WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR: a nostalgic romantic comedy (Boston Classics Book 1)
Page 27
“That’s funny.” I press her hands to my heart. “Because I didn’t want to break up with you either. I wanted to tell you that you’ve changed me. In a good way. In fact, your love”—I draw out the word and lean in to kiss her again before continuing—“may be the reason why that performance was so convincing.” I tilt my head toward the stage. “You taught me that risking loss makes life much more precious.”
Kate’s eyes shine. “Well, lucky for you, you can’t seem to lose me.”
“‘I love you with so much of my heart that none is left to protest,’” I whisper before brushing my lips over hers.
“‘My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep,’” she interjects before I can go on.
My jaw drops, and I lever back to take in her proud face. She learned a Shakespeare quote. I wait expectantly to see if she’ll finish it.
Her arms sweep up into the air as she does. “‘The more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite.’”
Before she can take another breath, I reel her in to whisper, “I think you just won the game.”
EPILOGUE
KATE
Five Years Later
Will hands the enormous diaper bag over to Deb as I carefully transfer a sleeping baby Imogen into Pam’s arms. A squeak escapes her tiny lips, but thankfully her adorable eyes remain closed.
Naturally, the other three adults present are as captivated as I am by the face of our little girl. “Maybe we should all just stand here and stare at her all night,” I whisper.
Deb resettles their own little girl on her hip. “You and Will have a nice dinner and then go to the award ceremony and celebrate. Little Imogen here will sleep and wake up and play and have a bottle of this yummy breast milk you pumped and then go to sleep again.” She gently pushes me toward the door. “Now get outta here so her aunties can spoil her. And you’re going to share your toys with your cousin, aren’t you, Rosalind?”
The two-year-old nods seriously before turning her head into her mom’s shoulder with a sudden bout of shyness. Pam manages to tickle a giggle out of her without disturbing the baby.
Yeah, these ladies know what they’re doing.
Blowing the baby a kiss, I take Will’s hand. “Okay. Let’s go.”
My husband, very handsome in his tux, tucks my hand into his elbow to escort me to the passenger-side door of our new Subaru wagon, where he gestures grandly for me to get in.
“Dammit. I forgot the tickets.” I knock a fist against my skull, carefully avoiding the styled hair and made-up face I paid a stupid amount of money for someone else to do. “Mommy brain.”
He holds my elbow as I maneuver into the car, awkward in the long gown and high heels. “No problemo. We can run back by the house.”
As he trots around to the driver’s side, I enjoy the view. That sexy body is all mine. And he isn’t just eye candy. He’s accomplished so much since we met five years ago. Not only is he working all the time as a fight choreographer—even on the occasional film set—he’s played Hamlet, Richard III, Henry V and Orsino since we’ve been married. Plus, he takes care of Immie the three days a week I have to be at the office. We even manage to fit a regular roll in the hay into our busy lives.
Moments later, we pull up in front of the place we purchased last year, just blocks away from Deb and Pam. Our upstairs tenants relax on the front porch, and Will says something to make them laugh as he runs by.
He’s back in a flash, holding the tickets so I can see them before slipping them into an inside pocket of his tux.
“I’m very proud of you,” he says as he starts the car.
I bat that down. “This award is not that big a deal.”
He leans over to kiss me sweetly on the lips. “‘How far that little candle throws its beams! So shines a good deal in a naughty world.’”
I lift my eyebrows and wait for the translation.
“It’s a very big deal. You deserve recognition for your efforts at Women to Women. But I’m not only proud of you for that,” he says softly. “I’m proud of you for balancing it all—work, baby, us.” He starts the car. “How’d a guy like me end up with a strong, successful, compassionate and sexy woman like you?”
Before he can put the car in gear, I lean over to kiss him. He returns it with passion, making me wish this dress had easier access.
When we finally come up for air, I hold his face in my hands to whisper, “I’m glad I finally figured out what I was looking for.”
His smile is dazzling.
“Me too.”
BEFORE YOU GO…
Thank you so much for reading Kate and Will’s story!
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AUTHOR’S NOTE
There’s a certain amount of fantasy in every romance. For better or for worse, a surprising number of moments in this novel are based on things that actually happened to me or to others I read about.
On the happy side, I actually did book the very first commercial I auditioned for. (It involved spending half a day pretending to eat cheese samples—meaning I’d put it one my mouth and spit it back out when they shouted, “Cut”—at an A&P Grocery store somewhere in New Jersey. I still feel bad about the poor production assistant who had to hold the garbage bag the other actress and I spit into.) A few years later, in Boston, I shot a Garelick Farms commercial pretty much as described in the book. I also made a good friend while being harassed by a street performer in Harvard Square and was fixed up with my now-husband on a set where the makeup artist who encouraged him to ask me out used the argument, “I mean, she’s an actress. It’s not like you’re going to marry the girl.”
Reader, I asked him out.
On the unfortunate side of things, I started writing this novel before 2017, that is, before the creation of the hashtag #MeToo. I didn’t need the hashtag to know about this kind of behavior in the workplace because I faced it myself. As did just about every woman I know. Choosing to set the book in the 1980’s came partly from a desire to go back to a simpler time in our country and in my own history. But the more time I spent there, remembering and researching the 80’s, the more parallels I found. We can look back and see how much things have changed, but we can also look back and see where the dial hasn’t moved much.
I hope this book will serve as a reminder of both.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Until writing this book, I never really understood how much of a collaboration it takes to put out a novel “authored” by one person (nor did I understood how much work it takes). It may be a hackneyed thing to say, but a true one in my experience. So many people contributed to my first effort and I hope I’ll remember them all.
Risa Okin (writing group leader extraordinaire), Carmie Dailey Rehor (co-writer of the middle grade novel we’ll get back to someday) and Jim Dodson, editor of Salt Magazine, who said to me when we met, “I think you have stories to tell,” (and then actually published one when I sent it to him). Combined, they got me to take the first steps on this new journey, and I’ll forever be grateful for that.
Thanks to my friend C., who was an equity analyst in Boston in the 1980’s and who did her best to get me to understand the scope of that work. All errors are on me.
To my local writing group, Kelly Goss, Andrea McNair and Hayley Swinson: thanks for the encouragement and invaluable
insights. To Vicky Hensley, who not only taught me a great deal about the romance genre, her encouragement and insight after reading a very early version were invaluable. To all the contest judges and agents and editors who sent feedback, I’ve appreciated the considerate rejections and constructive criticism as well as the wins. To my book clubs—both Masonboro and the “Chicks”—for reading drafts and giving feedback. Melissa George deserves extra props for proofreading a draft that, silly me—I thought was closer to ready for release than it was. Instead, I had a whole year of rewriting ahead. Authors A.J. Pine and Sarina Bowen were especially generous with their time and expertise as I struggled through the query and blurb-writing processes.
Deb Nemeth, editing an early draft, taught me that characters must have agency. Editor Sarah Pesce took the book to the next level, however, and I’ll be forever grateful for her tough love for the manuscript and the Zoom calls that gave me the courage to go at it yet again. Proofreader Jax Hinson did her best to teach me how to use commas. Again, errors are on me.
I couldn’t be happier with the cover design for this book; Lana Pecherczyk of Bookcoverology was amazing to work with. Special thanks also go to Julia Goodman for her advice on the process.
I am lucky to have so many amazing friends spread across the world, but the Brandeis MFA ’92 Anti-Wonderwomen, the Better Cheddars and the “Ladies Who Are Lunch”: each of you in your own way has given me the courage to put my stories out there.
All my theatre colleagues contributed in some way to this story, but I’m especially grateful to Kristin Linklater, Marya Lowry and Eva Marie Johnson, who literally helped me find my voice.
Finally, I am extra grateful for my family. My parents, who encouraged (and helped to fund) my early years as an actor. My kids, who deal with all my embarrassing work-related activities, including loud vocal warmups and Neti pot use in front of friends. My many critters, who make working alone much less lonely. And to my husband, who gave me my own HEA 20+ years ago and who not only brings me coffee in bed, but makes me laugh every single day.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Karen Grey is the romance author alter ego of Karen White, award-winning audiobook narrator. A lifelong storyteller, Karen studied economics at Cornell before pivoting to theatre studies and holds an MFA in Acting from Brandeis University. A stage, screen and radio drama actor in the late 20th century, Karen started having kids and narrating audiobooks in the year 2000. Now that those kids are leaving the nest, she's finding time to get the stories in her head onto the page. After stints in New York, Boston and Los Angeles, she and her family settled in coastal NC, where they share a home with (probably) too many pets and preferably, baked goods.
Author photo: Kate Mejaski
THE WILL & KATE MIXTAPE
Having these songs playing in the background kept my brain and my heart in the 80’s while writing. I suggest using them for dance breaks while reading!
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For. U2
Rat Race. The Specials
I Have Come Out To Play. Jonathan Richman, The Modern Lovers
Blank Expression. The Specials
Desire. U2
Running to Stand Still. U2
I’m Alright. Kenny Loggins
These Days. R.E.M.
Heart of Glass. Blondie
I Love Hot Nights. Jonathan Richman, The Modern Lovers
Break My Stride. Matthew Wilder
I Don’t Like Mondays. The Boomtown Rats
You Might Think. The Cars
Good Thing. Fine Young Cannibals
Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go. Wham!
More Than This. Roxy Music
So Alive. Love and Rockets
It’s My Life. Bon Jovi
Policy of Truth. Depeche Mode
Carolina in my Mind. James Taylor
Exit. U2
Rebel Waltz. The Clash
Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards. Billy Bragg
Where the Streets Have No Name. U2
Shout. Otis Day & The Knights
Modern Love. David Bowie
True. Spandau Ballet
Boys Don’t Cry. The Cure
Another Nail in My Heart. Squeeze
Goodbye Girl. Squeeze
With or Without You. U2
Is That Love? Squeeze
Find it on this Spotify playlist