One Step Ahead

Ice-Skating Lessons In Hell

      "Where's Carmine today?" Briar asked, as she and Liz placed groceries into the cabinets. "I thought he was coming with you to check on the propane tank."

      "He's in town right now, he had to go pick Bella and Sam up at school early. Apparently, there's some sort of a nasty stomach bug going around, and they seem to have picked it up," Liz explained. "He took them to the doctor, so I decided to have Kevin help me today, instead of waiting for Carmine to get home. That way, there's less chance of passing it on to you, since you guys can't get out to the doctor if you get sick."

      Both Ashley and Briar turned their heads to look at Liz as the words left her mouth, and noticing their startled expressions, she assured them, "It's all right, I explained things to him on the way out, he knows not to say anything to anybody."

      "Nobody's gonna hear anything from me," Kevin informed them. "I didn't get a security clearance by being a blabbermouth." He then turned to glance at Briar, and added, "Besides, Cody and Uncle Wiley have said more than once that they consider you part of the family, so I'm gonna do the same. And in this family, we look out for our own."

      They finished putting away the groceries, then Kevin went outside to check on the propane levels while Liz took a few minutes to look over the sweater that Briar was working on. He returned, and informed them that they still had enough fuel to last for at least a week, barring an unexpected cold snap, and that he and Carmine would come back later in the week and refill the tank. They chatted for a few more minutes, then Liz received a text informing her that Carmine was on his way home with the kids, so they said their goodbyes and headed home. 

      Once they were alone, Briar put a CD into the stereo as Ashley flung himself into the couch, and as the sounds of The Eagles "Take It Easy" filled the room, he motioned for her to join him. She dropped down next to him, pillowing her cheek on his chest as he draped an arm across her waist, idly tracing the waistband of her leggings with his fingertips. They lay in silence for several minutes, until Ashley quietly asked, "What's wrong, Tink?"

      "Why do you think that something's wrong?"

      "Because you're being quieter than usual, and you feel a little tense," he replied. "But if you don't want to talk about it, that's cool."

      After a few seconds, she sighed, and said, "Nothing's wrong, exactly, I was just thinking about what Kevin said earlier, about how he was willing to just accept what Wiley and Cody said about me, and how their family looks out for their own."

      He looked at her curiously, and inquired, "Is there something wrong with that?"

      "No, it's just..." The sentence trailed off as she searched her brain for the words that she wanted. After a moment, she propped herself up, looking down into Ashley's face, and said, "It's just weird, I guess. Someone I just met today is willing to accept me, or I guess both of us, at face value, when my own flesh-and-blood relatives have never been willing to do that."

      "I know you've said that you don't really get along with your folks that well, but are they really that bad?" he asked.

      She was silent for several seconds, then she responded, "You're actually close with your family, so I'm guessing that you've never gotten lectures on how much of a disappointment you are to them, and complaints about how every damn thing you do is making them look bad to their so-called friends."

      "Not even a little bit. They've always been incredibly supportive of whatever I wanted to do, and they've made it pretty clear to some of the folks in my hometown that they're not interested in hearing any sort of negativity about my career or my lifestyle."