*Author's Note*
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Cheese Pizza & No Boyfriend
Novella POV:
As soon as I got home, well to my Uncle Perry and Roseanna's house, I went upstairs and got changed into somethin' a bit more suitable for dinner at a pizza parlor with a group of old friends. I had gotten home before Perry, since he had gone to see Randall McCoy per the man's request. Moses was off at the local arcade, trying to either beat Billy McCoy in pinball or pick up girls. Which one I wasn't sure, but as I understood from my own brother's mouth that's the only two things he ever did at the arcade.
Having some time to kill before Tolbert would pick me up I decided to go into the kitchen and spend some time with Roseanna. "Do you need any help?" I asked as I sat down at the table Roseanna was at.
"No, I can peel these myself." Roseanna told me with a smile a she peeled carrots for dinner, her hand workin' quickly. "Tolbert told me he's takin' ya with him and Sally Elle to have pizza with Squirrel and Parris." Yea, he would tell her that. Tossing the cleaned carrot into a bowl on the table she told me, "I think it's good you're doin' stuff with them." Grabbing another carrot, she sighed, "Tolbert and Sally Elle need somebody to love them. My brother's all alone and my niece needs a mother."
Oh whoa whoa whoa wait a minute-wait a hot damn minute this one-sided conversation has escalated quickly. With my thinly shaped brow raised I asked, "What the fuck? Roseanna, are you for real?"
"Yes, Novella, I'm bein' real 'bout this." Roseanna told me, her hand moving quickly as she cleaned the orange root vegetable. "Tolbert's always loved you an' you've always loved him so time's right that you patch things up with him." Tossing the carrot into the bowl, that had a few in it, she told me in a honied tone, "He's got a daughter he needs help with, she's such a sweet girl that loves bein' with you."
I shook my head in disbelief as my voice rose accusingly, "Roseanna, I can't believe you're telling me this. I expect it from everybody else, but not you."
Roseanna's usual sweet demeanor faded in a flash as she set her steel peeler on the table and looked at me with fixed, but pity filled eyes. "I'm tellin' this to you cause I see how you're keepin' Tolbert at arms distance and it' wrong of you t'do that. What happen with ya'll happened 10-years ago and it's all water under the bridge. Make up before it's too late and you miss out on all the time you could've had with him."
"Roseanna, it's not that simple." I sighed, placing my hand on my head while leaning my elbow on the table. "Tolbert dumped me without a reason. Pickin' up where we left off's not easy, besides it's not ethical cause I'm on his legal defense team." I explained, my flowing voice full of heaviness as I my eyes looked between Roseanna and the bowl in front of her.
The meek, but lovely blonde gave me a faint smile. "Just give him a chance before you close yourself off to him. You still love each other, it's worth a try."
"A part of me will always love your brother, but I'm not sure how deeply I'm able to love him. I'm afraid Tolbert has more love for me then I do for him." I confessed, picking my pale pink manicure while Roseanna picked her peeler up and grabbed a carrot from the bag on the table.
Roseanna shook her head and went back to peeling her carrots. "That's not true, you just haven't spent enough time with him yet."
"Roseanna, why're you pushing this so hard for?" I prodded, my brows furrowed.
"I just want you to be happy with your first love. I never got that with mine." She admitted, her voice sounding more pained and light at the same time, as she looked at me with sad doe-eyes.
"Not everyone's meant to be with the man they lose their virginity too. This isn't the 1800s anymore, that romantic notion's a bit outdated."
"I know that, Novella, but unlike me you don't have to force yourself to move on and find somebody else. You can be with the man that you loved since you was a girl."
Before I could think my mouth opened and out came tumbling, "Honey, I was on my way to moving on whenever Uncle Perry called with the shitstorm news about your brothers."
Roseanna's eyes widened and her face looked shocked. "With who? You never told me you were seeing anybody.
"With a guy back in Baltimore and I didn't tell you cause we broke up before we got too serious." I informed my sweet friend in a quick, but flowing tone.
"Oh lord, no wonder you're cautious 'bout my brother." Roseanna sighed, relation dawning on her. I hope she didn't figure out who the man was in Baltimore, but I had a feeling she knew. I mean after all she fell hard for a Hatfield herself.
Before I could say anything, Sarah Elizabeth walked into the kitchen asking for a glass of juice. Thankfully that gave me an out, I was able to retreat from the kitchen and get away from the heavy conversation with Roseanna.
I was sitting in the living room watching tv and waiting for Tolbert to come get me. I was alone in the room, but not in the house. Roseanna was still in the kitchen cooking while Uncle Perry had gone to his study after arriving home. Sarah Elizabeth was up in her room, playing. My brother was still out at the arcade, would be there all night I reckon.
Jeopardy was just coming on whenever a heard a knock at the door. Rising from the couch I loudly announced, "Tolbert's here. I'm leaving now."
"Have a nice time, dear." Uncle Perry's slick voice called back to me from his office down the hall.
"Tell everyone we said hi." Roseanna instructed before calling out to my uncle and her daughter, "Dinner's ready!"
As I walked to the front door Sarah Elizabeth bounded down the stairs and ran into the kitchen. I could hear my uncle's shoes hitting the hardwood floor as he emerged from his office down the hall, making his way to the kitchen. Another knock sounded on the door, right before I opened it.
"Hi, Ella!" Sally Elle beamed, rushing forward quickly to give me a hug.
"Hi, Sally Elle, how're you?" I smiled, bending down and patting the girl's back as she was hugging me.
"Good." The little girl with curly red hair told me, breaking off our hug. "Poppy say yer eatin' pizza wit' us an' our cuz'ns."
"Yea, I am." I confirmed, patting her on the back.
"Let's go. Don't wanna be late." Tolbert said before turning an d heading down the driveway to his old pickup.
Sally Elle's little hand grabbed mine. Tugging me down the driveway she told me, "I really like pizza. Poppy nev'r brings nobody t'pizza wit' us and our cuz'ns."
"Oh, really?" I asked, keeping a smile on my face for the little girl who was yanking my arm off in a hurry to get to the truck.
The little girl nodded as we got closer to the truck, where Tolbert was waiting for us by his open car door. "Yea, but poppy says yer friends with our cuz'ns an' that why ya can come."
"Poppy's right, Parris and Squirrel are my friends since we grew up together." Those two taught me how to hunt, fish, and clean game to my uncle's dismay. I met them a few weeks after moving to Pike County as a kid, Tolbert introduced my to them one day and our friendships grew.
"Ya grew up wit' my poppy too?" Sally Elle asked me as we reached the truck and Tolbert.
"She did. Was even my girlfriend for a while." Tolbert answered before I could while scooping his daughter up in his arms and taking her to get settled in the back seat.
"Why ain't she yer girlfriend now, poppy?" I heard the little girl ask innocently as I got into the passenger's side of the truck.
"Cause I had t'stay here an' she went off t'college an' learned the law." Tolbert simply told his daughter before ruffling her wild ginger hair and taking his seat up front behind the wheel.
"Ella, ya should b'my poppy's girlfriend 'gain. We like ya an' yer nice." Sally Elle blurted out while Tolbert back the truck up and took off down the street.
Looking at the little girl with unruly ginger curls and a freckled smiled I softly told her, "Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry, but I can't be your poppy's girlfriend."
"Why not? Y'gotta boyfriend?" She asked innocently, her head cocked to the side.
No kid, I got a Cap Hatfield and that's worse then a boyfriend. Yea, since I can't actually say that I jut opted with a smile and a simple, "No, but right now my job's to keep your poppy out of corner time so I can't be his girlfriend. Rules say it' not allowed."
"Oh…okay." Sally Elle sighed before looking out of the window, watching the houses we drove by.
"My lil girl's right, darlin'. You should be my girlfriend 'gain." Tolbert told me low enough so only we could hear as he looked at me with a slight smile.
"And I said no, Tolbert. It's too messy with me being your lawyer." Plus, I'm sleeping with Cap and that would made things even messier. I can't have a platonic boyfriend and an intimate unlabeled guy at the same time, it would be disastrous. They'd try to kill each other, well actually Tolbert would try to kill Cap cause he's the one getting banged instead of him…So friends only with Tolbert til this trial gets sorted out and I figure out in the long run what's going on with Cap. Don't matter that I still care for Tolbert and like his daughter, I can't be with him right now.
Tolbert just nodded his head solemnly before roughly turning on the radio. Great, now he's going to drive pissed off to the pizza parlor. Jut my luck.
Nothing had changed about the small pizza parlor. It still had the same generic décor of red plastic topped tables and red vinyl seated chairs and booths. The walls were still white with thin stripes of red and green paint border the top while the floor was red and white checkered tile. Even the pickup/order counter hadn't changed, still white with a phone and register on it.
You know what else hadn't changed in a decade, Parris and Squirrel. Those two were still as grungy looking as ever in their dirty hunters' cameo. Squirrel's hair was still messy with bangs that were a mix of a combover and a side-sweep while Parris' hair was still cut short. Damn, it was like these two brothers had Dorian Gray syndrome, they still looked like they did whenever I left.
Sally Elle ran over the large table in the middle of the room that Squirrel and Parris were at. "Hi Parris, hi Squirrel. Did ya order?" She asked with a wide curious smile as she climbed up on the chair next to Parris.
"Yep, we did. Should be ready any m'nute now."
"Yay!" Sally Ella clapped, her face breaking out in a toothy grin. It was cute to see how excited she was to be having pizza with her family.
Tolbert just nodded his greeting to his cousins before taking a seat next to his daughter. I was left with the seat between Tolbert and Squirrel at the round table. Some empty glasses were at the table along with a pitcher of pop. As Parris grabbed a glass and the pitcher, pouring a drink for Sally Elle, he looked at me and said, "Tolbert said he was bringin' ya, but had t'see it for myself t'believe it."
As Parris gave Sally Elle her drink Squirrel looked at me and smiled, "Good t'have ya back in town, Novella."
"Thanks." I simply replied as I watched Parris pass the pitcher to Tolbert.
"Y'know Tolbert's real proud of ya becomin' a lawyer." Parris told me as Tolbert grabbed our glasses and filled them up.
"It's true, he's real proud that ya became somethin' an' used yer book-smarts." Squirrel told me, adding to his brother's remark, as Tolbert placed the pitcher back on the table before sliding me over my glass.
"Oh, well, considering I'm his lawyer he should be proud." I grabbed my drink and took a sip before asking the brothers, "So, do you guys work? Have girlfriends or families yet?"
"Course we work." Parris snickered, rolling his eyes at me.
"I just got promoted to cashier at Food City and Parris is still at the Gas 'N' Go." Squirrel told me right as a waitress carrying a large pizza emerged form the double doors of the kitchen. Most likely the pizza was ours. Hell, Squirrel's been working at the grocery store since he dropped out of school roughly 15 years ago. He's 30-years-old, he should've been promoted from bag boy to cashier years ago. Parris is still at the gas station, no surprise there. Like his little brother he's had his job since he dropped out too.
Nothing much changes in Pike.
As I watched the waitress make her way over to us Parris answered the other part of my question by saying, "I'm seein' a girl named Jenny, but Sammy's single."
Sammy was Squirrel's real name, but everyone called him Squirrel or sometimes Squirrel Hunting Sam because he had hobby for hunting the varmints. Actually I thought it was an obsession, especially since he used the furs to make jackets and vests with. They're always complete with squirrel tails hanging on the bottom hem too. Talk about home-made vests, Squirrel was wearing one. Of course, he was.
"Here's your pizza." Our waitress placed the pizza down on the table. She flashed us a pearly smile while as she placed thin paper plates in front of us, "Enjoy and let me know if ya'll need anythin'." She told us before leaving us and checking on some people sitting in a corner booth.
I looked at the pizza and my stomach dropped. Of course, the pizza was cheese. I wasn't a big fan of cheese, but I'd eat it if I had too. I preferred pepperoni. The McCoys knew this, I grew up with them, but maybe they forgot.
"Ya an' Tolbert hookin' up?" Parris asked as he placed a slice of pizza on a plate for Sally Elle while also grabbing a slice for himself.
"No." I quickly deadpanned as I grabbed myself a slice of pizza.
Squirrels' jaw dropped and his eyes turned into the size of half-dollars as he looked at me. "No? Really? Sure ya ain't joshing us?"
"I'm serious, we're just friends." I remarked as Squirrel and Tolbert finished grabbing their slices.
"Ella won't date til after the trial. Says it goes 'gainst lawyer code or some shit." Tolbert rolled his eyes before taking a large bite out of his cheese pizza.
Sally Elle paused in the eating of her cut pizza piece to point at Tolbert and tell him, "Poppy, y'say bad word." I get the feeling she's always telling him that.
"I know, sugar." Tolbert nodded before pointing to his daughter's plate and saying, "Just eat yer pizza."
"Really, ya'll can't do nothin' cause of yer job?" Squirrel sounded stunned as he asked his question with a puzzled face.
"It's an ethical matter. I'm on his defense team, it'd be scandalous." Not as scandalous as it coming out that I'm getting close to Cap Hatfield, sleeping over at his house and hanging out with him and Jim Vance would be. Oh dear, I' really messed up in a sticky situation. Stupid twisted-up feelings.
"Then make sure him an' his brothers get found not guilty so ya'll can hook up." Parris told me with a serious look as I nibbled and picked at my pizza.
I took a bite of my pizza, washing it down with my Coke, before saying, "It's not that easy, but I'll try to get them cleared."
"With you an' Perry Cline ya'll can get 'em cleared." Squirrel told me confidently as he chewed on his pizza.
"Don't ya'll worry yer britches off. My darlin's gonna do her job an' when it's done we'll get t'getha." Tolbert said with his chest puffed out like a proud peacock.
"You're too confident, Tolbert." I warned as he grabbed his glass, taking a swig from it.
Parris chuckled before pointing between me and Tolbert while making the remark of, "Ya'll 're sweethearts, ev'body knows ya gonna get back wit' 'gether."
"Yea, only a matt-o-time 'fore ya get back what ya had." Squireel said confidently as he polished off his slice. Damn, that man could scarf down pizza. "Ya'll love each other too much not t'get back t'gether."
I needed to get the conversation off of me and Tolbert. I took a small bite out of my pizza before diverging the subject with, "How about we talk about something else? Like do you guys still buy Tolbert's shine?"
"Yes." All three men answered at the same time before busting out laughing. I already knew the answer would be yes, but talking about booze was better then the previous topic that I was tired of.
Shit, I'm so tired of having to beat everyone back with a stick when it comes to the topic of me and Tolbert. I get that they mean well or feel very firm in their theory, but I'm getting tired of it. I feel like Tolbert's being pushed in my face. I know he's still in love with me, but I'm not sure how I feel about him. I loved him and a part of me always will, but I don't know if I can currently love him right now with no resentments, fears, and strings. The way he broke my heart, leaving me without a reason, is deep in the back of my mind. Besides, happening to have undefined feelings, that go a bit beyond caring, for Cap isn't helping out either.
Hell, I'm so confused and everything's a mess. Hopefully I can figure it all out before things get worse.
AN:
So, the McCoys are really pushing Tolbert on Novella. Even Tolbert's daughter Sally Elle wants Novella to date her daddy. Problem is Novella doesn't want to betray and two-time Cap cause she promised him she wouldn't. But she has mixed up feelings, she likes both guys. Uh-oh, triangle drama…
Next up will be the preliminary trial and Novella meeting Cotton with Cap and Jim Vance.