“It’s a gift?” Juliette shrugged.
“Thank you for that, Jul.” Evonne laughed. “I needed a kick in the ass to get me moving away from my pity party.”
“It’s okay to look back, just don’t get stuck and turn to ash.”
“Wow, biblical references?”
Juliette laughed. “You get stuck looking at the past and all the bad, you sort of do turn to a pillar of ash because it consumes you. Eats you up from the inside out, kills your joy and ruins your future. Trust me…I’ve had a long time to think about this.”
Evonne nodded. “So you—you think you see something between us?”
“I know it. What it is exactly, only you two can decide. If that’s what you want.”
Evonne thought back to the time she’d spent with Rocky. Being with him felt good, right even. “I don’t know…” She shook her head. “He’s not what I ever would’ve imagined for myself, but he’s what I need.”
“Yeah, I’m familiar with that phenomenon,” Juliette replied. A gentle expression crossed her face, turning her into a modern Madonna painting.
“Marriage looks good on you.”
“Thank you, we’re happy.” Juliette giggled. “It’s crazy how our lives are turning out, you know?”
“Yeah.” Evonne nodded. “I mean, Joey the first to get pregnant?”
“I know, and Moose tries to play it off, but he’s so stoked about it.” Juliette snickered.
“It’s kind of adorable, but never let him hear you say that.” Evonne joined her snickering.
“So what are y
ou going to do?” Juliette asked.
“Figure out what I want and go from there…I guess.” The thought of leaving Rocky behind cold turkey would be like an addict trying to kick a habit with no intervention. He was a welcome addition she hadn’t known she needed so badly. She couldn’t help but meditate on the things Juliette pointed out. Rocky was different now; they both were. Being in the high-stress situation had pushed them into a comfort zone that normally took years to achieve. Evonne glanced at the clock. “We should move this into the kitchen, so I can start dinner.”
“Wow, the domestic level is high with you,” Juliette teased.
“Well, we both have to eat.” Evonne shrugged. “It makes sense to do it together.”
“Mm-hmm.” Juliette gave her a doubt-filled expression. “Can I help?”
Together they made a chicken and rice meal that fit his protein requirements with a sauce on the side to spice up the flavor for her.
“Not that I don’t appreciate you hanging out, but usually you and Shooter are glued at the hip.”
“Some kind of club business going on and I didn’t want to spend my day off alone. I figured by now, you’d be climbing the walls.”
“Some days, I really do…” Evonne paused. “I, um—I got back into drawing though. All the spare time I have now, it only made sense.”
“That’s awesome, Evonne!” Juliette glanced up from the verde sauce simmering on the stove and grinned.
“Yeah. I missed it more than I realized.”
“I remember a time when you forever had charcoal smudges on your fingers or paint on your clothing.” Juliette shook her head. “We’ve all changed so much over the years.”
“I think we were all so worried about making it and proving ourselves, we lost sight of a lot.” The urge to succeed had allowed her to accomplish what needed to be done on little sleep, too much stress and a dead social life. She’d given up everything her early twenties were supposed to yield in hopes she’d be set. It worked in some ways. “I have to say, though, you’re handling this incredibly well, Jul.”
“What do you mean?” Jul asked.
“The biker lifestyle.”