"And you'll call me as soon as she leaves, right?"
"Yes, Tammy, I'll call you."
"If she leaves that is. If the vibe is right, just go for it."
"Why do you keep saying vibe. Did you hear one of your kids say it?"
"Yeah, does it make me sound like one of those moms that tries too hard to be hip and ends up embarrassing her kids?"
"For sure it does." Debbie checked the time. "Ok, I have to go get ready."
"Ok. Good luck and I hope you get lucky!"
"Goodbye, Tammy."
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Around 8:20 pm Debbie hears what sounds like a motorcycle in her driveway. "What the…"
She peeks through the curtains to see Lou pull her helmet off and shake her hair.
"That is… not what I expected." She watches Lou walks towards the front door while unzipping her jacket. "How does she even look that cool while unzipping a jacket?"
She made her way to the door and opened it just as Lou was about to ring the doorbell.
"You're late."
"Fashionably late, so really not late at all."
Debbie opened the door to let her in. "What kind of pizza do you like?"
"Whatever you order is fine. Just no pineapple."
"God, no. Never pineapple." Debbie made a face at the very suggestion.
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As they shared a pizza they fell into easy conversation.
"That girl that works in the flower shop, long dark hair, she's…. Interesting."
"Ah, that's Constance. Yeah, interesting is one way to describe her. Most people say weird, but weird is better than boring. She used to work next door at the dog boutique, but she got fired so I gave her a job at the flower shop."
"I can see that happening."
"Her getting fired? Yeah, she came to work high one day and ate a bunch of dog biscuits."
Debbie laughed out loud. "Are you serious? And you hired her knowing that?"
"She's a good person, just doesn't always make the best calls."
"I'm gonna go get us another round." Debbie says as she picks up the two empty beer bottles.
After Debbie leaves Lou notices the framed pictures hanging on the wall opposite the couch. She goes over to them and studies each one. She sees pictures of Debbie and who she assumes is her brother. Debbie and her parents. A much younger Debbie with a blonde woman wearing matching t-shirts that said 'best amigos'. So focused she was on the photos she doesn't even hear Debbie come up beside her.
Debbie silently hands Lou her drink.
"Is that your brother?" Lou points her chin at a particular photo.
"That was the day I closed my first sale." Debbie smiles recalling the day. "See that box in my hand? It's the watch." She lifts her hand up and shakes the wrist the watch is on.
"You two must've been very close." They make their way back to the couch.
"Danny was the best big brother a girl could ever ask for. He never passed up an opportunity to give me shit, but he was always there for me. After our parents died, after my divorce… and now…" Debbie quietly lets a tear fall.
Lou sees this and holds her hand in a quiet show of support. The two look at each other not saying anything out loud rather letting the moment happen naturally.
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At 8 am Debbie's phone rings for the fifth time before she decides to answer. "Hello, Debra Ocean speaking."
"Still asleep at 8 am? Sounds like someone had a good night last night."
"Shit, it's 8 already?"
"Is she still there?" Tammy whispers.
"What? Tammy, no, no one is here. And why are you whispering?"
"So she left right after?"
Debbie lies on her back, eyes closed pinching the bridge of her nose. "Tammy, we did not have sex."
"You fucked it up, didn't you? I swear Debbie, you are the BEST realtor in town, but you are not gifted in the romance department."
"For your information there may or may not have been a kiss."
"You guys kissed? Did you make out?" Debbie was silent. "Debbie, answer me. Also, open your door I'm outside."
Tammy walks in with two coffees as a preemptive apology for the barrage of questions she's about to launch at Debbie.
"So, is she a good kisser?"
Debbie quietly sips her coffee. "We didn't exactly kiss. Well, she kissed me. On the cheek. When she left. And it was very late."
"I skipped Pilates so you could tell me you had a date and nothing happened except for a kiss on the cheek?"
"You skipped Pilates because you couldn't wait until we were supposed to meet up later today."
"Oh, come on, Debbie, give me something. Tell me what the vibe was like with you two then."
"I will if you promise me that you'll never say 'vibe' around me again."
Tammy gives her a thumbs up as she sips her coffee.
"She came over, we had pizza and talked some." Debbie looks at Tammy with no expression. "Oh, and she also doesn't like pineapple on her pizza."
"Wow, a match made in heaven." Tammy deadpans.
"We talked about Danny." Debbie messes with the lid of her coffee.
Tammy quietly listens as Debbie continues.
"I cried. Like, really cried. My shoulders shook. That's the first time I let myself truly feel… anything since I got the phone call at the beginning of the summer."
"What did she say?"
"Nothing. We looked at each other as one tear came out and she held my hand. When she did it was like she was, I don't know, she was giving me permission to let it out? As if she knew I'd been holding it all in. That's when I just buried my face in my hands and just openly wept. And then she held me until there were no more tears left."
"Wow." was all Tammy could say. Debbie was never one to openly display emotion. At Debbie's wedding Tammy cried more than she did.
"I don't know what came over me. But I felt lighter afterward. After I was done she just held me quietly and hummed a song I don't know and just slowly rubbed my arm. It was so calming and so-"
"Intimate."
"Just between us, I was kind of sad that she had to go."
Tammy smiled and plopped her chin in her hand. "You definitely like her."
Debbie just smiles at her friend, wrinkles her nose and nods in agreement.
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Later that day Debbie sat in her home office getting some work done and found herself humming. Something she never did. When she realized just where she remembered that tune from she smiled and reached for her phone. She looked through her contact list until she found the name she was looking for. The phone rang twice before the other side answered. "Hey, you." she spoke softly into the phone.