Summer Melody

Chapter 7 - Jane

The laundromat was about a zillion degrees inside, and muggy. The brief rain shower that had just ended had done nothing to relieve the humidity in the air. Jane knew it was a coin flip, as likely to be sixty degrees and breezy in this part of June, but she felt it was somehow a personal attack that the weather had decided to go the steamy route. Meg was moving her laundry from the washer to the dryer, so Jane was saving their seats, alternately peeling her thighs off the molded canary-yellow plastic. Even though there were ten washers and ten dryers, the place only had room for six chairs, which were lined up against the window facing the street. The chairs could put your butt and legs to sleep in about twenty minutes, but there were always people, listlessly attempting to read books and magazines while leaning on a vibrating washer, who hungrily eyed the chairs like vultures circling over road kill.

She and Meg had been coming here once a month for a couple years now. At least, they had until Meg had hooked up with Brady. She'd made the mistake of telling some girls at school about their practice once, and one girl between smacks of her gum asked, "Gawd. You mean your cousin only washes her clothes once a month?" What a doofus. Jane had just looked at her like she was retarded and said, "Yeah." If she was going to be stupid about it, who was Jane to correct her?

Maybe some people would think the laundromat a weird choice for a special place. It suited Jane, though. Nobody here was worried about being fashionable or popular, or being "seen." They just wanted to get their clothes clean.

She'd been really surprised when Meg had called to schedule a date, and halfway wondered if her mom had asked her to do it. After all, Brady hadn't been home from the hospital very long, and from what Bonnie said, there was all that wedding stuff to plan. But in the end, Jane didn't care; she was just happy to be with her again.

Meg plopped herself down in the chair next to Jane. "All right. It's time."

Jane grinned. "I've been practicing."

"Yeah, talk's cheap. We'll see how good you're getting." Meg reached down into her tote bag and pulled out a bag of M&Ms. Tearing it open, she poured out a few and handed one to Jane. "All right. Make me proud."

Tossing a piece up in the air, she caught it in her mouth. She bowed in her chair with a flourish as Meg clapped.

"Well done." Meg scooted onto the floor, placing her bag on the chair to save her seat. She backed up a couple feet from Jane. "I think we're ready to try the two-person hand-off."

She lobbed an M&M to Jane in a lazy underhand arc. Jane tilted her head back and caught it easily, chomping down on the candy shell. "Is that all you got?" she taunted.

"Ooh, the girl has a mouth on her." Meg threw a couple pieces of candy in her mouth and looked at the dryers. "Crap. I need to throw another dime in. Don't move. I'll be right back."

At the dryers, Meg got roped into talking to a young mother who was folding clothes. Strapped to her chest was an infant who was waving his arms like he was directing traffic. The mother seemed not to even know he was there. Jane's attention was diverted to the opposite wall, where a stooped elderly woman had just kicked the soap dispensing machine.

Meg returned to her chair and hefted her tote to the floor. The way her muscles stood out, something heavy must be in it. "That woman I was just talking to is a scout for the U.S. M&M Olympic team. She thinks we have a shot. What was that noise just now?"

Jane swiveled her chair so she could look at Meg without getting a neck cramp. "Oh, it was Lucy," she whispered, not wanting the woman to hear they were talking about her. "She just kicked the soap machine and now she's talking to herself. I've been trying to read her lips, but I can't catch what she's saying."