Big Love by Saxon Bennett, Layce Gardner Page B

Zing said patiently. But what she didn’t say was that there was no way she was going home before her time was up. If Bertha caught her, she might make her stay. And Zing couldn’t bear the thought of leaving Nell.
    At that moment, Nell came through the swinging door holding a bank bag. Miracle quickly snatched the paper out of Carol’s hand and, since she had no pockets in the skirt she was wearing, shoved the paper down into the depths of her cleavage.
    “What was that?” Nell asked.
    “What was what?” Miracle asked much too innocently.
    “The paper you stuck between your boobs,” Nell said.
    “Oh, that? It’s a. . .” Miracle hesitated. She was horrible at lying.
    Carol interjected, “Poem. It’s Miracle’s latest poem.”
    “That’s right,” Miracle agreed. “I wanted Carol’s opinion on my new poem.”
    “I didn’t know you were a poet,” Nell said.
    “I am actually,” Miracle said. “A very bad poet,” she added.
    “There’s no such thing as bad writing,” Nell said. “Dove says you just need to get something written down and afterward you can revise it.”
    “Right, I need a lot of revising. In fact, this one needs years of revising,” Miracle said.
    “Will you let me read it someday?” Nell asked.
    “Sure thing.”
    “Speaking of revision, Dove Lance needs to do a lot of that herself. Her last book was awful,” Carol said.
    “You didn’t even read it,” Nell said, indignantly.
    “I read the first page and that’s all I needed. That woman never met a comma she didn’t like.”
    “Since when are you an English major?” Nell asked. Her face was growing redder by the second.
    “It wasn’t that bad,” Miracle said. “I read parts of it last night. The sex parts.”
    Miracle and Carol laughed.
    “Well, I’m glad somebody liked it. I’ll make sure to tell Dove you enjoyed it,” Nell said, tossing a dirty look at Carol.
    “Yeah, make sure you text her because she won’t talk to you on the phone,” Carol said.
    Nell crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t know why you don’t like Dove. She’s never done a thing to you.”
    “I don’t like her because I’m afraid she’s not who she says she is and she’s going to break my best friend’s heart,” Carol said.
    Nell softened. “You’ll see. Dove is nice and she does care about me. When you meet her, you’ll see.”
    “Yeah, sure,” Carol mumbled.
    Nell looked at Carol as if trying to read her. Finally, she shrugged. “All right, then. I’ve got to make the bank deposit, so I’ll see you when I get back,” Nell said.
    “The three of us are going to go for a walk,” Carol said.
    Nell turned. “A walk?”
    “Yeah, you know, exercise,” Carol said, walking two fingers across the table top.
    “We’re trying to be healthy,” Zing said. She picked up a baggie of carrots, celery, and apple slices, and shook it in Nell’s direction. She opened the baggie, selected a piece of celery, and munched on it. She smiled at Nell and made exaggerated yummy noises. The truth was, Zing couldn’t stand celery. It didn’t have much of a taste at all. And it didn’t smell anything like a donut. It smelled like something that came out of the ground, not an oven.
    “Zing discovered her spare tire,” Miracle explained.
    Nell laughed. “The donuts caught up to you, huh?”
    Zing sadly looked down at her belly. “How many vegetables do I have to eat before it goes away?”
    “Just swallow, honey,” Miracle said, patting Zing’s arm.
    “Well, enjoy your walk,” Nell said.
    The three women silently watched Nell walk out the door. When they were sure she was gone, they resumed their whispering.
    “Why did you tell Nell that you think Dove Lance isn’t who she thinks she is? Zing asked. “Shouldn’t we have proof first?”
    Carol took a carrot out of the baggie. “I’m hoping Nell will come to her senses without our intervention because I still want to be her friend when this is all over. I don’t want her