Miss Lola.

Chapter 30.

Hollis was right, Avis problems aren't mine but she's my friend and I can't leave her hanging and so at the stroke of twelve, I asked Todd to keep an eye

on things and when I arrive at her house instead of ringing the doorbell like a normal person, I holler loud enough for Avis to hear, "Knock, knock."

"Who is it?"

"Publisher's Clearing House." I say in a fake British accent.

A moment later she comes to the door and rolls her eyes at my corny joke.

"Girl, that ain't funny."

"But what if it was them for real? What would you have said?"

Avis slaps one hand on her hip and deadpans, "Where my cheque at."

We crack up laughing and I notice that she's dressed and holding a steaming mug of coffee in her other hand so I figure that she's in a slightly better mood.

"C'mon in." Avis said and she sounds better too, although there are still traces of sadness in her voice and demeanor.

"Have you eaten lunch yet?" she asks as I follow her into the kitchen. "I can fix you a pulled, chicken sandwich."

"Sounds good." I say.

As usual we end up seated around the table in her kitchen which is cleaner than it had been this morning.

She's even opened the little window above the sink to let in some fresh air.

I surreptitiously look around for the baseball bat and mercifully, it's no where in sight and I'm hoping that she had taken my advice and tossed it into the trash.

"So, how you doing girl?" I ask.

"I feel okay at the moment which is a far cry from the way I was feeling this morning."

"Did you call the lawyer?"

Avis slowly nodded her head up and down, "Sure did and made an appointment for Tuesday at 10 a.m and she sounds like she knows what she's doing. I like her already."

Then she sighed deeply and her eyes filled up. Avis sheepishly wiped at them.

"I can't seem to stop crying." She apologized.

"Don't worry about that. Just handle your business. Hmm..this sandwich is delicious."

The chicken was perfectly cooked and lightly seasoned with onion, salt and cracked pepper and Avis had thoughtfully added sliced tomato and a thin layer of Miracle whip on the bottom slice of wheat bread.

"Would you like some chips and a coke to round it off?" She asked.

"Some iced tea would be lovely. No chips though because I'm on a diet."

"Well it's working. You look good, girl."

"Thanks. It's hard turning down some good food but I don't want to be walking around here looking like the Goodyear blimp."  I say while thinking, especially now that I got a man.

I watched her get a fresh pitcher of Green tea from the fridge and two glasses down from the cabinet.

"Look like you've lost a pound or two yourself." I observed, eyeing her slender waist.

Avis sucked her teeth and said, "Chile, that's these spanx and a new girdle."

She poured the tea and I quickly got up for my drink and brought it back to the table.

"This girdle so tight, I can barely take a deep breath without seeing stars." Avis complained, which made me cackle.

"Well, they call them "waist trainers" now." I said.

We chatted about this and that until it was time for me to leave.

"Please let me know how everything turns out with the lawyer." I said at the front door.

"You'll be the first person I call." Avis said.

I called Hollis and put him on speakerphone as I was driving back to the Shop and he picked up on the third ring.

"Hey, Lola. Are you ready to go?"

"You know it. But I've already eaten at Avis house, so I'll keep you company while you eat."

"That's very sweet of you, Miss Simmons." Hollis teased and then he turned serious. "How's she doing?"

"Avis? Well she seemed to be doing okay. She's contacted the lawyer and has an appointment next week. I asked her to keep me posted."

"Is Avis a real good friend of yours?" Hollis asked.

"Yes, didn't I tell you this morning? Avis had my back when I first opened my Shop."

"How long have you been friends?"

"Almost twenty-three years. Why?"

"I'm just trying to understand the relationship between you two ladies. Well, Jill is one of the best divorce lawyers in town. She'll take real excellent care of your friend."

When I pulled up at the Shop, Hollis was already parked out front with the windows on his Jag powered down.

I hopped out of my car and into his and we were soon heading towards his favorite lunch spot.

"Do you have many friends?" I asked because his questions about Avis had me wondering about his friends which I've never even heard him mention.

"There are a couple guys that I hang out with. Would you like to meet them?"

"No, I was just curious."

"Well, why not? They're just regular guys. You might like them." Hollis said.

"Are they married?" I ask and Hollis nods.

"I was best man at all of their weddings. As a matter-of-fact, Brian is hosting a gigantic cook out on next Saturday. You should come and meet everybody."

"Sure. Why not?" I say. "Are they in the car dealership business too?"

"Lola, not everyone I know sales cars. Brian is a dentist and Jake coaches highschool sports. We all attended Brown University together."

"Oh. Well Avis and Nancy are my girls. I'll have to introduce y'all one day."

After lunch, Hollis drives me back to the Shop and I can tell that he has something heavy on his mind.

"Have you thought about it?"

"Thought about what?" I ask even though I have a pretty good idea of what he's going to say next.

Hollis frowns a little as he studies me.

"Lola, I'm serious about wanting to marry you. I don't just date without a purpose, I'm too grown for that and I love you."

"I love you too." I say automatically and then it hits me that it's true. I really do love this man, but it happened so fast until it's scary.

A big smile spreads across Hollis face.

"You do?"

"Yes, Hollis." I roll my eyes but I'm smiling too. "Hey, we forgot about our parents."

His expression goes blank, "Our parents?"

"I mean, shouldn't we meet the parents before meeting the friends?"

"Well, would you like to meet my parents? They live in Florida so we'll have to do some traveling."

"Oh, that ain't a problem. I love road trips." I say.

12/20/21
Edited 2/20/22.