Free Hurt by Lila Bruce

Yeah.”
    “Um, Jamie is that…”
    “Black velvet? Sure is. You won’t believe I picked that up at a yard sale for two dollars.”
    Jamie flashed a grin at Sundae, knowing from the other woman’s expression that she was not as impressed as Jamie had been with the find.
    “Oh, I can believe it.”
    “You sound as bad as Nicole. She’s made some not so subtle threats about what she’ll do if I ever attempt to bring that picture to her house.” Jamie smiled into a stainless steel travel mug half-full of pumpkin spice latte and then took a sip of the warm liquid.
    Sundae laughed and shook her head.
    “Sounds like a woman after my heart. I can’t wait to meet her.”
    “You’ll love her. Tom will too. He’ll finally have someone to talk football with.” Jamie opened a door off the hallway and stepped in. “I’m sorry he couldn’t make it this morning.”
    Sundae shrugged as she followed Jamie into the empty room with pale blue walls.
    “It’s his own fault he’s sick. I told him not to eat grocery store sushi, but you know men. Oh, is that a walk-in closet?”
    “It is,” Jamie answered. She motioned around the room with the coffee mug as Sundae inspected the closet. “I’ve never really used it, though. I kept a mountain bike in there during that year I decided to get more exercise, but other than that it’s always stayed empty. This room I more or less just use for storage.”
    Sundae glanced back at Jamie from inside the cedar-lined closet.
    “You’re something else, Jamie. So this isn’t the master, then?”
    “No,” Jamie said, shaking her head. “I’ll show you that in a minute. Both the bedrooms are a nice size, but the master is a little larger and has the ensuite bathroom.”
    “This is really nice. I can’t believe you’re wanting to sell it.”
    “You know, this was the first really big thing I did after I was out on my own,” Jamie admitted. “Kind of an ‘I’ve made it’ purchase. But, I’ve been with Nicole long enough to know that I don’t ever want to be with anyone else, and it’s time to consolidate into one space.”
    “Well, her house must be a friggin’ mansion for you to want to give this one up,” Sundae remarked as she closed the door to the closet.
    “Nah, not really. To be honest, her place needs lots of work.”
    Jamie walked out of the room, motioning for Sundae to follow.
    “So why not move in here?” Sundae asked.
    “Nicole’s house belonged to her mother. I never met her, she had cancer. She passed away before Nicole and I got together, but Nicole was crazy about her. Nicole moved in with her mom during that the last year and, after she passed, never moved back out. She’s a real estate agent, so I’m sure if she wanted to, Nicole could have easily sold that house and found herself something a little nicer.” Jamie paused in the hallway outside the door to her bedroom. She glanced back at Sundae as she continued. “To be honest, I think it’s her way of hanging onto her mom. I could never ask her to give it up.”
    Sundae smiled and touched Jamie on the arm.
    “You know, no matter how much I know you hate to admit it, you really are a softie. I hope Nicole appreciates you.”
    “Some days more than others,” Jamie grinned. “When she finds out I’ve lost my cell phone, she’s going to be pissed. I distinctly remember that she told me to get the insurance on it, and I told her that it was a waste of money.”
    “Well, maybe you just left it at her place,” Sundae said. “Hopefully, anyway. I know Tom lost his iPhone a couple years back and it cost around three hundred dollars to replace it out of contract.”
    “Jesus,” Jamie muttered. “If that’s the case, I’ll just do without.” Jamie opened the door and stepped into the master bedroom. She motioned around the room with her coffee mug. “The ensuite is right over there. Jacuzzi tub, double sinks. The walk-in closet is there. It’s actually a little bigger than the one in