Worth the Weight

by Eileen Palma

  “Poor Lauren! I’m sorry I…um, distracted you.” Kate bit her bottom lip. Her wet shirt was bunched up on her bra, leaving the moist slick of skin leading into her pants on display.

  “Totally worth it.” Jack shoved his phone back in his pocket. “But I better get outta here.”

  Kate unlocked the door and held it open as Jack scrambled to get Diesel leashed up.

  Kate stood in the doorway, her hair hanging in damp waves over her face and her eyes shining bright beneath her wet eyelashes.

  Jack just needed to get to the elevator bank without looking back. That phone call was actually a wake up call. He didn’t belong here.

  Jack squeezed past Kate, close enough to hear the soft breaths coming from between her parted lips. He could feel the heat radiating off her body.

  Kate moved into the hallway and let the apartment door close behind her with a loud click. “Bye Jack.”

  The hallway smelled like Indian takeout and Jack could hear Fox news blasting from the apartment next door. He just needed to take one more step and hit that elevator button without looking back. One more step.

  Kate lifted her hand in a wave. Jack grabbed her hand and pushed it up against the door, holding it at the top, his arm pressed into hers. Kate’s chest rose as she inhaled one sharp breath. Jack pushed his other hand into the door for support. The center of Kate’s eyes burned fiery orange as she locked her gaze with Jack’s.

  The air felt heavy between them. It was as if they were magnets pushing away from each other when they got too close. Jack ran his fingers down Kate’s hand to the delicate skin on her narrow wrist. Kate closed her eyes as Jack trailed his fingers from her wrist to the soft skin on the inside of her arm.

  Jack pushed through the tension and found Kate’s lips. Kate let Jack take the lead as he kissed her. In that moment, Jack forgot who he was.

  Kate pulled away first, but her wet hair still clung to his cheek. “You have to go.” Her words came out in between short breaths of air. Kate kept her arm pressed up against the door as Jack slowly ran his fingers down her arm. He kept his eyes on hers as he stepped back until her hair moved off his face.

  Kate slipped back through her door as Jack ran to catch the elevator. Jack spent the whole ride to the first floor catching his breath.

  Diesel followed Jack down 23rd Street with constant looks back as if Sarah Jessica Barker was going to materialize behind them at any moment.

  “Come on, Buddy. I know how you feel.” Jack picked up his dog and carried him the rest of the way to the field house. He didn’t know what he was thinking. Because there was no way he could ever find a way to make things work with Kate Richards. And that was no one night stand make out session either.

  “What’re you doing here?” asked Jack, when he found Matt and Lauren waiting for him by the gym entrance.

  “Small Fry called me when you were late. What the fuck happened to you?” His best friend was wearing his going out trolling for chicks getup or what Jack liked to call his Divorced Dude Duds. Dark gray straight leg jeans, white designer tee-shirt with a black velvet blazer and black Kenneth Cole slip ons. His sandy brown hair was freshly clipped and gelled into short spikes.

  Jack smoothed down the front of his damp tee-shirt. “Diesel and I made a pit stop at the dog park.”

  “Looks you were playing with the hose.”

  “Oh yeah.” Jack looked down at his shoes till he was sure he could keep a straight face.

  Matt pounded his fist against Lauren’s. She had to jump up to reach the 6’ 4” man’s hand. “How was practice, Small Fry?”

  “Awesome. I finally got my Giant.” Lauren shimmied her feet in a close approximation of the “Dougie” for her victory dance.

  “Didn’t you get the Giant last week?” Jack had been hearing about the difficult bar move all summer.

  “Yeah, but this time I did it without anyone spotting me.” Lauren’s smile stretched from ear to ear.

  “I knew you would get it,” said Matt.

  “What’s the deal with the new dog leash?” Lauren stared at Diesel’s leash with a bemused expression. “I mean Keep Calm and Play Frisbee is tots cute, but hot pink? Seriously?”

  “Shit! I must’ve grabbed Sarah Jessica Barker’s leash by accident.”

  “Did you get any dirt on the fem-bot?”

  Lauren stared at Matt. “You wanted Uncle Jack to spy on Kate Richards?”

  “Relax. You just worry about getting my tickets to the next Olympics.”

  “She was actually pretty cool. Someone I would want to hang out with again.” Jack tugged on Diesel’s leash. The dog had slumped against the snack machine and was starting to drift off.

  Lauren raised both hands in the air in triumph. “I knew it!”

  “I said she was someone I would want to hang out with again. I didn’t say I was actually going to. It would never work for obvious reasons,” Jack was quick to add as soon as he saw the look of horror on Matt’s face.

  “If you guys really liked each other it would.” Lauren grabbed the leash from Jack and pulled Diesel away from the snack machine.

  “She’s much cooler in person than the woman who just ripped me a new one on TV.”

  “Did you at least spike her coffee with real sugar instead of Splenda or let Diesel hump her little show dog or something?”

  “You’re sick, man.” Jack shook his head.

  “This is why I should’ve been the one to go on this date tonight.”

  “Matt, there’s no way Kate Richards would’ve gone out with you,” said Lauren.

  “Well there’s no way she would’ve gone out with me either if she knew who I really was,” said Jack.

  “Salmon and brown rice for the adults, boxed macaroni and cheese for the kids. Forget that! Feed your children the same healthy dinner you prepare for yourself. It will expand their flavor profile and save you a lot of work in the kitchen.”

  Kate Richards, Bites from the Big Apple

  Chapter Six

  “Do you still have the paper lying around? Morty tore mine apart before I had a chance to clip my coupons.” Mrs. Fink started talking as soon as Kate picked up the phone.

  “I’ll drop it off later when I walk Sarah Jessica. Is that the only reason you called?”

  “I was also wondering if you tried the coffee at the new diner on 23rd yet?”

  “Haven’t had a chance to stop in there since you told me about it last night. Anything else on your mind?”

  “Well, since I have you on the phone anyway. How did it go?”

  “I might as well tell you since you’re going to drag it out of me anyway. We ended up making out like a couple of teenagers.”

  “Of course you did. You two have more heat than the Burrito Deluxe at Salsa City.”

  “So much for playing hard to get.” Kate sighed.

  “Hard to get is for is for women who have more than a baker’s dozen of fertile eggs left.”

  “You’re such a wise ass. Now what do I do?” Kate stood up and stretched, abandoning what was hopefully her last set of cookbook revisions, since it was clear she wasn’t getting off the phone with Mrs. Fink so quickly.

  “You get to know him better. Did he give you his number?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “What does not exactly mean? Is there some new way you young people are communicating these days?”

  “I meant Jack didn’t give me his number in the traditional sense. But when he rushed out of here, he accidentally took Sarah Jessica’s leash and left Diesel’s behind which just happens to have Jack’s number embroidered on it.” Kate rubbed her thumb against the raised beige numbers on the navy nylon.

  “Haven’t you learned by now there are no accidents?”

  “If he wanted to talk he would’ve just asked for my number. Don’t you think?”

  “Maybe he wanted to let you make the first move. Either way it was nice to see you out on
a date. Not every man is like that good for nothing Tyler.”

  “Don’t get all dramatic. I’ve been on dates since Tyler.”

  “Business lunches with the suits from ABC don’t count. Neither do those one night stands from that sex website of yours.”

  Kate released a long sigh. “EHarmony is hardly a sex site. And it only happened that one time years ago. That’s the last time I tell you anything.”

  “I’m getting older you know and I’d like to be around for your wedding.”

  “You know the Jewish guilt thing doesn’t work on recovering Catholics.”

  But every time Kate tried to get back into her editing, she heard Mrs. Fink’s voice in her ear. Kate knew she wouldn’t get any more work done until she called Jack.

  Kate flopped on the couch where her dog was snuggled up against a pile of dirty laundry with a gamey-smelling rawhide. Kate picked up Diesel’s leash from the edge of the couch.

  “What do you think, Sarah Jessica? Should I call him?” Kate nudged the little dog up from her afternoon nap and was met with a wide yawn.

  “I guess you’re right. What’s the big deal?” Kate took a deep breath and grabbed her phone.

  “This is Jack.” He answered on the third ring and clearly didn’t know who was calling him.

  “Hi, it’s Kate.” When Jack didn’t immediately answer she interjected, “From the dog park.”

  “Kate from the dog park? You need to refresh my memory. I met a few Kates at the dog park yesterday.”

  “The Kate that cut dinner short to take you to a little old matchmaker’s apartment.”

  “Oh, that Kate. That was the best rugelach I’ve ever had.”

  “I don’t give up the rugelach on the first date for everyone, you know.”

  “Good to know. I was wondering if you did that for all the guys.”

  “Smooth move leaving your number behind on a dog leash.”

  “You must’ve been waiting by the phone all morning debating about whether to call.”

  “Hardly. Ball’s in your court now.” Kate swiftly hung up, making a calculated gamble that one, he would be smart enough to get her number off the caller ID, and two, he would call her back.

  Kate tackled the dirty dishes while she waited for the phone to ring. She had been experimenting with cookbook recipes for the past few days so there wasn’t a clean spoon or glass left in her apartment. Kate had cleaned out the blender from the Strawberry Symphony Smoothie, her cookie sheet from the Veggie Monster cookies and her Springform pan from her hundredth attempt to get the sour taste out of her Greek Yogurt Cherry Cheesecake when her phone finally pinged.

  Jack Mobile: Lauren said 2 w8 10 mins so don’t look like losr. Made it 9 mins 42 secs.

  Kate Mobile: LMAO

  Jack Mobile: Want 2 walk dogs on Highline next Saturday?

  Kate Mobile: K

  Jack Mobile: Then dinner outside at Cookshop?

  Kate Mobile: Luv that place

  Jack Mobile: Me 2. Let’s meet at Chelsea Highline entrance.

  Kate Mobile: K

  Jack Mobile: Diesel’s looking forward to his double date.

  Kate Mobile: SJB is 2

  “People assume the most pivotal moment in my life was when my mom died. But really, it was years earlier when my dad walked out on us. That was when I became the man of the house and learned what it meant to put everyone else’s needs above my own.”

  Jack Moskowitz, forthebaby.com

  Chapter Seven

  “What’s the problem?” asked Jack.

  “Ironic tee-shirts are so last year.” Lauren wrinkled her nose and grimaced.

  “You don’t think it’s funny?” Jack smoothed down the front of his shirt. The distressed white V-neck was embellished with a picture of an old school stereo tape. Legal Downloads are Killing Piracy was spelled out in raised velvet letters across his chest.

  “Can I look through your stuff for something better?”

  “Fine, but it’s not that big of a deal.”

  “Yeah, right Uncle Jack. And I only hung up One Direction posters all over my room because Madison made me.”

  Jack grabbed a dirty sock off the floor and chucked it at Lauren.

  “Whatever you do—don’t open your big mouth next time you see Matt. I don’t even know why I’m doing this. The last thing I need is him giving me shit.”

  “You know you like her, Uncle Jack.” Lauren balled up the sock and threw it right back at him square in the belly.

  “What’s the point? The minute Kate finds out who I am it’s all over.”

  “Not if she gets to know how cool you are first. Just wait to tell her who you really are till you know she really likes you back.” Lauren held up a threadbare Chelsea Prep P.E. tee-shirt. “Seriously? Haven’t you ever heard of Good Will?”

  Jack’s back pocket vibrated.

  Harper Mobile: Come out front ASAP. Don’t tell Lauren.

  Jack Mobile: K. B right out.

  “I have to run Diesel out.” Jack shoved his phone in his pocket and grabbed Diesel’s leash off the hook by the door. Diesel jumped off the couch and grabbed the leash from Jack’s hands.

  “This might take awhile. Next time, don’t wait till the last minute to get my fashion advice.” Lauren pulled a stack of hastily folded tee-shirts from Jack’s bureau.

  Jack leashed up Diesel, locked the door and ran up the brownstone stairs to street level, bracing himself for the kind of news Lauren would be censored from. Jack’s sense of foreboding deepened when Harper wasn’t standing on the sidewalk in front of their building. After a few roundabout glances, Jack spotted his sister crumpled up in a heap on the chipped green stoop two buildings down. Jack brought Diesel with him and sat down on the stairs next to Harper, trying to block out the image of his neighbor vomiting there two nights ago. He could feel the cold stone through his jeans and heard a crunching sound as his thigh landed on an abandoned Doritos bag. Harper’s ropelike curls blocked the parts of her face that weren’t covered by her hands. Jack had a sickening sense of déjà vu of the day their mom had passed. Harper had been at school and he had been the one who had to tell her. They both knew it was coming— stage four lung cancer moved like an express train—but it was still a shock when it happened. Jack told her on the walk home from school and she had collapsed on the same stoop.

  “David’s helicopter went down today,” Harper whispered through shaky hands. Diesel planted his snout across Harper’s lap, depositing a long thread of drool on her jeans.

  “Is he…” Jack couldn’t finish the question.

  “They’re transporting him to a Marine hospital in San Diego. That’s all I know. I’m catching the next flight out of JFK. Can you watch Lauren for me? I don’t know how long I’ll be gone,” said Harper, without stopping to catch her breath.

  “Of course.”

  “And keep her distracted while I run upstairs and pack a bag. I don’t want her to see me leaving and start asking a bunch of questions.” Harper twisted the palms of her hands into her eyes. Jack wasn’t sure if she was wiping the tears away or attempting to wake herself up from this nightmare.

  “How am I gonna explain where you are?”

  “You can say I landed a commercial in LA. Just don’t tell her about David, at least not until I know what’s going on with him.”

  “Come in and at least say good bye to her.”

  “Lauren’s going to take one look at my face and know something’s wrong.”

  Jack took in Harper’s tangled hair and mascara-dripped eyes. “Don’t worry, I’ve got Lauren covered. Go take care of David.”

  Jack walked Harper back to their own stoop, relieved that she had given him the bad news in front of their neighbor’s house, depositing all the bad vibes there. Served the neighbor right since he was always letting his Rhodesian Ridgeback take a shit in front of Jack’s brownstone. He let Diesel pee on th
e curb while he waited for Harper to go in the main entrance.

  Jack ran his hand through his hair and took a deep breath. His stomach roiled in protest at the bad news. He headed straight to his bedroom where Lauren was surrounded by a pile of his tee-shirts on the foot of his bed.

  “This is so much worse than I thought. Do we have time to go to like J. Crew or Banana?”

  “You think landing your own network show is hard? Dating on an island where the women outnumber the men three to one trumps that any day.”

  Kate Richards, The 411

  Chapter Eight

  “Heels or flats?” Kate turned so she could get a side view of herself in the mirror. Her cobalt blue jeans worked well with the pair of silver grommet-covered black bootie heels, but it was probably a bit much for an outside dinner date with two dogs.

  Sarah Jessica Barker looked up from her dog bed and cocked her head to the side with a distressed whimper.

  “You’re right.” Kate kicked her heels into the pile of rejects and slipped into a pair of black peep-toe flats. She pulled on a white button-down and layered it with a black blazer. She left the top two buttons open and pulled on a delicate silver necklace that dipped low into her shirt. She was just rolling up the sleeves when her home phone rang.

  “I know you’re leaving any minute, but I was just reading this article in The Haute Life about first dates.” As usual, Mrs. Fink spoke so loudly that Kate had to hold the receiver away from her ear.

  “New Haute or from the old pile under your bed?”

  “New. That girl is always leaving her stuff lying around.” Mrs. Fink heaved a loud sigh.

  “I keep telling you letting Regina move in was a mistake.”

  “You weren’t the neatest roommate either.”

  “I kept my mess confined to my room.”

  “And the kitchen and bathroom. Do you want to hear the advice or not?”

  “Make it quick. I don’t want to be late.”