Page 31 of Missing Pieces

She heads directly into the kitchen and responds, “We both have the same goods.” She uncorks a bottle of wine and stashes two other bottles in the fridge.

“What if I was having sex?”

She stops pouring the wine and looks up. “I am pretty sure if you were having sex there would be no reason to come over because that would mean everything was fine between you and Easton.”

I look at her dumbfounded because she pretty much hit the nail on the head. “How did you know this had to do with Easton?”

She goes back to pouring the wine. “I didn’t. But I told him yesterday he had to get his shit together with you. And I am guessing that is not what happened.”

I take the wine glass she offers me and sigh. “Actually no. He was here yesterday. We talked. We are fine. But he was supposed to come here tonight, and he completely blew me off.”

Ivy swirls the wine in her glass before downing half. She smacks her lips together and says, “So you finally had sex?”

“Oh my god!” I shout. “No, we didn’t have sex. We hung out. We made plans to hang out tonight. That is all.”

“Whatever you say.” She tops off her wine and walks into the living room, stopping abruptly. “Well shit on a cracker.”

I realize I forgot to warn her about the paint. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it when I asked her to come over. I start to bite my nail, nervous she will be pissed.

“You painted my house!”

“Uh…yeah part of it.” She must not have noticed the torn-up yard in the front when she stormed in.

“You painted my house!” she shouts again. Now I know I am in for it. Here goes the one real friendship I’ve had in years.

“It looks…” She pauses turning around the room inspecting every detail. “It looks absolutely beautiful!” She squeals. “When did you do this?”

“Yesterday,” I answer, the foreboding disappearing and turning to pride. “Easton helped. We talked about it the other night.”

She flops onto the couch and pats the seat next to her, inviting me to sit down. “Are you gonna do more?” Excitement oozes out of her.

I join her on the couch, a smile cresting my face. “I had some ideas. Painting a few rooms. Landscaping the front yard. Maybe adding a wraparound porch on the right side to the back deck. That is if I can find someone cheap to help do it.”

With every detail I add, her smile grows bigger devouring her face. “Yes, yes, yes to all of the above. I love it!”

I breathe a sigh of relief. “I thought you were gonna be mad.”

“Mad? Why would I be mad?”

I shrug. “Well this is your house and I didn’t exactly ask permission to change it.”

“Nonsense honey. I told ya when I brought ya here that it needed work. I just had no idea you would do anything. It seriously looks amazing.”

I twist my wine glass in my hands. “Thanks. It’s kind of a hobby of mine.”

She gulps down more wine. “A hobby? Those ideas you told me don’t sound like someone who does this as a hobby.”

I push a piece of hair behind my ear as I look around the room. “I went to school for interior design. I also took a few classes in landscaping. Wish I learned more about construction, but that would have been a lot.”

“Well, I am floored. This is…this is something I never expected.”

“Thank you. It means a lot.”

She holds out her glass. “Cheers lady to a job well done and my new interior designer!”

I clink glasses with her and say, “It’s just one house. I wouldn’t exactly say I am your designer.”

“Don’t be silly! You should do the diner too! It hasn’t been updated in about twenty years. It is completely outdated.”