They hugged her and left. They could do this. They could be a good friend to Marianne and Denny without spoiling things by getting too intense. No wonder Marianne had looked at them so warily. They’d nearly ruined everything.
They were up in the morning before dawn, pulled in the pots in record time, and had to restrain themself from turning up at Marianne’s door before she was awake. When they did arrive, she was stacking a few boxes outside the door, while Denny helpfully piled his toys alongside. He turned as Joey pulled up.
“Joey, Joey.” He ran toward the truck. Joey slipped out and knelt to meet him. He jumped on them, and they rolled back, pretending he’d pushed them over. Denny’s little fingers dug into their ribs and they let out a giggle.
“Not there, I’m ticklish.” They rolled around for a few more moments until they realized Marianne was watching.
She stood with her hands on her hips. “You’re early.” There was only a ghost of a smile on her lips.
“The sooner we start, the sooner you’ll be moved in.”
“I don’t think it’ll take us long. Even with the things I collected from storage, this is the sorry total of my belongings.” Marianne waved at the small pile of boxes and two holdalls nearby.
“Now you’ve got a place of your own you can do something about it. Ger Moneen says you can do what you like with the house, as long as you get rid of any furniture you replace.”
They felt Marianne’s gaze as they started lifting boxes. “I still don’t know how long I’ll be here,” she said.
Joey stopped. “Are you not staying for the summer, at least?”Please stay.
“I guess so. I’ve not signed a contract yet, but Kasia seems happy.”
“She told me you’re doing great. You should raise the contract with her.” Joey continued packing the truck.
Marianne handed them a crate of Denny’s toys. “I haven’t decided if I want to stay yet.” She didn’t look at them.
Joey stood, holding the crate. “Where would you go?”
“I don’t know.” She leaned on the side of the truck and finally made eye contact. Her pale blue eyes were wary. “Maybe I should bite the bullet and go back to my mum’s for a while until I get settled.”
“Okay.” Joey dumped the crate in the truck and scooped up Denny. “You were adamant that was off the cards. What’s changed?” They were convinced the deciding factor had been their stupid clumsy attempt at a kiss. What had they been thinking?
They hadn’t been thinking, had they? They’d woken up and found Mari so close; it had just been instinct to kiss her. If they’d been wide awake, it would never have happened.
“Joey?”
They blinked. “Yeah.”
“Yes to what? Were you even listening to me?”
Joey was caught in the headlights. The cacophony of their own thoughts had drowned out whatever Marianne had been telling them.
“Sorry.” They put Denny in the bed of the truck and turned to pick up another box. “I’m listening now.” The rush of blood in their ears wasn’t helping, though.
Marianne stayed where she was, took a toy from Denny, and threw it back in the crate. “I was saying that I’m not sure what’s keeping me here. I like the peace.”
“It’s very peaceful.” Joey’s voice sounded flat to their own ears.
Marianne grasped their wrist when they passed to collect her final holdall. Her fingers burned into their arm, and they struggled to look into her eyes, dreading what they’d see.
“And I thought I’d found a really good friend. But things got confusing, and now they’re avoiding me, and I don’t know if I should put some distance between us.”
Joey forced their eyes up to meet Mari’s gaze. “I’m sorry. Don’t leave because of me.”
“I won’t. But I would like to stay because of you.”
Joey’s mind spun. What did that mean?
“I don’t want us to be weird. I want you to be the friend I can always rely on. You’re already important to Denny. And to me. You can talk to me about anything, but don’t disappear on us, okay?”
