Ordinary is Perfect

by D. Jackson Leigh

  “Okay.”

  Neither of them wanted to say good-bye, but they both had work waiting for them.

  “The teacher meeting isn’t until Thursday. I’ll call tomorrow night to tell you all about the new people I just hired.”

  That brought a smile from Catherine. “Sounds good. I won’t keep you any longer. You guys be careful.”

  “Always,” Autumn said, holding in the three words that had been trying to pop out every time they reached the end of a call. She was so afraid that a text or call on an office line would distract her and she’d slip up. If she did say the three words, she was sure Catherine would withdraw and their “one night” would be exactly that.

  ***

  “No, Jay. I’m not going out with your cousin’s friend.”

  Jay threw his hands up in a frustrated gesture. “Why not? You aren’t dating anyone else, and having a kid doesn’t mean you can’t. Gabe’s practically old enough to date herself.”

  “That’s exactly what I’m doing.”

  Jay looked behind him to make sure she wasn’t talking to someone else. “Have you gone totally cray-cray? Too much helium leak out of your balloon?”

  “No. I work all day, try to spend a little time with Gabe, and then it’s bedtime because I have to be up early to get Gabe off to school.”

  “You forgot about the hour you spend every night video-chatting with Catherine. She’s why you refuse to date.”

  “She is not.”

  “Prove it. Go out with this girl just once to prove Catherine isn’t the reason you quit even trying.”

  “It’s absolutely ridiculous, but okay. Just once, then you don’t get to EVER set me up on a date again. Deal?”

  “I’ll take that deal, because I know what you’re afraid to admit. You’re in love with the farmer.”

  “Stop calling her that, or I’ll tell her, and she’ll come kick your butt.”

  Jay shook his head, then wrapped her in a brief hug. “You guys need to stop dancing around the inevitable and instead spend your time figuring out how to make it work.”

  Autumn glanced at her phone. “Don’t you have an appointment with the baseball-card-store client?”

  “Shit. I need to get going.” He grabbed the client’s file and his suit jacket. “We’re not done with our talk. We’ll finish it later.” He waved and ran out the door.

  “Yes, we are,” she said to the door he let slam. She had absolutely no interest in dating right now. That didn’t mean she was going steady with Catherine or anything. They’d simply had “a night.” Weeks later, her body still sang at the memory. It might never happen again, but, holy mother, she wouldn’t turn it down.

  ***

  “I could kill Jay for getting me into this.”

  “Have you told Gabe yet?” Rachel gave Autumn a sympathetic look.

  “No. Expect an explosion, then sulking.”

  Their three months in Atlanta had gone pretty well. Gabe had friends and liked the challenging courses at her new school. But she hadn’t noticed the day of the date she’d agreed to after backing out twice because of work conflicts. She couldn’t cancel on the woman for a third time, and her blind date had been smart this go-round. They were slated to attend a party filled with potential business clients, and her date had promised to introduce her around. It was a marketing bonanza. No way could she miss it, unless Rachel could fill in for her. And she couldn’t. Rachel and her wife, Sam, were flying back to their hometown in a few hours for Thanksgiving, and she’d stopped by Autumn and Gabe’s apartment to drop off some contracts that needed Autumn’s signature.

  “Do these contracts meet or exceed your expectations?”

  “You sound like a management survey, but yes. I vetted them personally.”

  Two of the contracts were for the new associates they were hiring. Jay couldn’t do it all by himself, and the client list was still growing. She began to sign the contracts on the lines Rachel kept pointing out.

  “So, when are you going to tell her? This is Monday, and you guys were supposed to leave day after tomorrow.”

  Autumn sighed. “Today, as soon as she gets home.”

  Autumn and Gabe, however, were supposed to leave Wednesday morning for Elijah. Catherine and a few friends always hosted a big dinner for holiday orphans—people who didn’t have family to visit or couldn’t get the time off work to travel home to family—and anyone who couldn’t afford turkey and all the side dishes. Gabe had talked about helping at the dinner and seeing Angelique in person rather than on a computer screen. She thought about putting Gabe on a bus or train on Wednesday, but she and Catherine both thought Gabe was too young to travel on her own. Catherine said she understood, but Autumn could hear the disappointment in her voice and read it in her expression. The more she got to know Catherine, the easier she was to read.

  Barking drew her from her worried musings, and despite the spoiled plans, Autumn smiled when she saw Catherine’s emoji pop up on caller ID. She tapped the invite and Catherine appeared. She looked fresh from the shower and still a little damp, so her hair hadn’t been pulled into a ponytail yet. Delicious. “Hey, you.”

  “Hey, I’ve got good news—as good as it can be.”

  Autumn was aware that her smile was stretching her face, but she couldn’t stop it. She and Gabe would drive to Elijah on Thursday, but they’d get there too late for the big dinner. “You’ve rescheduled the big dinner for Friday so we can come?”

  “I wish,” Catherine said, her words ringing with disappointment. “But Roscoe Johnston owes me a couple of favors, and he’s going to solve everything.”

  “Do I need to ask what kind of favors were traded?”

  Catherine nearly spat the tea she was drinking onto her phone. Then she laughed, a big belly laugh, and wiped her eyes with her shirttail. “You don’t need to worry about that. Roscoe is married to a big Amazon of a woman, and they have six beautiful children.”

  “And how is Roscoe going—”

  Autumn couldn’t hear the rest because Gabe came barreling in the front door of their apartment, then ran through the living room and into her bedroom, where she slammed that door shut.

  “What the hell?” Catherine asked. “What was all that racket?”

  “It’s Gabe. She looks upset. Let me call you right back, okay?”

  “Sure. But don’t leave me hanging. I want to know what’s going on, and you need this information before morning.”

  “I promise.”

  Autumn quickly signed the last of the contracts and handed them over to Rachel.

  Rachel nodded toward the bedrooms. “Good luck with that. She looks pretty riled up.”

  “She’ll be fine, I’m sure.” Autumn thought back over the past couple of days. “She’s been brooding about something all weekend.”

  “Well, I’ll see you in about a week.” Rachel gave Autumn a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry so much. Teen years are nothing but drama. Whatever’s bothering her is likely something petty she’ll forget by tomorrow. Trust me. I practically raised my younger sister through her teen years.”

  “Thanks, Rach.” Autumn was truly grateful for the invaluable help with AA Swan. She didn’t think they would have grown nearly this fast if she didn’t have Rachel running the business side.

  “No problem. Go check on Gabe. I’ll let myself out.”

  “She probably won’t come out unless I do,” Autumn said.

  ***

  Autumn knocked quietly on the door to Gabe’s room.

  “Go away. Nobody’s in here.”

  Autumn thought she detected some tears in Gabe’s voice and turned the doorknob. “I’m coming in, Gabe. I need to know what’s wrong.” When she got no answer, she forged ahead. She was stunned by the clutter. “Holy crap! You need to clean this up, young lady.”

  Gabe’s only answer was a small sob. Gabe was curled into a fetal position, a pillow pressed against her belly.

  Autumn rushed to the bed. “Oh my god.
What’s wrong? Do we need to go to the hospital?”

  Gabe shook her head. Her shoulders jerked with every swallowed sob, and her face was streaked with tears.

  “Did somebody hurt you?”

  Again, Gabe shook her head. This time, though, she mumbled something unintelligible.

  Autumn stroked Gabe’s soft curls and tried to channel Catherine’s calm. “Take a deep breath and say that again. I couldn’t understand you.”

  Gabe moaned. “I’m going to die. It hurts.” She sucked in a deep breath and wailed. “I want my mom.” She began to cry in loud, sloppy sobs.

  Autumn froze. What should she do? Was Gabe having a breakdown? She stroked Gabe’s back and found the muscles hard with tension. “Okay. We need to get you to a doctor. I’ll call mine and tell them we’re coming.”

  “No-o-o.”

  Autumn was so startled by Gabe’s hysterical shriek, she nearly fell from her perch on the edge of Gabe’s bed. She wished Rachel hadn’t left. Even more, she wished Catherine were here. Cat. Call Cat. “Gabe, honey, I’m going to call Catherine. Do you think you could tell her what’s wrong?”

  Gabe squeezed her eyes tightly shut for a few seconds, but her sobs quieted to simple crying, and she nodded several times.

  “Okay. Is your iPad in your backpack? Should I call her on that so you can see her better?”

  Gabe nodded.

  Autumn opened the backpack that Gabe had dropped by the bed and pulled out the iPad tablet Gabe used for school. The second it booted up, she accessed the video app and tapped on Catherine’s contact icon before handing the tablet to Gabe. Autumn started to rezip the backpack when she spotted the plastic grocery bag. They didn’t have plastic bags in their apartment because of their bad effect on the environment. Had somebody given Gabe something?

  “Hey, kiddo. What’s up?” Catherine’s soothing alto came from the tablet at the moment Autumn drew the bag from the backpack and realized that it held Gabe’s jeans and—Gabe’s wail filled the room—bloody underwear.

  “I started my period, and I want to come home.”

  Good Lord. That was what all this drama was about? Hormones had turned her strong, rational, and sometimes stoic Gabriella into a complete drama queen. She wanted to laugh as hysterically as Gabe had sobbed. She was so relieved. At the same time, she was a bit hurt that Gabe couldn’t talk to her about this. She gave herself a mental shake. This wasn’t about her.

  “Calm down,” Catherine said. “Where’s Autumn?”

  “Sitting right here.”

  “Can you sit up so I can talk to both of you?”

  “I think so.”

  Autumn took the tablet Gabe handed over, then held out her arm in invitation. To her relief, Gabe readily accepted and snuggled against Autumn’s side.

  Catherine smiled at them from the tablet’s screen. “Hey, again. You guys ready?”

  Gabe shivered. Autumn wasn’t sure if she was cold or if the shudder was just the aftermath of Gabe’s tears, but she grabbed the fleece throw at the foot of the bed and draped it over Gabe’s slender shoulders before settling back into their snuggle. “Okay, we’re ready,” she said to Catherine.

  “Gabe, Autumn was going to tell you when you got home from school today, but she has an important work thing she has to go to Wednesday evening.”

  “No! We’ll miss Thanksgiving.” Gabe tried to yank away, but Autumn held her tight. “It’s not work. Jay says she has a date.” Her petulant tone was turning angry. “I’m not going to miss Thanksgiving so she can go on a date.”

  Crap. Jay and his big mouth. “It’s not a date. I wouldn’t mess up our plans for that.” Autumn was frantic for Catherine to believe this. She tightened her hold on Gabe and gave her a little shake. “Stop. It’s not a date. Let’s hear what Catherine has to tell us.” Gabe stopped trying to free herself from Autumn’s hold but wouldn’t look at her or Catherine. “Go ahead, Cat.”

  “Gabe, you remember Roscoe?”

  Gabe looked up, her sulk forgotten. “The Roscoe who flies planes?”

  Catherine nodded. “He flies charters out of the small private airfield just outside Elijah,” she said to Autumn. “Anyway, he owes me a few favors, so we worked a deal for him to pick up Gabe at Fulton County’s Charlie Brown airfield not too far from you and fly her home tomorrow morning. Then Autumn can drive up on Thursday. How’s that?”

  Gabe sniffed and wiped her nose on the fleece throw. “I’ll get to fly in an airplane?”

  “Yep. Roscoe was a navy pilot until he busted his eardrum and couldn’t fly those supersonic jets any more. He’s a great pilot. You’ll be safer with him in the sky than you would be on the roads this weekend.”

  Gabe brightened. “I’m so sprung,” she said, then grimaced and clutched her stomach.

  Catherine’s brow furrowed, so Autumn translated. “She’s excited about flying. I’m familiar with Charlie Brown Field. What time does she need to be there?”

  “He’ll meet you in the waiting area around eight in the morning.”

  “I’ll have her there.”

  “Great. And you can take care of…the other crisis?”

  “A quick walk to the drugstore, and I’ll have her all fixed up now that I know the problem.”

  “See you guys soon, then.”

  “Wait,” Gabe said. “Is Elvis there?”

  Elvis’s big head appeared in place of Catherine’s.

  “Hey, Elvis.” Gabe’s eyes filled with tears again. “I miss you, boy.” She giggled, though, when his big pink tongue swiped across the screen.

  “Yuck,” Catherine said, reappearing on the screen. “See you tomorrow, Gabe.”

  “Bye.” Autumn got a little wave in response before the screen went black. Damn. They needed to talk, but first things first. “You need to soak in a warm bath while I run to the drugstore, then put on those baggy sweatpants you love and a long-sleeve T-shirt. But let me get you a couple of pain pills first. Then I’ll go forage for menstruating essentials.”

  “The nurse at school gave me a couple of, uh, pads.”

  “I’ll pick up more, but you also need chocolate, cola, and soup.”

  “Okay.” Gabe clutched her pillow to her stomach.

  Autumn grabbed her phone as she headed to her bathroom for a couple of pain-relief tablets and typed a quick text.

  It’s not a date.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Autumn stood at the entrance to Becki’s barn-slash-studio. Four folding tables were pushed together in the middle of the barn to form a banquet table and several more placed against the wall and laden with warming trays filled with the fixings of a traditional Thanksgiving feast.

  Her escort had been a very attractive, successful woman—just the type she usually dated—and the party was loaded with people she needed to meet. But her heart was in Elijah.

  The men in expensive suits and women in designer dresses seemed so needlessly extravagant in contrast to Catherine’s friends who worked in less glamorous jobs for less money. These people didn’t have to worry about heat during the winter or grocery bills. They wouldn’t be financially devastated by an emergency hospital stay or a major car repair. When she surveyed the room, she realized those people just didn’t seem all that important now. After a few hours, she’d faked a migraine and told her not-a-date to stay, because she obviously was having a great time. Then Autumn took a taxi home, threw her stuff into the car, and steered toward Elijah.

  She’d had to stop twice for naps and was tired and stiff from the ride. But she was here, and this farm, this community of people felt more like home than her Decatur apartment.

  “Aut, you’re here.” Gabe looked much better, having made it past that first day of menstrual cramps. Her smile was radiant as she crossed the room, tugging Angelique along with her. Elvis was at their heels and yipped a greeting when he spotted Autumn.

  Autumn opened her arms and hugged each of the girls, then bent to receive a lick on her cheek from Elvis. “Where’s Catherin
e?”

  “She’s out back where they’re frying turkeys. You got here just in time. They’re almost ready to eat.”

  “She’ll be so surprised to see you,” Angelique said. “Go ahead. We’ll get them to put an extra place setting next to ours.”

  “Thank you, Angel. That’s so sweet.”

  “We’ll take care of everything,” Gabe said, puffing her chest out. “Cat’s been a little grumpy. Maybe you being here will put her in a better mood.”

  A playful shove from Gabe started Autumn walking toward the opening at the other end of the barn, but she was stopped repeatedly by Maria, Ed, Gaylord, Jody, and Jody’s wife for hugs and greetings. When she finally made it outside where several turkey fryers were gathered, Catherine and two men were extracting the last of the turkeys to take inside for carving. She waited until they were done and one of the men hurried the turkey inside, while the other shut down the fryer.

  “Cat,” she called out.

  Catherine turned, her eyes searching for who was summoning her. When Autumn gave a little wave, Catherine spotted her, and her face transformed into a huge, beautiful smile. Then the welcome in her eyes dimmed a bit, and the dazzling smile dropped a few kilowatts before freezing in place. She’d expected as much. Catherine hadn’t answered her text Monday night, and she hadn’t heard from her at all Tuesday or yesterday. “It was not a date. It was work.” She wasn’t going to let this misunderstanding continue. “I made that clear when she picked me up and gave her the option to take someone else to the event. Then we went to the event, she graciously introduced me around to some people I needed to meet, and I took a taxi home after a few hours and drove all night to get here in time.”

  “Autumn, you can date anyone you want. We’re friends. We had one night. I don’t have any claim on you.”

  Someone rang a dinner bell inside, and the few folks who were smoking and talking by a couple of burn barrels extinguished their smokes and headed inside.