“How so?”
“Because 4225 West, Liam’s band, is like this massive family. Quinn has two sisters if I remember correctly.” Kellie pulls out her phone and starts tapping again.
“No, don’t,” I tell her. “I’ll ask him when I see him again. I don’t want to find out his life through Google.”
“Suit yourself,” she says.
By the time Kellie and I are done gabbing, the sun is rising and we’re heading to bed. The moment my head hits the pillow, my phone rings. I’m tempted to not answer it, but I have to keep up the charade.
Susannah’s name, coupled with a picture of us from high school, is on my screen. “Hey,” I say, trying to stifle a yawn.
“Hey, right back. I have news!”
I sit up and rest against the headboard. “What is it?”
“TANNER AND I ARE GETTING MARRIED!” she screams into the phone.
“What? How? When? Oh, my God, Susie, this is the best news ever!” Tanner and Susannah started dating in high school. They had a pregnancy scare our senior year and a lot of us thought they’d break up after that, but it brought them closer together.
“You have to be my maid of honor, Eleanora.”
“Yes, of course. Just tell me when and I’m there.”
“Tanner is going to join the Army at the end of the summer, so we’ll do it before he leaves for basic training.”
“Oh, wow. The Army huh?”
Susannah sighs. “Yeah, but I’m happy with his decision. It’ll be good for us and he really doesn’t like working for his daddy. So, you’ll be home, right?”
“Yep, I’ll be home for my mama’s party. You know I can’t miss it.”
“I can’t wait to see you. We’re going to have a blast planning my wedding.”
“And mine after,” I hedge.
“Oh,” Susannah pauses.
“What?”
“Tanner says I shouldn’t say anything, but you’re like my sister and I think you should know.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “What did Roy do?”
“Well… the rumor is that Jessica Williams is pregnant and Roy’s the daddy. They’ve been hanging out while you were away at school. I’m sorry, Eleanora.”
A huge smile breaks out across my face. “Don’t be sorry. Believe me, everything’s fine. I’m so happy for you. I’ll start looking at some Pinterest boards for ideas.”
“You’re the best. I love you!”
“Love you too.”
We hang up and while I’m tempted to lay back down, I can’t. This information about Roy can’t fester while I’m sleeping. Instead of calling him, I send him a text because I know how much he hates it. Hey, Roy. Jessica Williams is pregnant, huh? Is she becoming the next Roybert Aldridge?
I don’t even have time to set my phone down because the conversation bubbles pop right up. I imagine him red in the face and his fingers haphazardly typing on the screen he can’t stand.
Eleanora don’t be foolish. If you were home, none of this would be an issue.
Well, I’m not home, and we’re done.