Page 75 of In Her Own Way
“Yeah, we’ll see how that goes,” Victoria said. “It may be a short visit.”
“No one here is still upset with you, Vic,” Rowena said.
“I’m not so sure about that,” Victoria said. “Look, my break is over. I have to get back to it.”
“The date you’ll get here?”
“I’ll figure it out and get back to you asap.”
“Come home.”
“Gotta go,” Victoria said and ended the call.
She hustled back into the building and shivered.
“Cold out there?” Tillman asked, still looking down in the dumps.
“Yeah.” Victoria rubbed her arms for warmth. She then launched into the crux of her phone call with Rowena, apologizing for sharing personal information with her friend, but Tillman waved it off.
“Tyttle Foods? I’ll check out the company later tonight when we get to the motel. And, seriously? They have insurance to cover my transition?”
Victoria nodded. “Yes, I remember her talking about it a while back.”
“This is too good to be true.”
“Look, I have an idea,” Victoria said. “Come home with me to Denton Heights. You can meet Rowena, maybe even have an interview at the plant. It won’t be with her. She says she’s not part of the hiring process, but she might be able to expedite an interview, you know? And we can go to the masquerade ball, have fun. Meet some of the people? And…I can make amends.”
“Oh, wow, you’re ready for that?”
“I don’t know, but I need to try, and it would be helpful to have a supportive friend with me.” Victoria raised her eyebrows and grinned. She was trying to guilt Tillman good-naturedly into going.
“Normally, I’d say that I’d think about it, but I’m leaning way over to ‘yes.’”
“Yasss!” Victoria said raising a fist in victory. “C’mon, let’s finish those shelves. I want us out of here on time so I can call JB.”
~~~
Now in the motel room, Tillman graciously excused himself to check on the crew members’ accommodations and the couple in their RV in the motel parking lot. She was clearly giving Victoria space for her call.
“Guess what?” Victoria said when JB answered the phone.
“What?” JB said, sounding bubbly and happy to hear from her.
“I’m sore from this job.” Victoria stretched and groaned.
“Soak in a tub?”
“Only if you’ll scrub my back.” As soon as the words were out, she froze. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. That was very forward of me. Old habit.”
“It’s okay,” JB said. “I can take a little flirting every now and then.”
“Oh, yeah?” Victoria nestled into the motel room bed. Her back really was kind of aching. “I do like you, JB. And, uhh…” She took a breath to stall for time. “And, I’m not usually this nervous around women.”
“Why are you nervous? It’s just me.”
“I know,” Victoria said. “But we only know each other superficially. I want to get to know you better. But I’m afraid ofmyself. I don’t want to push or ruin the good friendship I think we’ve got going on here.”
“I’m a big girl,” JB said. “Hey, I’m going to hold your hand while I say this next thing, okay?”
