14. Lennie

14

LENNIE

“ I told you,” Momma Catherine says. We’re on a FaceTime call along with Minnie, who is sitting down, jaw slack with a look of wonderment in her eyes. This happened after I told them about Asher, the beginning, the middle, and the end. Meaning from the time I had a small meltdown, how I basically babbled about inconsequential shit, yet he made me realize it’s not small, it’s big, and he’d be there every step of the way. I even made sure to let them know I spent the night at his house, minus the whole getting off in the pool bit. There are some things family does not need to know. Though, I’m sure my sister is filling in the blanks.

“Lennie, are you sure it’s you inside the screen?” Minnie teases me. I really hope Clay isn’t around, or the rest of the Johnson family for that matter.

“It’s me, present and accounted for.” I’m lying in bed after working another long day at the office. The job isn’t grueling, and the people are really nice to work with. It’s me getting adjusted to all the newness while trying not to make mistake after mistake.

“I’m happy for our girl,” Momma Catherine interjects. I’d say she’d try and take the trophy for setting Asher and me up, except I think Poppa Russell would have something to say about that.

“I am, too, because let’s be honest here for a minute. The man whose name we shall not speak wasn’t a true husband, Lennie.” She’s not wrong. It’s taken me a while to sort through the pieces, and while I may have loved him with all my heart at one point, my therapist helped me realize I was chasing after a dream of the life I wished I had when I was younger, even if that meant choosing the most emotionally unavailable man there ever could be. I fell in love with Zach young, figuring we’d grow up together, live a happy life, and have a couple of children along the way. Everything was great up until that last part. We tried and tried, yet nothing happened. He blamed me. He really blamed me. I allowed him to because I already felt like a failure with a lot of things, and this just added to the mix.

“You’re absolutely right,” I respond. My therapy session after work today gave me a lot of clarity. More than I expected. I also opened up more, accepted more than she’s ever said. I’m not sure the reasoning behind all of it. I’ll pick it apart later. I’m pretty certain it has something to do with a handsome firefighter who isn’t afraid to show affection any time day or night .

“Okay, Momma Catherine, this is your cue to question her. I’m at an utter loss of words.” Minnie is still sitting there, chin propped up on the palm of her hand, looking shocked.

“I’m not questioning this. Are you crazy?” she answers. They’re still on their way back home, taking the long way and stopping even more than Minnie did when she headed out to set off on her journey.

“I’m not,” I say with a smile on my face. I’m finding I’m doing that a whole lot more these days, too.

“Well, no, we better not,” Minnie agrees. A notification pops up while we’re chatting away.

“Hold on, guys, Asher is texting me.” They continue talking, Minnie mostly asking about where their next stop will be and where they should go that she absolutely loved. I’m pretty sure they’ve taken completely different routes, but I know that won’t stop the Johnsons from detouring.

While I slide out of the group call, the screen goes dark on their side, and they can’t see the goofy grin I’m sure is spread across my face as I click on the notification.

Asher: Back at the station. Thinking it’s going to be a long night with the calls we’ve been getting today.

He’s texted me here and there throughout the day, asking how my day was going, making sure I made it home from work. In between we’d ask each other questions. The basics, like favorite meals, hobbies, and the likes. Asher is a meat and potatoes kind of guy, preferring grilled ribeye, baked potatoes, and can go for a wedge salad, too. His hobby is more or less either working at the fire station or with Jagged Edge Builders, and he unwinds with his friends. All nine of them together. My eyes about popped out of their sockets when I read that text on my break. I’m the complete opposite, preferring the solitude of a few friends, a habit from my past. I didn’t have time for friendships, was too busy working and raising my sister, and when I was married, I worked, came home, and spent time with Zach, or tried to, at least. Somewhere along the way, I lost bits and pieces of myself. I told him my favorite meal as well, preferring soup, like baked potato, broccoli cheddar, chicken noodle, any and all with a thick grilled cheese sandwich on the side. My hobby being reading, but I really want to start doing something else as well. Maybe knitting or embroidery. That was the end of our discussion seeing as I got a one-word response: call.

Me: Is it always this busy?

Asher: Yeah, we’ve been helping the other stations further out. It’s been a bitch. You make it home alright?

Me: Yeah, currently in bed, talking to Minnie and Catherine.

He doesn’t answer right away, probably settling in for some downtime, so I go back to the video call.

“About time. Geesh.” Minnie laughs.

“Leave the poor girl alone. I’m pretty sure you had uninterrupted time in your new relationship.” Catherine winks. I don’t think snow will help our case here in Florida. It’s going to be up to us to figure things out between his schedule and mine.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Okay, so there’s still the giant elephant in the room. I need to tell him the reason of my divorce, right?” I already know the answer to this question. I’ve told my therapist today I needed to. She agreed, and now I’m asking for some kind of reassurance.

“Absolutely,” Catherine states.

“Yes, and please report back with a picture.” I roll my eyes at Minnie. She’s been asking me for one since Catherine stated my new neighbor is hot, dragging the ‘t’ at the end.

“Sure, I’ll get right on that. Should I just ask him and say my crazy sister is demanding a picture where she’ll probably run a full background check on you, or should I wait to do it while he’s sleeping? Because you know that’s not creepy or anything.” She’s being ridiculous.

“That’s not a bad idea. Send me his first and last name. Better yet, don’t even worry about it. I can do a search on his address, grab his name from the property appraiser’s website, and do a little more digging myself.” Okay, now she’s bordering on needing help.

“Where’s Clay? He needs to calm your ass down. His name is Asher Fontaine. Look him up on social media, but do not try and be a part of a three-letter government agency. He’s a firefighter, a freaking hands-on uncle, and other things that you’re not privy to. I trusted you with Clay. Please trust me.”

“Minnie, my girl, Lennie is right. Plus, Russell has Asher’s phone number, and it won’t take us much to hop on a plane if need be.” Catherine is the voice of reason, like usual.

Asher: Wish I were there with you. Going to try and get some sleep. See you tomorrow, gorgeous.

“We lost her again,” Minnie says when I finish reading the text.

“I’m here. I’ll respond in a little bit,” I reply.

“Well, I, for one, think we should finish this conversation. You’ve got Clay, I’ve got Russell, and Lennie has Asher. Lennon, my sweet girl, I’m happy for you. I think Minnie being apprehensive is normal. You have protected her for a long time, and now she’s giving you some of that back. I love you both, so I’m getting off the phone. We’ll chat soon because we’ll all need the scoop after you talk to your Asher.” Catherine nods, Minnie smiles, and I’m glad I called these two.

“Love you, Momma Catherine. Love you, Minnie.”

“Love you right back,” Minnie says. Clay comes through the door in the background.

“Love you girls, talk later.” We all hang up, one after the other. They’re probably going to spend time with their significant others and, I’m finally going to respond to Asher.

Me: I wish you were, too. Good night 3

I wait a few more minutes to see if he’ll reply but hope he doesn’t. Asher needs his rest, especially with his line of work. With no response, I place my phone on the nightstand, plug it in, and grab my e-reader. I’ve already showered, eaten, and did a load of laundry. Now I’m in bed for the night and can hopefully fall asleep after reading a chapter or two. Tomorrow can’t come soon enough when I can see Asher again. I sound like a lovesick schoolgirl. It hasn’t been even twenty-four hours, and I’m counting down the minutes until I’m back in his arms.