Renae into the living room. “First thing’s first. You go shower and shave your legs. We’ll go through your closet and see if you have anything suitable. If not, we brought some stuff.” Alyssa led the way into Renae’s bedroom where Claire started spreading beauty products out on the bed.

“What are you guys going to do? Dress me?”

“You want to do it? You have to put some effort into it. Otherwise, we’ll take over.”

“I’m not getting all dressed up for Les.”

“Please! Who said anything about Les? There will be other men there, honey, and you’re going to make them all fall at your feet begging for your attention.”

“I don’t want a man’s attention. I want to learn to crochet.”

“What are you? Ninety?” Claire’s voice was laced with disbelief, and Renae rolled her eyes. Hadn’t Dalton said the same exact thing? Maybe she needed to start listening to her friends. Claire and Alyssa were both transplants to Serendipity, but Renae considered them both really good friends, especially since Alyssa had loosened up so much after meeting and marrying Dalton. In fact, aside from Jessie, they were really the only close friends she had.

“No. I want to make Kelly a scarf for Christmas.”

“I’ll buy Kelly a scarf for Christmas. Get your ass in the shower.” Claire slapped Renae on the butt, so she scooted.

Following directions had always been Renae’s forte. She washed her hair and shaved her legs, which was already more than she’d ever done for Les. She couldn’t believe her friends were doing this to her. She had planned on going out. There was no reason for all this hoopla, but they were hard to say no to. It was easier to just go along with them.

When she came out of the bathroom, her hair wrapped in a towel, Claire was holding up a microscopic minidress.

“No. Absolutely not. I will not go out wearing Kelly’s clothes to pick up men.”

Claire’s face fell, and Alyssa held up a pretty white skirt with ruffles on it with a tight red top.

“All right, let me see something…” Renae rummaged around in her closet, until she found a shirt that went with the white skirt, but wasn’t as revealing. “Will this work?” She held it out.

“Try it on. Let’s see.”

She tried on both pieces, and while the top was off the shoulder and a little low, which was why she’d never worn it to work, it looked really good with the skirt, which fell just above her knees but wasn’t too short. She pulled the towel from her hair and shook out the shoulder-length auburn curls. She caught herself getting into the spirit of the evening.

“Okay, who can blow dry this hair and not make it look like I should be housing birds in it?”

Claire jumped at the task, as she had a similar hair type.

“I’ll do your makeup,” Alyssa announced.

They all perched in her bathroom, Renae feeling a little goddess-like, being pampered the way she was. She smiled at the idea of a night out with the girls. When Claire had finished with the blow dryer, she had a curling iron and some sort of gel stuff and was playing with Renae’s waves while Claire spread some sort of lotion all over her face.

“So, how’s life in the fast lane?” Alyssa asked.

“Les has asked me out twice, and by the way tonight is
not
a date. I’ve been kicked out of the quilting circle at church.” She pursed her lips as she thought. “Oh yeah, Mr. O’Niel is in a wheel chair because he broke his foot, and he wants me to meet his son who’s in town. I think that’s about it.”

“Mr. O’Niel is crazy,” Claire declared.

“Shut up. He’s a sweet old coot. His son’s probably cute. Mr. O’Niel isn’t bad for an old fart. Can you imagine what he used to look like?” Alyssa blew on the brush she had just loaded up with blush. “Suck in your cheeks for me.”

“When are you going to take off your wedding ring?” Claire’s eyes were glued to the simple gold band that Renae had been wearing half her life.

“I don’t know. Do you think I should?” Renae twisted it, without realizing what she was doing.

“Are you still loyal to the unfaithful scumbag who robbed your daughter of a life with a dad?” Alyssa asked.

“Wow. Way to put it bluntly, ‘Lyssa.” She didn’t even know the half of it.

“I’m just saying. I wasn’t around when it all happened, but Dalton’s told me. And you’ve been a wonderful role model to your daughter. I hope I can be like that with my own kids. But you’ve done enough for that man’s memory. It’s time to make some of your own. That’s all I’m going to say on the topic.”

Renae was silent for a while, while the girls made her up. It was true. She hadn’t ever told Kelly the entire story of how her father died — in a drunk driving accident where he was the drunk driver. She just never had found the words to say. She preferred for Kelly to think of her father as someone who she could love and respect, not the asshole he really was. Renae hadn’t found out until two days after the accident there had been another woman in the car when he’d died. Somehow, in the fog of grief, she had missed that detail. Kelly was two when her dad died, and Renae didn’t see the need to share all that with her. She would someday.

Alyssa was right, though. She was living for herself now. She didn’t need to play the part of the grieving widow anymore. She was learning to live by herself, so she needed to take off the ring.

Slowly, she slipped the slim band of gold off her finger, a white indentation on the finger marking the spot.

“It feels funny.” She rubbed where the band went.

“You’ll get used to it. I’m sure everything feels funny to you right now. When’s the last time you got dressed up and went out for a night of fun?”

“I can’t remember?” Probably her senior prom, but she wasn’t going to admit that. She’d been out with the girls a time or two when they had girls’ night out, but she’d never really gotten dressed up for it.

“Well, tonight will definitely be a night to remember, Renae Stanford. You look hot!”

Renae looked at herself in the mirror. She did look hot. The thought that she’d taken off her wedding ring was leaving a funny taste in her mouth. She’d worn it for more than half her life, even if continuing to wear it after Cody’s death had felt farcical at times.

“Thanks guys. I do look good. What are y’all going to wear?” They looked at each other and smiled.

“We’re dressed!” Claire’s eyes gleamed with mischief. Renae looked at their jeans with disapproval.

“No. I’ll look so overdressed next to you guys in this. Y’all have to change!”

“Nope. We’re picking up Dalton and Max. They get all freaky jealous if we get too dressed up in public. Maybe Jessie dressed up for you, but probably not. You’re going to shine tonight. We don’t want to eclipse you with our awesomeness.” Claire was teasing, and Renae hugged her friend.

“You guys’ awesomeness could never be eclipsed. Thanks. I’m feeling better.”

“Just remember that when you’re holding my hair later. Come on, I’m ready to get my drink on,” Alyssa declared before leading the women out the door to Renae’s minivan, the only vehicle that would fit everybody.