Nancy letsus in the house—Benny decided to come, too—and I’m immediately concerned. Her skin is pale and chalky, and her movements are lacking the spunk I’m used to.
“How are you feeling?” I ask.
“Been better. You really didn’t need to come.”
“If you’re going to insist on hosting, we’re helping,” Colby says. “I know you’ll scrub the house if we don’t, anyway.”
Nancy has no response to this.
Benny kisses her cheek. “Go put your feet up. We’ve got this.”
Colby starts for the hallway. “I’ve got bathrooms.”
“Kitchen,” Benny says.
“Where’s the vacuum?” I ask.
Nancy shakes her head. “No, you just come and keep me company.”
“I’d love to…after I vacuum.”
Nancy didn’t like that. She watched me with a deep groove between her eyebrows the entire time I vacuumed her living room and hallway, but put her foot down when I tried to take itinto her bedrooms. It’s been a while since I’ve had to clean anything, really, but I feel like I did a decent job.
“Now come sit next to me.” Nancy pats the sofa.
I put the vacuum away in the closet and join her.
“How are your sisters settling in?”
I look at the same blue eyes she shares with her grandsons and her swingy silver bob and can’t help but smile. “They like it, but they haven’t seen much except Colby’s house and Sierra’s flowers.”
“We should fix that. Why don’t you take them to the beach? You have enough wigs for all of you, don’t you?”
“I do.” She’s right. It’s a possibility.
“I was angry after that segment on GMA the other day, but I don’t think anyone’s watching it anymore. They’re all too obsessed with your new song. You and Benny make a good team.”
“We make agreatteam.”
“Does he know that?”
I pause. I don’t know how much to reveal, and really, it’s not my place to share any of his issues, anyway. I can’t be the one to tell Nancy that Benny worries for her health, especially when she doesn’t look well.
“Benny and I are friends.”
“Baloney.”
“Nancy!”
“You and I both know it, honey. You love that man, and he loves you.”
Love?Love? That’s a strong word. I don’t know how I feel exactly, but I do know I care about him deeply, and if the situation were different, I’d want to date the heck out of him. But I don’t say these things to her. I think about how dreamy the last few days have been with Benny at my side. Stealing kisses when no one’s looking. Snuggling on the sofa during movies. Hangingout in the backyard on the bench swing. Snacking on saltwater taffy while we listen to music.
It’s been heavenly.
“I knew it,” Nancy says, smug.
“Slow your roll, Nancy Rhodes. No one is throwing around the L-word. We’re just hanging out. We’ve decided it can’t go anywhere, anyway. We want different things.”