Complicated Love

It had been a month since I had been made a full time teacher, and Thanksgiving was coming up soon. The guys wouldn't be home so Val and I decided to have a small dinner with just the two of us.
We were at the store right now picking stuff up for our Thanksgiving.
I pushed the cart down the meat section and turned to Val. "Ham or turkey?"
"Hmmm which one would you rather have?" she said.
"Ham. I've never really liked turkey all that much," I said making a face that made her laugh as she grabbed a ham.
"Ham it is," Val said. "I have a recipe for a yummy glaze for ham. I'm not much of a turkey person either."
The rest of the trip, we shared stories about past Thanksgiving dinners while we picked out everything that we wanted.
I was telling Val about the small kitchen fire that had happened back before she came along when Jimmy and I had tried to help cook, when I heard my phone go off. It was Kayla.
"Hey there, Kayla." I said.
"Hey Brooke. What're you up to?"
"Shopping with a friend for Thanksgiving. You?" I said as I grabbed a can of cranberry sauce off the shelf.
"Headed for the airport. I wanted to ask a huge favor from you." Kayla said.
I stopped and motioned for Val to go on ahead. "Of course, sweetie. I owe you anyways. What's up?"
"Well, I kind of got evicted from my apartment and I don't have a job anymore and I haven't been able to find one." I could hear the sounds of a lot of people talking behind her. "I was wondering if I could fly out there and stay with you for a while. You own that house right?"
Kayla was asking to move in with me? I said, "You want to just move three states over to live with me?"
She sighed. "Yes. There's not much here for me any way. I could use a change of scenery since I've lived here my whole life."
"Well I do have a small guest room that you could stay in. You would have to help with bills once you get a job and I will help you with that. Go ahead, Kayla. I'm in Huntington Beach in Orange County."
I gave her my address and she laughed once. "Thank you so much, Brooke. You're an amazing friend, you know that right?"
"I've been told that a time or two. I guess I'll see you in a a couple of days." I said.
Kayla hung up and I went to find Val. I found her in the cake and pie aisle. She looked up as I approached her.
"What kind of pie do you want?" she asked.
"Pumpkin," I said. "That was my friend Kayla from college."
Val grabbed a can of pumpkin pie filling and put it in the cart. "The one you stayed with all that time? What'd she need?"
"A place to stay. She got evicted and wants a new start to her life. She knew I lived alone here in California so she asked and since I owe her, I said yes."
"Well, I guess we have to make enough for three on Thanksgiving, huh?" she said as she hugged me. "You're a good friend, Brooke."
I laughed and hugged her back. "Yeah, people keep telling me that."
That night after I got home, I waited until Jimmy called me to tell him the news of Kayla. I knew he had a show tonight.
I was just getting out of the shower when I heard my phone ringing. I ran across the house to answer it.
I didn't even have to look to know who it was. "Hi Jimmy."
"Hey Duckie. You sound out of breath, what's up?" he asked.
"I was just in the shower when you called so I ran to the phone." I said sitting on the couch and pulled my towel around me.
Jimmy whistled. "So you're naked?"
I laughed. "Yes, baby, I am"
"I wanna see!" he said. I could just imagine him pouting with his lower lip stuck out.
"Get your mind out of the gutter, Jimmy. I gotta tell you something." I said.
"Oh no. You found somebody better than me? I knew this would happen..." he said jokingly.
I laughed again. "No, silly. They don't come any better than you-"
"That's what she said" he interupted.
I rolled my eyes and continued, "Anyway, my friend Kayla from college is flying out here and she's going to be staying with me for a while until she can get a job and a place of her own."
"So another girl is going to be staying with you?" Jimmy asked.
"Yes, and I want you to be on your best behavior when you see her." I said.
"Nope." he said quickly. "I can't promise that. Because next time I see you, I will be so pumped up with excitement that I will probably attack you and scare the poor girl."
I grinned. "Not going to lie, I might enjoy that."
Jimmy laughed. "And then I'll ask her to join us."
"Jimmy!" I exclaimed.
He was laughing even harder now. "Calm down, Brooke. I'm kidding! Er...kinda."
"You are so disgusting," I said.
"Yeah but you love me."
I sighed. "I really do. I'm completely and utterly in love with you, goofball."
"I miss you, Brooke. I can't wait until I can hold you again." Jimmy said.
"I can't either," I said. "I'm going to go, Jimmy. I'm dead tired. I've been shopping with Val today."
"Yeah," he said, laughing. "Val will wear you out. Just ask Matt. I love you, Brooke. Goodnight."
"Tell the guys I said hi and that I love and miss them. Love you too, Jimmy. Goodnight."
We hung up and I laid down in my bed. Soon, I was fast asleep.
The next day, Val came over and she helped me clean out my guest bedroom and get it prepared for Kayla. There was a full size bed and a nightstand but that was it after we got all the junk into the garage.
Val turned to me after we had it all cleared out. "We need to go shopping for a bed set and a dresser."
"I can't afford that, Val." I said.
She laughed. "Psh, who said you were buying? I'll pay for it."
I hugged her. "You're awesome Val."
"I know," she said as she grabbed her car keys.
At the furniture store, we picked out a beautiful oak dresser that matched the nightstand and the headboard on the bed. After that we went to pick out a cute bedspread for Kayla.
"What's her favorite color, Brooke?" Val asked.
I had to think about that for a second. "Green," I said. "I remember now because she said it brought out the black in her and the brown in her eyes. She's half black and she's always trying to think of ways to bring it out. I love that girl."
Val smiled. "Green it is."
We had the dresser sent to my house and the delivery guys moved it and set it up in the bedroom for us. After we had the bedspread set up, we went back to the store to buy other small decorations to make it more comfortable for her. Val picked out a cute green lamp to set on the nightstand and I got a full length mirror to hang on the closet and a green fuzzy rug to put at the edge of the bed. When we had all of that set up, I put a framed picture of me and Kayla on her nightstand next to the lamp.
Val and I stood back and looked at what we had managed to do. I thought it looked pretty damn good.
"She's going to love it, Val. thank you very much for helping me." I said.
"No problem," she said. "Now I'm off to my house. I'm gonna eat and pass out. I'll see you later. Love ya, girly."
"Love you too," I said as Val walked out to her car.
I turned to look back at the room we had done up just for Kayla. I was proud of what we had done for my friend.