Unexpected

For Better

I climb into my new truck, sticking the key into the ignition. New to me at least. Any time I ever needed a vehicle, I always used the ‘maid’ vehicle at the mansion. Now that I’m out of there, I had to get wheels of my own. A little ’98 Ford Ranger will do for now. Three thousand cash. It’s all mine. Next step in my new life, meet Andy for lunch.
The light blue truck gets me where I need to. The warmth of the diner welcomes me at the door. It’s a noticeable temperature difference when the March air is leaning on the cooler side. A nice 40 degrees. It’s at least 70 in here.
I spot Andy across the diner at a little table. She’s alone. For once. I’m surprised that she doesn’t have Daniel by her side.
I sit down and she smiles.
“Hey! I brought everything you requested.”
She passes me a small bag from the store and I smile.
“Thanks. Do you happen to know when you and Daniel are going back to the club?”
“Gavin’s?”
“Yeah.”
“No but I can text you later. Why?”
Genuine fear and concern is on her face. It should be. I’m changing. For better or for worse.
“I wanted another night out with you two. It was fun the other night.”
She leans in a little, dropping her voice just a hair.
“You’re seriously scaring me, Skye. You’ve never acted like this before. What’s going on?”
“Can’t I hang out with my friend?”
She raises an eyebrow, not believing me. For once, I’m actually telling the truth. The half-truth at least, but still the truth.
“So you’re telling me that hooker red lipstick and blood red nail polish has nothing to do with it?”
I play it off the best I can. I’m not letting her in on my plans just yet.
“It’s just a little change in look, Andy. Nothing to be afraid of.”
She still doesn’t believe me. Of course. She’s smarter than this.
“You’re look is innocent, Skye. Not hooker. I mean, you could pull it off if you do your hair and makeup right, but then you have the bun in the oven-”
I wave my hand, cutting her off.
“I don’t want to talk about the baby. I want to forget about the baby for now. I just want to have a night out with you. Are you free tonight?”
“I can double check, but I should be. Saturday night is normally date night for the devil and his second in command, she-devil.”
This makes me laugh. She’s not wrong with the devil references.
“See if you can get out. I’m going shopping after this if you need anything.”
“With you’re rental out there?”
“It’s not a rental, I bought it. Three thousand cash and she’s all mine.”
Andy’s eyes go wide at my statement.
“I don’t even want to know where you pulled three grand from. All for that hunk of scrapyard junk? Wow.”
“Hey. It was in my price range and I needed transportation. Don’t knock it, Andy.”
She shakes her head as the waitress approaches.
“Welcome to Steny Jr’s! I’m Taylee and I’ll be your waitress tonight. Can I start you off with drinks?”