Chapter 21

Nikki's turn:

I love being treated like an adult. Like I'm an equal. All of yesterday, me and my Dan, Tina and her Alan, Cindy and HER Dan, and Susan and her Jason, we're this strange group, you know. I thought I was the only one, you know, for that last few months, that was married to a guy that much older than me. But now there's a group of us.

It's comforting. Don't get me wrong, I know that I can talk to Dan about anything at all, and THIS year, I have friends at school, but you need to understand that it's nice that I can call Tina or Cindy and unload about that whole 'Mom' thing. And Susan. Don't forget Susan. She gives us the other side of the equation because her mom and dad were just about like the parents from one of those 1950's sitcoms. She's so sweet, Susan is. You oughtta see one of our multiple Skype sessions. That's what we did before the meet-ups. Now we're cemented.

It's good to have friends. It's good to have a HOME where you can bring friends without worrying if Mom's sprawled on the sofa with her latest 'boyfriend' and various strange smells permeating the place. It's neat to be able to walk in after school with the whole study group and find cold drinks in the fridge and a clean house, and when we spread the books out on the dining room table and get to talking and actually studying, I like knowing that when Dan walks in after work, he kisses me on the top of my head and says 'Hi' to everybody.

I'm not embarrassed by Dan. Or my friends. Or my new sisters and their husbands. We have such a good time together. Yesterday was a fine example. We all ended up at Tina and her Alan's house. His sister and her husband brought over a big pot of GOOD seafood gumbo and we all pigged out, laughing, smiling happy, talking with each other about everything under the sun.

I got tickled. I was raised in south Louisiana and seafood was a regular part of my diet, especially when I lived with Grandma, and I'd heard all the allegations about how oysters were supposed to have some aphrodisiac qualities. I don't think that Susan and Cindy had heard those stories.

Susan found out she really LIKED oysters. Alan's sister put some in the gumbo. Susan found 'em, and then cautioned her Jason about eating too many of them, at least until they were married. She caught Jason by surprise. He choked, snorted a little gumbo out of his NOSE, and turned several shades of red.

I told Dan he could go ahead and load up on 'em.

The idea that we could laugh and cut up over matters of a somewhat sexual content, that's an interesting thing. I asked Alan about it. He said that we have good friends and we're pretty compatible. I think he's right. It's just GOOD like this.

So it's Monday and my FRIENDS at school got to hear about my weekend. After school, I caught a ride home with Kellen. Well, Madison and I caught a ride.

"They, your friends, they FLEW down here in their own airplanes?" Kellen asked.

"Actually, two couple came in one plane and one couple came in the other, but yes. Alan and Tina, they both have licenses. Dan Richards has one. Jason and Susan are working on theirs, and Cindy's like me, she's too young to get one yet." Cindy and I both stuck our bottom lips out over that little fact.

"But your Dan's gonna learn to fly now?" Kellen asked.

"Yep," I said. "He played with it years ago. The gang talked to us and it makes sense. If we can fly then living in Alabama puts us only a four-hour trip by air instead of a nine-hour drive."

"Still," Maddy said sadly, "You're moving away."

"Oh, gosh, Maddy! I know, but I'm goin' to college. And it's not like we can't stay in touch. 'Sides, we got a few weeks until I graduate! And it's not like I'll drop off the edge of the earth. Phone. Computer. We'll stay in touch."

"Yeah, Maddy!" Kellen interjected. "When graduation comes, we're ALL gonna scatter like the place exploded. I'm going to college in Texas when I graduate. But this will ALWAYS be home."

"Still," Maddy continued, "It's kinda sad."

"Sadder for some than others, Maddie," I interjected. "Yeah, we're moving into new worlds, and that's exciting. We're leaving behind old friends, and that's not. But you need to think about what it means for people who didn't have a couple of good parents. That 'moving' thing is like the gate out into the big ol' world and just maybe things'll be even better."

Kellen knew where I was heading with that thought. "We're lucky, Maddy. Nikki knows what she's talking about there. Last year..."

Maddy's face clouded. "I'm sorry about last year, Nikki. Sometimes we can be really stupid about some things."

I knew Maddy was sincere. And I knew that Maddy was thinking about last year, when she was one of the giggly crowd that pointed fingers and made fun of me and Tina.

"Maddy, we've HAD that talk," I said. "We're way past that. And you're FAR from stupid, you know..."

"Yeah, okay, but if it's not stupidity, what is it, then?"

"Human nature," Kellen answered. "Natural reaction."

Thank you, Kell," I said.

Kellen continued, "And that's why we have civilizing things like religion and family, to get us past natural reaction. Sometimes it takes a while."

"Sometimes that's the reason things go off track, though," Maddy said. "Some families..." she paused. "Not mine, though. Mom and Dad would've been so ashamed if they knew ... I mean, we have relatives, you know, they'd make the cover of "Redneck Homes". And Mom and Dad love 'em, cuz they're family."

I mulled that point quickly. "Yeah, but that's still family. You don't get to choose family. But another thing you learn is that you get over things with people who want you to get over them."

Maddy knew where the statement went. She smiled. "Yeah ... And I'm glad, too. People sometimes make big mistakes that they really want to get over..."

"Oh, Maddy, you 'n' Kellen 'n' Holly are my best friends. We got over that stuff!"

"What about your friends this weekend?"

"Those are sisters," I said. "I don't know how to explain it better. You can have family, and you can have friends. And you guys are my best friends. We've had a good year, you know..."

"Yeah, uh-huh," Kellen said. "Good for YOU two. Y'all almost passed me up in school and now we're ALL graduating this year."

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Kellen," Maddy laughed. "You know, we'll all be up there together. Some people already think we're freaks about it."

Kellen laughed back. "Not true..."

"Oh, sure," I said. "If you get called a freak for being a straight-A student, it's the same numbskulls that call US freaks, and I have been ignoring them for a LONG time."

"Alan says smart kids have been facing that stuff forever," I said.

Kellen and Maddy nodded.

"And I'm a lot happier that they talk about us being smart than all those other reasons they have to talk." I sighed. "And I know they still talk about me being married, but it doesn't carry much weight now that it's been so long and I'm not lookin' pregnant, and I've got friends like you guys and the rest of the study group."

"Yeah," Kellen admitted. "And there's some stuff that we should just ignore. People, I mean. Anyway, we're starting reviews for the finals already. Four weeks out, and they're reviewing."

"Maybe we could ask to take the finals and then stay home," Maddy said.

Kellen laughed. "Yeah, like THAT'S gonna happen," she said as we pulled into Maddy's driveway.

Maddy got out and I moved to the vacated front seat before we left, headed for my house.

"You know Maddy still talks about how she was so wrong about you last year," Kellen said.

"I wish she'd quit worrying about it," I said. "We're waaay past that. Wasn't all her fault, either. I kinda had a shell, too."

"Dan really made your life better, huh?"

I smiled and closed my eyes for a second, remembering, expecting. "Yes he has. And he acts like I make HIS better, too. It's about TWO people, you know."

Kellen smiled. "Yeah, I know. Mom and Dad. Grandma and Pawpaw. I know lots of 'em that stuck with it. I know Mom and Dad have their days, but they're still together after twenty-something years." Kellen was the youngest of three siblings.

I let out a long sigh. "And we both know some of the other kind, too..."

"Tell me about it," Kellen echoed my sigh. "My big brother's on his second wife. You know the one I'm talking about."

I did. Kellen had confided in her brother's exploits. Like Kellen, he was good-looking, at least in the pictures. I'd never met him. He'd gone through a lot of girls before he decided to 'settle down', then found that the same woman forever didn't work for him. Now he was trying again. I was reminded of that Einstein quote, "Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results." It's on the wall in Dan's home office.

"It's a tough ol' world out there, Kell," I said. In my head, I sort of giggled. I was FIFTEEN! And talking about this stuff like I knew what I was talking about. Well, really, I sort of DID. On one side I had Grandma and Dan talking about the right way, and on the other side I had Mom and her 'friends' showing me the very worst of the wrong way.

I guess Kellen saw the absurdity of it, too. She laughed softly. That was her good-natured, "We're together on this" laugh. "I'm seventeen. You're fifteen. I don't think we're gonna be the ones that fix everybody."

"Nope!" I said, folding my arms. "We just need to fix us!"

She laughed again. "Easy for YOU to say. You have Mister Dan!"

"And YOU, Kellen, YOU have a high standard. I know you've turned down a bunch of the playas this year."

"I'm not gonna be a point on somebody's scoreboard, girl," Kellen replied. "I'm not wastin' time on one I wouldn't be proud to bring home."

We were in sight of my house. Dan's house, really, four generations of his family had lived on that ridge in the marshlands, and when we married, he walked me around that yard and told me that I was married to him and this was MY land too.

"Are you comin'' in?" I asked.

"No, I promised Mom that I'd do some stuff at the house. She's working three days this week and I'm taking up the slack at the house."

"Oh, okay," I said. "I'll see you tomorrow, then. I'll take the bus in the morning." The bus ride wasn't, didn't seem as bad in the morning as in the afternoon, and since the study group ended up at my house anyway, the ride in the afternoon made sense.

The cat was in the window waiting for me. He knew that if he met me at the door, kitty treats were the result. When I dropped my book bag on the sofa, Tommi followed me to the kitchen. I pulled out the makings of our evening meal and then retrieved the bottle of kitty treats, took a couple, put the bottle up, and returned to the sofa, where Tommi jumped into my lap for me to feed him treats. I petted his kitty head and apologized for not being around all day at his personal command. I heard my phone ring. Dan's ring.

"Hey, loving husband," I said.

"Hi, little doll," he answered. "Are you home?"

"Mmm-hmm, attending to our fuzzy child. Got a couple of pork chops on the counter for dinner, if that's okay."

"Of course it's okay. How was your day?"

"Reviews. We're starting reviews. Three weeks until finals, and they're reviewing."

Dan's easy laugh was in my ear. "Find some on-line stuff. Exercise your brain. Do we have any of the gang this evening?"

"No," I said. "Just me and you and the cat. And it's pretty outside, so we can take a walk maybe?"

"Sounds good."

I giggled. "And see if you have any residual oyster stuff from yesterday?"

"I hate to think that those oysters died in vain, baby," he said. "See you in twenty minutes."

When we disconnected, I went into the kitchen and started heating a pan for the pork chops. This was an easy one: pork chops, a couple of potatoes baked in the microwave, and some vegetables, and we would make a meal. It was the least I could do. He worked a longer day than me and I was home first.

I opened the door when he was walking up and wrapped my arms around him. First kiss since seven this morning. He returned my hug. And kiss.

"I missed you," I said.

"I missed you too, little one. Somewhere between the end of school and the beginning of college, we need to take a week and go somewhere..."

"We'll give it a try," I said. "But I know that between three graduations and a wedding right at the end of the school year, and then moving to Alabama, we're gonna have a heck of a summer." I watched Dan's face when I said that. I didn't see anything that indicated he was less than happy with the idea. I got THAT observation while I was guiding my husband backward to his favorite recliner.

"Relax," I said. "I got a couple of kitchen things to do, and then you can come fix yourself a plate."

"You are amazing, dumplin'," he said.

"You are, too, my guy," I said.

I looked at MY guy and I felt bad for the girls I knew in school who struggled with that whole dating/mating thing. Dan is a mate that's worthy of the name. I can be proud of him because he knows who he is. He's a decent human being to my friends and to pretty much anybody he comes into contact with. He treats me like an angel on one level and an equal on the another.