Karen cocked her head, a look of pure curiosity plastered across her face.
"After all that's gone down, do you think Dorothy and Everett... can they still make it work?" she asked.
Jeffrey's hand paused on the steering wheel, his lips thinning, "That's a tough one to call.” "Why's it hard to say? It's just us here, so spill it! Nobody's here to judge,” Karen grumbled, "Nobody's gonna blame you if you make a wrong guess." Jeffrey mulled it over for a second, then let out a sigh. "I honestly don't know. But I'll bet my bottom dollar that Dorothy's the only gal for Everett, now and forever." "You think he'll stay single for the rest of his life if they don't patch things up?" Karen was skeptical. "You do realize that's decades we're talking about, right? You think he can handle being a lone wolf that long?" "When a guy's at his most fickle, it's typically in his teens and twenties. Everett rode solo through those years, so | have zero doubt he can stick it out. Plus, the older you get, the less you want to put up with anyone else's baloney." Karen's eyes danced as she turned Jeffrey's face towards her, locking eyes with him.
"What about you? If we ever broke up—" "Knock on wood! We're not breaking up! Relax, my folks are rooting for us. They're dying for someone to tame me, so no roadblocks there." "Tsk!" Karen clicked her tongue. "I'm talking hypothetically!" "There are no ifs" unless | kick the bucket." Back at her place, Dorothy had finished her nightly routine and was sprawled on the bed, watching a video Everett had sent.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtAbigail was always the giggly one, clutching her storybooks, entwining her brother in her little world, utterly content.
Langston, on the other hand, was all about his lessons. He was seemingly enthralled with Math class, heads down and tackling problems, but when it came to English or Geography, he was out like a light.
After watching the videos more times than she could count, Dorothy exited the app, but then, on a whim, she dived back in and typed a brief message.
[Busy?] The reply came swiftly.
[Nope, what's up?] [Nothing. Just checking in to see how you're feeling.] Dorothy sent it, then hesitated, quickly retracting her message.
It felt a tad awkward to care about Everett.
She edited her message down to a simple ‘Nothing’ before sending it again.
But staring at the chat, Dorothy thought replying with just that seemed like she was toying with Everett.
But what should she follow up with? As she was lost in thought, Everett replied.
[I've been getting shots and taking meds. Throat's still a bit sore, but I'm mostly fine.] So he had seen her withdrawn message! But she had been so quick to retract it! Was Everett glued to their conversation the entire time?! Dorothy hastily set her phone aside, covering her face with her hands.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmNext time she talked to Everett, she'd have to weigh her words more carefully.
After laying there for a while, she got up to work on her project on her laptop.
The due diligence team had already sent over their findings for the day, and Dorothy diligently organized the data before posting an update to the group.
Once everything was settled, she glanced at the clock; it was nearly midnight! Dorothy quickly washed her face and hopped back into bed, checking her phone one last time. Everett had sent a few more videos of the kids.
They must have been fresh off the presses. She only tucked her phone under her pillow and turned off the light after watching them.
Sometimes Dorothy thought if she could just keep this kind of connection with Everett, life wouldn't be half bad.