Page 6 of WASP

“Thought you were feeling spicy?” Max asked, releasing the handle and stopping the flow of green, creamy dessert.

“Maybe another time,” Lynn said off-handedly—her typical answer.

That was the thing about Lynn. Even after all these years, Max felt like there were parts of her she still didn’t really know, which was odd to her considering they had spent the last two Christmases together when Max didn’t have it in her to make the trip back home to Maryland to visit her dad.

Max and Lynn each finished off their frozen yogurts with their desired toppings—pistachio crumbles and strawberries for Max, mixed fruit for Lynn. Max fumbled for a moment at the register, digging in her pockets for her wallet before Lynn beat her to it.

“This one’s on me,” she said quietly, handing her card to the teenage boy working the register.

“No, I’m good, you don’t have to,” Max said quickly. She had always quietly been uncomfortable with gestures like that. She had her own money, and she could pay for her own things.

Lynn didn’t say anything as she landed a look that said, Don’t argue with me, which made Max grin as she collected a napkin and spoon for each of them. She followed Lynn outside and across the street to the park that bordered the inlet leading to the center of town.

The sun was beginning to set as they strolled along the paved pathway running parallel to the waterway. A family of ducks cut across the water, scattering refracted versions of pink hues across the surface.

“How was your shift today?” Lynn asked, taking a bite of her frozen yogurt.

Max shrugged, fishing out a strawberry from the cup in her hands. “Same old. I was covering the beverage cart, which is always…interesting.” She gave Lynn a look that said I’m sure you can imagine. “But hey, money is money, right?” Her grin widened as her mind wandered through her day, and the vision of a cute blonde in a dangerously short golf skirt flashed across her thoughts. “Met a cute girl today, so not a total waste.”

Lynn smiled into her next bite, shaking her head side to side, causing loose wisps of gray and brown strands of hair to fall free. She tucked one behind her ear. “I’m going to go out on a limb and guess she was a pretty blonde?”

“Am I that predictable?”

“Well, in the time that I’ve known you, you’ve only dated blondes. There was Jen, Haley, Bridget, Victoria, Sasha… I know I’m missing a few.”

“I have a type, so sue me,” Max said playfully, not hiding her grin. “And I wouldn’t really call most of those dating…” She trailed off.

“What would you call them?” Lynn asked with genuine curiosity. That’s why Max liked Lynn so much. She always approached things with wonder, which, for a straight woman of her age, was rare and had caught Max off guard as she and Lynn were getting to know each other.

A cocky half-smile accompanied her answer to Lynn’s question, her usual snark present and accounted for. “Flings, situationships, fun weekends, and mistakes.”

“Huh. Noted.” Lynn scraped the bottom of her yogurt cup, taking her last bite. “Is that a normal part of dating these days?”

“Why? Thinking of putting yourself out there?” Max smirked, holding her hand out to take Lynn’s empty container.

Lynn placated her comment with a smile. “No, I’m curious. It’s all so different from the experience I had. Dan and I never really dated. He was just always there.”

From what Max had pieced together between the things about herself Lynn had willingly offered and what she had deduced from reading between the lines of the things Lynn left unsaid, Max knew that Dan was Lynn’s late husband, who had passed away a little over ten years ago. Beyond that, he was a topic Lynn rarely brought up.

Max hesitated for a moment, afraid she may have overstepped with her admittedly not-great joke, but Lynn was already talking.

“So this girl. Did you at least get her number or handle or whatever it is you swap?”

Max let out a short laugh. “Uh, no. It was more of what I call a look-but-don’t-touch situation. She definitely reads as a straight-laced Republican, and I already learned my lesson there. We can all thank Stacy for that one.”

“Oh, how could I forget Stacy?”

“Hey, you’re the one who’s always asking about what I’m getting up to. Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to.”

They moved together down the walkway bordering the water, the sun having mostly dipped below the horizon, the night sky pushing out the lingering golden glow. It was chilly without the sun, and Max pulled on the sweatshirt she had tied around her waist.

This was another thing she liked about Lynn. She seemed to lack the need most people had to fill every silence with words. The time they spent together was often quiet and comfortable, and usually exactly what Max needed, but tonight it felt different, like Lynn was holding something back.

“You’re a little quieter than usual,” she said after a moment of internal debate.

“Am I?” Lynn mused.

Over the years with Lynn, Max had learned the art of general coaxing. “Yeah. What’s up? Anything you want to talk about?” she encouraged, but a flash of blond hair hurrying across the street caught her attention. She put her hand out, stopping Lynn in her tracks.