October to October

{Chapter Twenty-Seven}

  "So you met Joan's new girlfriend?" Hope asked. 

   It was the day after Lauren met Krishma, and now Lauren was sting with Hope on the porch swing of Lauren's house while they waited for Ruth and Monroe. They were going to try on outfits for their date with the frat boys, and they wanted to borrow a few things from Lauren and Ruth. Both Monroe and Ruth were running late so Lauren had to hang out one-on-one with Hope.

  It had been such an innocent, calm conversation up until then, and Lauren even found herself thinking that it was weird how normal Hope was acting, but now she knew why. It wasn't because she was having a good day, or she was enjoying her cup of tea. It was because she wanted to rub the news of Joan's new girlfriend in Lauren's face.

  "Well, I met someone named Krishma. Joan said she was a friend of hers."

  "That's her new girlfriend," Hope confirmed. "She's gay too."

  "Well, I'd hope so if they were dating. How do you know they're dating?"

  "I don't know for certain they are, but I do know she's gay. She's president of the schools LBGTQ or whatever they call it club."

  "You know an awful lot about the gay scene around here."

  "Shut up. You know they're dating though."

  "Both of them being gay does not automatically mean they're dating."

  "Well, she's too pretty for Joan, but they probably are."

  "Just shut up Hope."

  Hope rolled her eyes. "Well, she is. Anyway, I ran into them at the mall. Joan actually called me over to say hi. I think she wanted me too meet her new girlfriend to make me uncomfortable. I guess she's better than that Sandra girl with all the tattoos. At least this one looks normal."

  Lauren was fuming inside as Monroe finally arrived and Ruth a few minutes after. She noticed her sister was quiet as they went upstairs to try on the clothes in Ruth's bedroom. Ruth sat on the edge of her bed, and she barely said a word as the girls styled their outfits. 

  "So what do you think?" Monroe asked as they modeled their now completed date outfits in front of the floor length mirrors on Ruth's closet doors.

  "Beautiful," Lauren said as she sat next to her sister on the bed.

  "Yeah, you guys look fantastic," Ruth said even though she barely glanced. She was too busy texting away on her phone with a worried look on her face.

  "We better get going," Monroe said as she checked her watch. "Glenn and Matthew are going to meet us at eight, and it's about ten minutes till. I don't want to keep them waiting. Glenn gets so impatient."

  "That's because you're always the last to arrive to practically everything," Hope said, and they laughed as they started to pick up the mess they had made of Ruth's floor.

  "Don't worry about it," Ruth said as she saw what they were doing. "I'll get it later."

  "Are you sure?" Monroe asked.

  "Yeah, it's fine," Ruth said with a wave of her hand; dismissing them. "You guys have fun."

  "Thanks for lending us your awesome stuff," Monroe said as she gave both girls a quick hug. "I'll call you later with all the gory details."

  "There will be no gory details!" Hope declared as they walked out of the bedroom; laughing.

  "So what is up with you?" Lauren turned to her sister the moment they were alone, and she asked the question she had been dying to ask all night.