Ryleigh’s grandfather Ross came down from his study and entered the living room. “Girls, I’m going to take your Nanna out for a walk. When we come back, we’ll eat that ice cream Ryleigh brought, okay?”
The four friends all mumbled in agreement. When their grandparents went out for a stroll, it usually meant they would walk three minutes and visit their friends Coby and Merv only a few houses over to enjoy a brandy after dinner.
“Okay, let’s talk about something fun. Mia, how are things at the tattoo parlor?” Nora asked right after the front door closed behind their grandparents.
Ryleigh remembered Mia starting her first day as an apprentice in a tattoo parlor downtown last week.
“Yeah, it’s been so much fun. I learn so much from everyone. There’s this one chick Tara, she’s really cool. She’s got this big tattoo right here,” Mia brought her hand to her chest, “And she has a gorgeous lone wolf on her side. Total badass. She’s also one of the newer members of the staff. I think she likes not being the new girl anymore.”
Mia smiled, and her face lit up.
“It’s so cool you finally work at a tattoo parlor. I can’t wait to have my first tat. I’ve been waiting for over a year to have you ink me, Mia.”
“I’m still apprenticing. But it would be awesome, Cat. I would be honored.”
“I know it’s the enormous elephant in the room, but how is your new job turning out?” Mia said and bumped her shoulder to Ryleigh.
Ryleigh glanced over at Catriona, who chose that moment to pick up all of their drinks to refill them in the kitchen.
“I… yeah, it’s good.” Ryleigh cleared her throat and said in a false cheer, “Great! Actually!”
“Oh, that bad, is it?” Mia furrowed her brows.
“Lemme guess, the kid’s a nightmare,” Catriona shouted as she rummaged around in the kitchen next to the living room.
Nora rolled her eyes and said, “Ignore her. I always do.”
“No, Tommy is an absolute sweetheart. His dad warned me Tommy likes to test the waters before trusting someone new, so I really didn’t know what to expect. But he’s been great.”
Catriona walked back into the room with their drinks and said, “He sounds like a smart kid. Wouldn’t trust a stranger, either.”
“Okay, so the kid is great. You have a steady income. And you have a room all to yourself for once in your life.” Mia counted these points on her fingers.
“There’s only one thing left. The guy’s an ass.” Catriona raised her arm in the air and waved her hand. “Hello, don’t tell me I’m the only one thinking it.”
Ryleigh chuckled at her cousin, who couldn’t help saying exactly whatever came to mind. Most of the times, she loved Catriona’s blunt honesty.
“He’s not an ass. He’s… confusing.” Ryleigh said. She picked on a loose thread on her ripped jeans. She was still grateful ripped jeans with holes everywhere were a fashion statement nowadays. Her mother always patched the holes in the knees of her jeans with hideous floral patches. It gave the bullies another round of ammo to pick on her.
“Confusing how?” Catriona and Nora asked in unison.
“I don’t know,” Ryleigh stood from the sofa and walked over to the walnut display cabinet of her grandmother. Behind the tempered glass doors, Nanna displayed her collection of food shaped erasers on the top shelf.
On the rest of the shelves, Nanna collected her winter village scenes. In the winter, this shelf would be lit up and Ryleigh remembered fondly of being a young girl and sitting before this cabinet and making up all kinds of stories about the tiny dolls that strolled in the snow.
“Nanna and Granddad are coming home in twenty minutes, we all can set the timer on them coming home after their brandy. So you better spill it now, if you don’t want Nanna to spill the beans later to your dad. You know how the two of them get.”
Her cousin Mia had a point there.
“Okay, we kissed.” She ducked her head between her pulled up shoulders when her three cousins hollered at once.
Mia jumped on the sofa and shouted, “I knew it!”
“Come off the damn sofa before Nanna sees you,” Ryleigh grumbled.
With a beaming face, Mia jumped down and walked over to Ryleigh and said, “I just knew when you didn’t call me back this morning something was up.”
Mia’s face fell when Ryleigh nodded and tried to give her cousin a smile.