Baby (Laundromat Chonicles Book 3) (4 page)

“See you next month. You can schedule at the front desk.” With that she walked out.

“Let’s go home.” I helped Lena off the table.

“Hap?”

“Yeah, babe?”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“Being so bitchy lately and refusing to let you see me without clothes and for not wanting you to touch me. I do trust you. I just want you to know that.”

“I do know that.” I put my arm around her as we walked out to the front desk. “Don’t worry about me, Lena, you’re not bitchy just sassy sometimes and as far as sex? We have a lifetime for that, I can handle being celibate for a while. Besides, I have a hand.” I raised my hand to her for a high five and giggles fell from her mouth. It was the most beautiful sound. Her laughter made me feel like I could conquer the world.

“Love you, Hap.”

“Love you too, Lena.”

***

“You sure I shouldn’t get a job? I feel bad having you working while I stay here.”

This argument is becoming a daily thing. Every time I have to leave for work she either begs me to stay or tries to convince me that she needs a job. I hate leaving her home alone so much. Her friends are all away on family trips for their graduation and her mother still isn’t speaking to her.

The last time my dad hit me was one hell of a fight. It was the first time I’d hit back. Once was all it took for him to realize how bad he’d gotten. How horrified my mother would be to see the man he’d become. A few days later he checked himself into rehab. He hasn’t touched a drop of alcohol or laid a hand on me since. Not long after Lena got pregnant, he met another woman online who he dated fairly frequently. When Lena and I moved out, so did he. It was a huge leap for him since she lived five hours away, but it seemed the next logical choice for my father, and he’s happier than I’ve ever seen him. I’m truly happy for him and hold no grudges from the past. We both lost my mother and grieved in different ways. He’s sorry now, that’s what I carry with me.

We truly only have each other.

“I know you get bored here, babe, but you start school in the fall. No point in working for a few months when I make enough to take care of us for now.”

“I know. It’s just so lonely sometimes.” I hated seeing the sadness in her eyes. The longing to go out and be young.

“Lena, maybe it’s time to call your mom?”

“Why would you say that?” She steps back from me, loneliness turning to anger. There’s one thing I’ve learned since finding out she’s going to have a baby. Hormones during pregnancy are fucking insane, and they can turn on you, emotionally, in an instant. Two nights was all it took in our new place to witness my sweet and loving girlfriend turn into a raging lunatic then a heap of tears in a matter of minutes because I forgot pretzels on my way home. It was horrifying and I made a promise not to cause that kind of meltdown again. Despite my best efforts, it was about to happen.

“I was just thinking maybe she could keep you company sometimes. Not all the time, just sometimes and maybe she’s accepted us and the baby? Maybe she can help you deal with the changes going on? I don’t know. I just hate seeing you so upset. Don’t be mad.” I walked toward her, closing the gap she created. She stepped back again. “Lena, come on.” My arm stretched toward her, my hand begging her to reach out.

“I don’t want to talk to my mother. Don’t ever bring her up again.” Her words were vehement.

“Okay, I promise. I’m sorry.” My arms were held above my head, surrendering.

“Put your arms down, you look stupid. Go to work. I’ll be fine but you’re going to the laundromat with me when you get home.”

“Deal. I love you.” She let me close enough to kiss her goodbye before she went back to the computer where she spent all of her time lately.

“What are you doing over there?”

“Writing. I got an idea the other night and decided to write it down. Why not? Who knows, maybe I’ll be a big time author.” She shrugged playfully, signs of my sweet girlfriend returning.

“See, I’m not lonely… I have my
friends
.” She winked cutely at me.

“Okay, babe. Love you. Write a blockbuster,” I call out over my shoulder as I head out to work, leaving her with her stories.

***

We pull up to the laundromat just after six. I’m dead tired from working. They had me out bussing tables more which was good money wise, better tips, but on busy nights like tonight it is fucking exhausting. I consider telling Lena we can go another day but she was all ready when I walked in the door, the laundry baskets by the door and a sack dinner packed. I didn’t have the heart to tell her no.

Most kids our age are out partying on weekend nights, not Lena and me. We spend them at the laundromat. It’s not bad. It seems to be the same group of people every Saturday night for the last month or so. They seem nice enough. Lena loves going and even though we’ve yet to talk to any of them she says she loves watching them. I don’t hate it, but I would rather be at home on the couch with her curled up beside me.

“Looks like the gang is all here,” she squeals before opening the door, too quick for me to respond. I follow her in, the larger of the two baskets in my arms. She goes to our usual machines and starts the process while I set up our sack dinner at the table we sit at every week. I unwrap the sandwiches and open her bag of chips, setting it nicely as though we are out at a fancy dinner. This is our fancy dinner. I pop open her can of Sprite just as she sits down.

“Thanks for dinner, babe, looks delicious.” I lean over to kiss her, gently patting her leg.

“It’s just sandwiches,” she retorts.

“No, it’s not. It’s dinner made with love.”

“You’re sweet.”

“Thank you.”

“And girly,” she said with a giggle. I toss a chip at her in mock offense. “Hey!” she exclaims pretending to be wounded. I love this side of Lena. I love every side of her, but this is my favorite. Her smile is infectious. Her laugh better than any anti-depressant on the market. She’s going to be a fantastic mother. We continue eating and laughing causing all the exhaustion I felt earlier to dissipate. The bell on the washer sounds breaking up our little party. I stand to help her transfer the clothes to the dryer. Before I take a step, the little old lady who’s in there every Saturday night steps in front of me.

Her face shows faint signs of aging, and she wears her hair long unlike most older women I see. She always has her makeup on and tonight is no different. Light blue eye shadow, pink cheeks and red lips. She’s quite beautiful for a woman her age, and I always wonder what she’s doing in a laundromat. She doesn’t look like someone who needs to do her laundry here.

“Hello, can I help you with something?” I ask when she stands firmly in front of me.

“I’m Ruby Green.” Her mouth curves into a smile, her hand stretches out to mine. Not wanting to be rude I take it in my own.

“I’m Hap Lansing and that’s my girlfriend Lena Johnson.” I tip my head toward Lena, who stopped switching clothes to watch the exchange. The woman named Ruby smiles at me then at Lena.

“It’s nice to talk to you both. I see you in here every week and you’re just so darn cute. I had to say hello.”

Lena abandons the laundry switch for the time being and came to stand by me. “It’s nice to talk to you as well, Ruby.” A smile spreads across my girl’s face as she looked at the woman.

“May I ask you a question, dear?” Her voice was soft, gentle.

“Of course.”

“Are you with child?” The words were nearly a whisper in an effort to keep our secret from the other laundromat patrons.

Lena giggled. “Yes, almost five months actually. I’m really starting to show aren’t I?” Her hands fall to her growing belly. The t-shirt that was once loose on her is now flush against her skin. She is showing more than I realized. “You don’t have to whisper. We’re not ashamed,” Lena says proudly, her free hand reaching out for mine which I promptly hold.

Ruby smiled sweetly at us. “Cash, get over here,” she calls out to a man sitting in the farthest corner of the laundromat talking to the blonde girl who usually keeps to herself. Reluctantly, he stands up and moseyed over to the woman.

“Cash, I’d like you to meet this nice young couple… Hap and Lena,” she introduces.

Cash stretches a hand out to both of us. “Nice to meet both of you,” he said with a smile that mirrored Ruby’s. It’s obvious they’re related somehow. Also, like Ruby, he looks a bit out of place here.

“Lena is going to have a baby! Isn’t that exciting?” Ruby claps her hands together.

“Congratulations to both of you,” Cash says with a smile.

“Umm, thank you both,” I offer.

“I just love babies. Cash, help Hap transfer the clothes. I want to hear all the baby details.” Before any of us could respond, she had Lena sitting down and Cash and I were standing there bewildered. With a shake of my head, I decide not to question Ruby and instead went to swap the laundry. Cash followed as he was instructed to do.

“Thanks, man, you don’t have to do that.” It feels awkward having a strange dude touch our things.

“Um, I know you just met my grandmother, but I’m sure you can tell that when she says something you listen, even if that’s helping a stranger with laundry.” We both chuckle. Yes, that much I had gathered in our brief meeting.

“Your grandma, huh? She’s sweet. We see her in here every week.” I quickly transfer the wet clothes into a basket before Cash has a chance to help. I doubted Lena wants a strange dude touching her underwear. I don’t want a strange dude touching her underwear. He’s clearly as uncomfortable as I am, so I keep the conversation light, doing all the laundry but making it look as though he’s helping.

“Yeah, she likes meeting people. A bit of a busy body. Sorry for her bluntness.”

“Ahh, don’t worry about it, man. She’s nice and Lena is happy to talk to someone other than me.”

“She doesn’t even need to do laundry here. She just comes here to watch people.” He shakes his head in disbelief.

“I wondered about that. I never see her here with too many clothes to wash.” I push in the coins and press start, thankful that’s done and he didn’t have to touch our clothes. “How did she talk you into hanging out at the Wash and Tumble on a Saturday night?” We chat casually, making our way back to Lena and Ruby.

“She’s an odd woman but I love the hell out of her, plus we’re the only family we have left so I make it a point to hang out with her a few times a week. Tonight happens to be her laundry night.” He chuckles.

“Seems like a legit reason,” I reply, laughing myself.

By the time we reach the table it’s attracted the other few patrons and they’re all gushing over Lena. All but the one loner dude who always looks pissed off. He’s just standing back, watching the commotion and the brunette with big tits.

“Babe!” Lena exclaims happily, clearly loving all the attention. “Meet our new friends!” She excitedly grabs my hand, pulling me into the center of the circle they created. I was a little wary of the word “friends” but this is the happiest I’ve seen her since her mother basically disowned us. Who am I to crush that happiness?

She went around the circle introducing. Amanda is the brunette with big, fake tits. She’s got a pretty smile and kind eyes. Jewel has blonde hair, and I can see where she had some facial piercings. Life looks like it’s been rough on her but beneath the dark makeup she’s got a soft and pretty face. Not Lena pretty, but pretty enough. Jase is the dude who always looks like he has a stick up his ass but from the way he and Amanda glance at each other tells me they have something going on.

“Nice to meet all of you,” I offer with a wave. They return the hello in succession as the conversation continues.

“What do you do for work?” Cash asks, popping open a soda can then joining me at the table beside the chattering women. Jase also jumps the women ship and sits at the table with Cash and me.

“I work in a restaurant. Bussing tables, washing dishes, whatever they need me to do.”

“Really, what restaurant?”

“Finnigins, downtown. It’s a nice place and the owner is great. Knows all about Lena and me, so she gives me extra hours to help out with bills.” I shrug, not really wanting to talk about my work. “What about you?”

“Eh, advertising. Boring stuff. What about you, Jase?” Both Cash and I turn our heads to the man who looks like someone pissed in his cheerios.

“Construction.”

“Nice, man’s work,” Cash jokes. The two men were polar opposites. One pretty boy and one rough man. Jase looked like he could crush Cash with just a thought. I didn’t think talking shit to him was wise, but to my surprise Jase cracks a smile.

“Damn straight it’s man’s work, nothing wrong with working with your hands.” The statement was heartfelt but also a warning to Cash, who seems like the kind of guy that would look down on another man for not having a corner office and a tailored suit.

“Either of you married or have families?” I ask, enjoying the conversation.

“Nah, been living the one night stand for a while until meeting Jewel. She’s not making it easy to get to know her, but I’m trying. What about you, Jase?” Cash asks, freely admitting he’s into the blonde that for sure looks to be from a different life than him.