I walked into the kitchen where Archie was checking on the roast chicken in the oven.

“How’s it looking?” I asked.

“Good. Fifteen minutes and it’s done,” he said. “Perfect timing because John should be here soon.”

“Great,” I replied, tidying the kitchen sink and loading the dishwasher.

“He’s going to be disappointed you didn’t invite Robin,” Archie remarked, looking at me.

“She wouldn’t have come. Why do you not get that she’s not interested in spending time with him?” I asked. “Or do you want to spend more time with her?”

“What?” He frowned. “No, of course not. Forget I said anything.”

“Done,” I said, heading back to the dining room.

“This chicken is delicious, Aimee,” John remarked, taking a second helping from the serving plate in the center of the table.

“Good, Archie made dinner. I made the cake last night. Team effort,” I replied.

“Well, everything tastes great,” said John, smiling.

“We’re glad you’re enjoying it,” Archie said. “And glad you could come over tonight.”

“I don’t turn down many dinner invitations, probably because I don’t get many.” John laughed. “But, I have to admit, I was hoping Robin would be here.”

Archie shot me a look from across the table. “Maybe next time,” he said.

I smiled, pierced a small potato, covered in parmesan cheese and garlic, and popped it into my mouth. Doubtful. Robin was right, we were going to have to either find her a boyfriend or fabricate one to get rid of this guy. He could not take a hint, or even several hints.

“So, how do you like living in Poplin?” John asked.

“I’m really enjoying it,” I said. “I love having all the space, and raising fresh food has always been important to me. Nothing like going out to your backyard, picking a bunch of apples and making a pie.”

“Even if the attic lights freak you out a bit.” Archie laughed.

I glared at him. “Well, we figured that out.”

I bristled, irritated by his comment. Why would he bring that up around John? Just like he shared it with Robin earlier. If we had an issue at our house, it should stay with us, not be shared with others. Why was he being such a smart-ass? I didn’t know why he found it so funny. He wouldn’t if he knew who was doing it. He would be completely freaked out if anyone from Listening Lark confronted him, especially if it was who I suspected.

“Oh, if you’re having electrical issues, I can look at it,” said John, taking a sip of water from Aunt Lou’s blue goblet. “I’m pretty good with electrical work.”

“Good to know, thanks,” replied Archie, his gaze meeting mine. “We’re okay now, but I’ll let you know if something comes up.”

“Yes, thanks, John,” I said, smiling. Like hell you’re hanging around my attic doing electrical work. I raised my blue goblet and took a long drink. “It’ll be good to have a friend who’s so handy with home repairs.”

A look of relief flashed across Archie’s face. “Definitely. So, John, still have room for chocolate cake with peanut butter icing? And ice cream?”

“Sure,” he replied. “Well, that’s a treat we wouldn’t be having if Robin was here. Not with her peanut allergy.”

Archie and I both nodded.

“That’s right,” I replied, standing up. “You know a lot about Robin.”

“I guess so.” John smiled, directed at me, his eyes seemingly friendly, but I could feel something else lurking behind those dark eyes.

THIRTY2023

Aimee

“Girls’ night!” Robin exclaimed, walking into the spacious family room with two large bottles of sangria.

“Yeah!” I agreed, holding up my wine glass. “Fill it up!”

I was spending the night at Robin’s house. A fun girls-in Saturday night. She lived with her parents, but they left that morning for a three-week trip out west. She wanted to have a wine and movie night. Sleeping over made sense if I was drinking wine. Archie was on his own tonight. He was going out for pizza with John. Of course he was.

“I wish Caitlin could have made it,” she said, pouring the wine. “You’d really like her, but she has a new baby, and the sweet boy consumes her time, understandably so.”

I nodded. “I’m sure I’ll meet her one day.”

Robin flopped on the large, dark leather sectional next to me and clicked on Netflix. She scrolled until a creepy thriller caught our attention.

“Creepy, but not gory,” she said, digging her hand into the bowl of popcorn sitting on the wide coffee table in front of us. “That’s the kind of movie I like.”

“Agreed,” I said, sipping my wine.

The movie was short, but effectively scary, in a psychological sense.

“Should we call for a pizza?” she asked.

“Do they deliver out here?” I asked. That was something I had to get used to living out in the country. No food delivery.

“No, we’d have to pick it up,” she said. “Nah, let’s look in the freezer downstairs. There might be a frozen pizza in there.”

We did and there was, thankfully. Now we sat at the kitchen table waiting for the oven timer to go off.

“This feels very teenage slumber party,” I remarked, smiling at her.

“I know, right? Sometimes it’s fun just to hang out with nothing in particular planned. After such a busy week at school, I wasn’t in the mood to go out.”

“True, I understand. So, your parents went to visit your younger brother in college and then were going to Yellowstone?”

“Yeah. Three weeks on my own. I’ll help with the farm work as much as I can, but we have a few guys that will do the milking, feed the animals, and whatever field work that needs to be done. I have my school schedule first, of course,” she said.

“Nice,” I replied. “When do you think you’ll get your own place?”

“I don’t know,” she said as the oven timer went off. “I have it pretty good here. I don’t pay rent, and Mom still does my laundry. I know, I sound like a spoiled baby. It would be nice to have my own place though. Eventually.”

“Maybe when we find that sexy cop for you,” I teased while she took the pizza pan out of the oven and placed it on the stove to cool.