Chapter 15

15

Evergreen's is right on the cusp of Cranberry and Troy, the nearest town to us. It's a bit of a drive, but after Sky called and decided she'd rather we ride all together, so we can roll down the windows of my car and blast the Backstreet Boys' first album, it feels only like ten minutes of late nineties, nostalgic, wind-in-my-hair scream-singing. Do we know, exactly, what all the BSB lyrics even mean? No. But does that mean we're not going to yell/sing the words as we weave through rush hour traffic? Also no.

Evergreen's is one of those rare restaurants where literally every single meal is excellent. It's straight-up Southern comfort food, but everything has a subtle, tasty twist. Like their sweet potato casserole is seasoned with cardamom and orange zest alongside the traditional cinnamon and allspice, and their mac and cheese features an orgasmic topping made up of Creole-spiced kettle-cooked potato chips. The building is pretty big, in the middle of its own parking lot, made up of rustic-style logs and a big deck for people who prefer to eat outside. There's a twenty- minute wait, which we use to get updates on the baby (he's still microscopic in size, Sage hasn't had morning sickness, but she does have an insane, supernatural sense of smell, to the point where she knows the hour someone has last showered).

As soon as we're seated, I turn to Sky and say, "Tell us about the job."

She shrugs her shoulder. "I'd rather hear about you fooling around with your husband."

I make a face. "Um. No. Not drunk enough yet." I take a sip of water. "What is your official job title, anyway?"

Sky clears her throat. "Officially, I am St. Theresa's Catholic Church for Wanderers and Pilgrims' librarian technician ."

"No shit," I breathe. "I thought you were going to be in the main office, like, I don't know—answering phones or something." I lightly shove her shoulder. "You see? Our shopping spree has worked out freaking perfect. Now you can dress like the sexy librarian technician you are."

Sky shrugs again, but her cheeks are a little pink and she can't hide how pleased she is. "Yeah. The best part about it is most of their library is in the basement."

Sage furrows her brow. "What's so great about the basement?"

Sky lifts her hands with a grin. "No one sees me! So there's no one treating me like the town freak!"

Sage and I share a glance. "Sky," she begins. "You know you're not—"

"I know I'm not a freak, you guys. Well, not any more than you two. I'm just saying. I like being alone. And this job means I'm alone a lot, which I find very agreeable." She turns to me. "Now, tell us about the fingering."

Of course, this is when our server shows up. Who is a young, attractive guy whose diamond-pierced ears are now bright red. "What can I get you ladies to drink?" he asks without looking any of us in the eyes.

We make our drink and appetizer orders, and this is when my phone buzzes. It's a text from Carter. You okay?

"Ughhh," I groan, flipping my phone around to show my sisters. "You see what I have to deal with here?"

Sage smiles as she leans in to read. "Oh no," she says in a dull tone. "Your husband is concerned over you. What trauma."

I give her a fake glare. "You know what I mean."

"Actually, we don't," Sky says, sipping her water. "You haven't told us anything yet, remember?"

I sigh. "Alcohol, remember? I need alcohol."

"Let's start slowly, then," Sage says. "Why didn't he make you come? Was he just not skilled enough? You weren't into it?"

"That's not exactly starting slowly, but whatever." I shrug. "We were fighting, you know. Screaming at each other and stuff, and then all of a sudden I was on the kitchen counter and his hand was in my underwear."

Our server clears his throat. "Drinks, ladies," he mumbles. Now his cheeks are pinker than Sky's strawberry daiquiri.

"Poor guy," I murmur as I throw back my entire shot of whiskey.

"Don't change the subject," Sky says, snapping her fingers. "Then what happened?"

"I—" Now my cheeks are threatening to become warm. "I told him he always makes me wet."

We're interrupted by our server tossing a plate of sizzling jalape?o poppers on the center of our table and then sprinting away. When I glance back at my sisters, we're all trying so hard to hold our laughter in, we're snorting.

"I think he's doing it on purpose," Sky says, glancing somewhere behind me. "He keeps glancing this way with all his server friends. He's updating them on your story."

I roll my eyes. "Great. Just what I need." I sigh. "Anyway. I told him that he always turns me on, he told me I shouldn't tell him stuff like that, and then he ran away."

"He ran away," Sage repeats.

"I told you that on the phone. Literally out the door. Squealing tires like we were in a sitcom or something."

"You also said he said it was a mistake," Sky adds softly.

I nod. "That, too."

Sage shakes her head. "Carter is a nice guy. Not one of those fake ‘nice guys' who are only friends with women to eventually get sex. Like, he's really, sincerely nice."

She's not wrong. If Carter only wanted sex…he could've had it by now, is all I'm saying. I raise an eyebrow. "And…?"

"And I'm just reiterating. I don't think he did that to be a villain." She tosses the remaining bit of popper in her mouth. "I think he was protecting his heart."

"Ooh, right. That makes sense," Sky adds. "He's afraid of getting in too deep with his emotions. So he ran. Even though his fingers were literally inside you." She makes a really bizarre motion with her hands, flinging her arm up and pointing her fingers—all five—straight while wiggling them back and forth.

Sage shakes her head. "Nope. No. Not how fingering works."

"This could be fingering!" Sky announces, not exactly quietly. "You all just aren't creative enough."

"Ahem." I'm not surprised our server is back the moment Sky is miming a robotic hand gesture indicating peril and calling it fingering. "Ready to order entrées, ladies?"

I pick the hazelnut-crusted chicken-fried steak, and Sky and Sage both order chicken pot pie. Our server still won't make eye contact, but he is also no longer bright red, so I guess he's recovering.

"No more man talk," I declare after he's out of earshot. "Right now we're celebrating our official librarian of a sister. So let's celebrate."

We eat and laugh for the better part of two hours. Carter texts two more times ( Let me know when you're going to be home and We should probably talk ). Instead of responding, I order more and more whiskey. Too much more whiskey. By the time I stand up after we pay, the floor is legit spinning under my feet.

Sky holds me up by my arms while Sage digs through my Fendi baguette for the keys. "Looks like I'm driving us back."

"You don't have to do that, Sage," I blubber. "You always do everything for us. Since we were little. You shouldn't have to do everything anymore."

"I want us all to get home in one piece, Teal. So I'm driving."

When we get back in my car, I open the back door and sprawl in. Sky has to help me with my seat belt, but I'm far too gone to be embarrassed.

"You better drink a ton of water when you get home," Sage tells me from the driver's seat. "Or you're going to be sorry tomorrow."

"You're going to be sorry tomorrow!" I shout, pointing out the window. "You're the one who's pregnant."

"Pregnant, not drunk off her ass," Sky says, smirking at me like she finds something hilarious about all this.

"I'm going to text Carter back," I announce, pulling my phone from my bag.

"Oh no you don't," Sky responds, wrestling me for it. It's not a fair fight since my grip is nonexistent right now. "I'll text him for you."

"Tell him I'm so pissed at him. Tell him he's dead to me. But only after he fucks me first." Sage is cracking up. "What's so funny?" I demand. "He didn't finish what he started. I want him to finish it, that's all this is."

"Sure, Jan." She shrugs. "I just think you and Carter are hiding from your feelings in different ways."

"I don't have feelings."

"Whatever you say, Miss It Rains When I'm Sad."

"There." Sky hands me my phone. Though the letters are blurry, I can see she's written Carter, Hey it's Sky. We all went out to dinner and Teal drank too much. Sage is dropping me off at Nadia's, then Teal at your place, and Tenn will pick Sage up so you don't have to worry about Teal's car. Oh, and Teal keeps saying you didn't finish the job… Here she inserted an emoji of a hand with the peace sign alongside a winky face. So you better get on that.

"Damn right," I mutter before leaning my head against the window and promptly passing out.

Next thing I know, I'm being pulled out of the car by both Sky and Sage. I blink groggily at them. "Why didn't I get a name that starts with an S ? Didn't Mama know I'd feel left out?"

"Hey." Carter appears from the shadows, wearing a thin gray shirt and flannel pajama bottoms. It only occurs to me now that we're in his driveway. "I got it."

"No, you don't," I hiss at him. "You proved to me earlier you don't got it at all."

Sky erupts into giggles. "She's all yours!"

"Stop laughing at me," I mumble. "I forgot to tell you guys, Mama's in town. I heard all about it from the viejitas."

There's a pause, and somewhere to my left, Sage says in a gasp, "What did you just say?"

"She can barely stand," Carter says, his voice gruff as he lifts me and tosses me over his back. I'm far too gone to argue with him about this, mainly because he feels so good—warm and sturdy and smelling like a mix of salt water and cinnamon sugar. "I'll take it from here."

"I hired a PI," I call as Carter carries me inside. I frown. "Or did I? I can't—"

The door slams shut, and my conversation with my sisters is over.