Shelly leaned close to whisper, “You didn’t warn them about me.”
All the warning in the world wouldn’t have been enough.
Shelly bent down to pet Channing, who ran circles around her legs.
“Close your mouth, Three, I can see your chili,” I told my best friend. He snapped his mouth shut and resumed chewing.
“Three?” Shelly whispered again.
I pointed to them each in turn. “Shelly, this is Three. This is D’Shaun. And this is Eli.” I pointed toward Shelly. “Everybody, this is Shelly.” I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her close to me. She only flinched for a second, and then she went soft.
MeeMaw, though, did not go soft. She stared at me. Hard. Until I thought I might need to go back out the door. I let Shelly go and she stepped away from me.
“Why do they call you Three?” Shelly asked my friend.
“I’m a third,” he said around another mouthful of chili. “My dad was the junior, my granddad was the senior. And I’m the third. Three.”
“Clever,” Shelly said.
“I’ll tell my mother you said so.” He grinned at her.
“Once a month, it’s my turn to host poker night,” I explained.
Shelly took in the spread of food that lined the counter. “And MeeMaw does all the work?”
MeeMaw finally laughed. “You tell him, Shelly.” But secretly, MeeMaw loved every minute of it. I knew she did. She loved having a house full of boys, just like when I was younger. Suddenly, Three’s phone started to ring and everyone at the table groaned.
“Excuse me” he said. He went outside to answer it. He came back in and announced, “Sorry, guys, I have to go. Duty calls.”
“MeeMaw will have to take his place again,” D’Shaun said.
MeeMaw snorted. “Not a chance in hell. Last time, you boys ate my food and went home with all my money.”
Every eye in the room turned to Shelly. “We need a fourth,” Eli said.
Shelly looked at the deck of cards. “I’ve never played poker.”
They very nearly began to salivate. “We can teach you.”
Shelly looked at me.
“We can’t play without a fourth,” I explained.
“It’s only a twenty dollar buy-in,” Eli explained.
“So it costs twenty dollars to play?” Shelly looked at me.
“Only if you want to.” I might as well let her off the hook. She didn’t look too excited.
“Do I have time to go and change clothes?” She looked down at what she was wearing, and everyone else did too, their eyes lingering just long enough to get on my nerves. She didn’t seem to notice.
“By all means,” Eli said, passing his bowl to MeeMaw so she could give him more chili. “We have time.”
“I’ll be right back,” Shelly said. Then she disappeared down the hallway.
“Who the fuck was that?” Eli asked in a stage whisper.
MeeMaw slapped the back of his head. “Watch your language, young man.”