I Let Love In

Chapter XLV: Wait Till the Summer Comes Along

November

"I guess....now I can wear all my cute clothes...."

Problem was I didn't feel much like getting dressed lately. 

Or moving. 

I could hear Maude drinking something over the phone. I grabbed my ice water and took a long drink myself. Ivy and Magnolia crowded their water bowl and slept in different beds, all stretched out. Fans droned all throughout the house. I ditched my trakkies and took to wearing my oversized Sydney t-shirt I bought at the beach in England. 

My legs were not beach ready...

"This is our hot girl summer," Maude said. "'Cause we're hot."

"We're hot, alright...." I gasped out. It was pushing twenty degrees inside the house. "What have you been up to?"

"Makeup, art, the usual....oh! I played another gig last week at the pub! It went great! Mum and Dad came to watch and brought me flowers!"

"That's great!" I said. I was very happy for her. 

"Yeah....but after we got home I felt down. It's like the fun wore off and I felt like a fraud, you know?" 

"Yeah...I know..." I knew exactly what that felt like. She sighed as I shooed away three flies that had wandered into our house. If there was one thing I didn't miss about Oz it was the fucking flies. 

"Am I really as good as they say? Or are they just being nice?" She took another drink. "Any word from your lover man?"

One fly landed on my bare leg and I swatted it, accidentally slapping myself. "No," I winced. "I haven't been expecting to. I'm sure they're very busy...." I didn't tell her about the nightmare I had. It shook me up, it had felt so real. 

"They're probably in America by now," Maude said. "Right? Unless I'm misremembering what you told me...."

"I...have no clue where they are," I admitted. "Maybe America, maybe they're still in Europe or they cancelled their second wave of American dates. I was waiting until they came back to Australia, maybe catch one of their shows." I wiped my palms off on my shirt. Ivy and Magnolia paced the kitchen floor looking for a snack. "I don't know. Now that it's almost Christmas I don't know what I should do or what's going to happen." I chewed on my bottom lip. "What if they've forgotten about me?"

"Nonsense! You think that hunk of man would forget about his woman?" If it hadn't been hot enough already, Maude made it ten times worse. "You think he's going to let some other chump sweep you away?" The idea of Angus fighting off competitors reminded me of the birds pecking their reflections on our window. 

Much like the birds, the competition was imaginary. 

"If Angus McLips can't see a good thing right in front of him then that's his loss," Maude continued. "And you and I can gab over drinks." I smiled. "You'll always have me."

"And you'll always have me and Brett," I said. I immediately regretted it when I heard her sniffling on the other end. "Wait, I'm sorry, I meant-"

"How's dog business been?" she asked trying to change the subject. I hung my head sheepishly. 

"Slow," I said. "The only dog that's been around here is Sapphire, my brother's Golden Retriever. I haven't seen Lola Bean in months."

"Sorry to hear that," Maude sniffled. "If...if it makes you feel any better, I haven't sold an art piece in months."

"No, that does not make me feel better!"

Maude laughed. "It's okay. I'm stocking up. I can make a bunch of them and then sell a bunch." I heard her grab a tissue then blow her nose. "And soon you'll be seeing that Lola Bean so much you'll be rolling in money. And shit."

I doubled over in laughter. "Thanks."

"Just wait until summer," Maude said. "Come summer you and I will be drop dead gorgeous, we'll be rich bitches, and you'll have a man on your arm." Several more flies swarmed around my "drop dead gorgeous" face that was slick with sweat. I swatted at them. "This will be the summer. Our summer."