I shrugged. “What do you think?”
Eric bit down on his bottom lip. “I like the name Jane.”
“For a cat?” I laughed, but then covered my mouth. “I do too, actually. Jane Austen is one of my favorite authors.”
Eric sat up and scratched the kitty between the ears. “I got it. How about J’Austen? That sounds cool.”
“J’Austen, it is!” I agreed.
Chapter 5 – Off Limits
I dropped my keys on the credenza by the door and ran — quite literally — to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of Merlot.
Even though she knew she wasn’t supposed to, J’Austen jumped up on the counter to greet me. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear she did it whenever I was upset, though, so I couldn’t scold her too harshly.
I scooped her up and headed toward the lanai. “You know you’re not allowed on the counter, baby kitty, but I’ll forgive you since you are much better company than a man.”
I sat down on the swing, setting J’Austen beside me, and then picked up my Kindle to read the latest book an author had sent me. The book description and cover had held great promise, but just as Mak had warned me, You couldn’t always judge a book by its cover. But I was determined to press on, even if I didn’t like the first few chapters of the book. At least the male protagonist was more interesting than my date had been. After all, he’d come out of the mind of a woman. And most women knew what other women wanted.
J’Austen purred as I swung, but then flinched when I suddenly stopped the back-and-forth motion, slamming both of my feet to the floor. “Are you kidding me?” I’d put up with several of the writer’s silly ramblings, but the last scene had done me in.
If I were reading a paperback, I would have thrown the book into the pool. But the Kindle had cost me a hundred bucks. That was almost a week’s groceries. But the ereader did make receiving and transporting books easier. Whether I was in the school car line or at one of Eric’s events, I always had a new book. I never had to worry about finishing one story and not having another one to start. Or, if it was like this book, where there was no way I’d ever finish it, I could jump right into the next book on my Kindle.
I liked fantasy, but I wasn’t willing to suspend my beliefs or check my intelligence at the door to read a book that wasn’t even classified as paranormal. Nor was I a cop, but I knew enough about the justice system to know that no court would allow what this author wanted me to believe.
“Next …” I told J’Austen as I flipped through the Kindle. “That title is a DNF, baby.”
J’Austen stared at me through her golden eyes.
“It means Did Not Finish, which means I won’t review it.” I didn’t feel right reviewing a book that I didn’t finish, which meant that I pretty much didn’t review books unless they were worthy of more than a three-star review. After all, who wants to read a book that isn’t, at least, three stars? So why bother writing a review? That was my philosophy anyway. I wanted people to want to buy the books I posted on my website.
My kitty yawned, letting me know she couldn’t care less.
“Fine. Want to hear about my date, then?”
She rolled over and covered her eyes with her paw.
“Guess not! Hey, you’re supposed to be a good listener.” I scratched her behind her right ear as she always liked. J’Austen was a good listener. Unless it was naptime, which for her was three-quarters of the day.
I’d call Angela, but she had enough things to worry about. The last thing she needed was to hear about what a worm Mr. Teller turned out to be. When he’d mentioned coffee–or something–I didn’t know that the or something was all he was really interested in. And for some reason, he seemed shocked that I didn’t want to go back to his place for a quick roll in the sack. He’d sounded so shocked at my repulsion that I started to wonder how many thirty-some-year-olds were into that.
Not that he’d even waited to get to a house; he practically tried to undress me outside the coffee shop.
Had I looked desperate? Ugh! That’s the last thing I needed in my life.
And worse, now I’d have to change banks.
Note to self, I thought silently, so as not to disturb baby kitty: Never date a man who you’ll have to run into if it doesn’t work out, which meant the bank, Eric’s school or events, and the bookstore were all off-limits. And the library …
The library … I hadn’t been back since Media Man had made a play for me. And truthfully, I didn’t have to go to that library. Although, I did miss Mak.
Maybe I should go see Makeda tomorrow. Around lunch time. Now that I had my Kindle, the library wasn’t off-limits.
Which meant Mr. Forgetful wasn’t off-limits. All I had to remember was that I didn’t want to look desperate. Which I wasn’t. Not yet anyway.
***
The following morning, I took an extra-long time getting ready to take Eric to school. I’d meticulously blow-dried and straightened my hair and opted to wear a light sweater over a pair of the nicest jeans I owned instead of my ever-present T-shirt and favorite pair of faded jeans. I even slapped on a touch of powder and mascara.
“Wow!” Eric said, fanning his hand in front of his face. “Coach was right.”
“Excuse me?” I asked as I jumped into the passenger side of my Tacoma, allowing Eric to drive. He’d gotten his permit a few months ago, but I’d only recently allowed him to get behind the wheel of my baby while we were on an actual road. I loved my vehicle. It was just the right size, and I didn’t need to borrow or rent a truck when I wanted to pick up something from Home Depot. The last thing I needed was for Eric to total it. I was pretty sure Dick Embers wouldn’t replace my paid-off truck.
Eric shrugged. “Coach said you were one of the hottest moms in my school. I guess I just don’t see you get dressed up much anymore. You got a hot date today?”
Coach … I groaned internally. As flattering as that was, I hated that he’d told my fifteen-year-old son that I was hot. I knew there was a reason I’d marked him as off-limits.
“No,” I said, “I’m just heading to the library, and thought I should care about my appearance when I go out in public.”
“You never did before.”
“Eric!” I smacked his leg since I didn’t want to hit the hand that was on the steering wheel. “That’s not true. Just because I don’t dress up and put on makeup every time I run to the grocery store doesn’t mean I don’t care about my appearance. At least I don’t go out in public wearing curlers and slippers. I saw a woman dressed like that last week.”
“Ewww …” Eric cringed. “Really?”
“Yeah. Anyway, no, I don’t have a date. I’m just heading to the library. But, you never know.”
Eric put the truck into park once he made it to the front of the car line, but didn’t get out. “You don’t ever know, Mom. You deserve someone who’ll treat you well. But … be careful, okay? There’re a lot of scary people out there.”
I reached across the center console and kissed him on the head. “Thank you, sweetheart. I will.”
We both hopped out and ran around the truck at the same time, looking like circus clowns. Me, to the driver’s side. Eric, to the school.
“See you tonight,” I called as a goodbye, but also checking that I remembered that he had drama practice directly after school.
“Yep, pick me up around six today, please.” He stopped. “And, Mom, I was just messin’ with you. You always look great. Love you!” He turned and jogged off toward the building.
I smiled, but then jumped back inside the cab, realizing I couldn’t bask in the moment more than a second before the horns started blaring behind me.
I ran all my errands early, including finding a new bank, which was something I’d wanted to do anyway since that’s where Dick banked as well. I didn’t want some pretty young thing sharing any of my information with Dick Embers, and I certainly didn’t want to run into my ex-husband.
According to Eric, Dic
k had finally moved his new baby mama in with him, so maybe he’d stop calling me. She had to be pretty far along now, so I was certain that she wouldn’t condone him trying to get his ex-wife back. I really couldn’t understand it. If he loved me so much, why had he felt the need to sleep with another woman? Not that there was any excuse for a man cheating on his wife, but if I’d been cold, bitchy, or didn’t take care of myself, I might understand a little bit, but I was none of those things.
Giving my head a firm shake, I turned the key in the ignition and shifted the vehicle into drive. Next stop, the library.
As always, Mak greeted me with a smile. And I was pretty sure if she hadn’t been behind the counter, she would have given me a hug too. “Hey, girl! It’s been forever. Where’ve you been? I’ve wanted to say thank you. Those reviews were perfect. Absolutely perfect. And I saw a rise in my Kindle sales.”
I felt my cheeks warm slightly. I’d never spoken with someone for whom I’d written a review. If I tagged authors in a post, they usually said thanks, but this was different. I felt … appreciated.
“You’re welcome,” I said. “I only wrote the truth. The series was great. I could hardly put the books down.”
Makeda smiled. “Well, thank you. And hey, I haven’t been keeping books behind the counter, since you haven’t been stopping in as much, but there are some new ones I just put out today. Take a look, there are a couple of good ones.”
“Thanks, Mak. I’ll go take a peek.”
I headed off toward where I knew the new releases were, and within minutes, I was absorbed in a new story. Amazing how I hadn’t found the time to read all these years. In college, even when I was studying for an exam, I’d found the time to read a book or two a week. But, as with everything else in my life, I’d given up the things I loved to take care of my husband, child, and the house. Not that that had been a bad thing. I’d loved being a homemaker. But if Dick had been interested in just one of the things I’d loved, we could have done it together. Sadly, Dick only liked to play golf, and when I’d asked if I could learn, he’d not been happy. In fact, he’d been upset. He’d said it was the one thing he had that helped him decompress, his only quiet time.
As always, I’d understood. But now I wondered why. He worked sixty to seventy hours a week. Why hadn’t he wanted to be with me on his days off?
“Jana?”
I nearly jumped through the roof. What was wrong with me? I hooked my finger into the book that I’d stopped reading about five minutes ago and closed it, then stared up at Mr. Forgetful, who hadn’t forgotten my name. That was a good sign.
“I’m Seth … we met here a couple of times.”
Had I looked like I didn’t remember who he was? Or maybe my mouth was hanging open. In the pretense of scratching my chin, I lifted my hand to my mouth to check that I wasn’t drooling. Mr. Forgetful — Seth — was gorgeous.
“Oh, yeah!” I said. “I know. I was just lost in this book.”
Seth glanced down at the book. “Must be pretty good to be so engrossed after only a few pages.”
I followed his gaze. He was right. I couldn’t have read more than a couple of pages before I started thinking about my previous life. Oh, well. I was getting better every day. I was here. That was a start.
I set the book back on the shelf. I had too many books waiting for me in my Kindle anyway. “So … did you read Patterson’s new book?”
Seth smiled, then walked to a nearby chair, looking back as though he wanted me to follow him. Man, he was smooth. Too smooth?
Seth pulled out a chair for me and then sat across from me. “After reading your review, I rushed right to the bookstore. Didn’t even bother taking a chance that it wasn’t here.”
I resisted rolling my eyes, opting for just a subtle lift that told him I didn’t buy his act. “You’re teasing me.”
He shook his head. “No, I’m not. I really enjoyed your review. And after reading the book, I agreed with every one of your points.”
Two compliments in one day … three if I counted Eric’s. I could get used to this.
I leaned back in the chair, though, waiting for Seth to make his next move. I certainly wasn’t going to ask him out. “Thank you. I’m glad you liked it.”
“I also read some of your other reviews. You’re good. So, you review books for a living?”
I nodded, feeling my guard go up, but I refused to take it personally. I worked hard on my website. It wasn’t just about reading books. Not only did I have to write out a thought-provoking review, but I also had to design and market my website. I spent well more than forty hours a week on my new career. And besides, whoever accused Siskel and Ebert of sitting around and watching movies all day? Men could be so inconsiderate sometimes.
“That’s amazing!” Seth said, surprising me. “What a wonderful career. I wish I could do that.”
I shook my head to clear it. Clearly, Seth wasn’t real. “You could.”
“No, I couldn’t. I’m still paying on my student loans. It’ll be a long time before I can do what I want to do.”
I rested my chin on my fist. “What do you want to do?”
“Anything but what I do,” he said through a chuckle. “I’m an attorney. Unfortunately, it’s nothing like I envisioned it would be. After I read The Firm, I decided I wanted to be a lawyer, even though it hadn’t turned out well for the main character. I think what I really wanted was to be John Grisham.”
I laughed. “Being John Grisham is a good career choice.”
Seth threw his head back. “Yeah … I was hoping if I became a lawyer, I’d have some interesting cases worth writing about.”
“Have you?”
He shook his head. “Regrettably, no. Nada! Mostly just workman’s comp and personal injury claims.”
A career wasn’t like a marriage, so I wondered, why did people hang on if they weren’t happy? I wasn’t unhappy in my marriage, but even when I got down or started questioning where my husband was, I knew I couldn’t just quit. But a job …
“Silly question …” I started. “Since I’m self-employed, and I’ve never worked a regular career, but I can’t help but wonder … Why not quit? What’s the worst thing that would happen?” I shrugged. “Sell your house, pay off your remaining bills, and live like you did in college. Not in a frat house,” I laughed, “but what are you working toward?”
Seth dropped his shoulders. “I don’t know. Nothing. I think you’re right.”
He reached across the table and touched my hand. “I’m glad I met you, Jana. I think you’re absolutely correct. I was going to ask what else you recommend, but it looks like I have a lot of work to do.”
“Wait … that’s not how you’re supposed to do it. You’re still supposed to set aside time to read.”
He laughed quietly. “I will. Do me a favor, review some more mystery books.”
I bobbed my head up and down as I tried not to laugh. “Okay.”
Seth peered down at his phone. “Well, I have to head back. Still employed, for now.” He winked as he hopped up. “Thanks, Jana.”
And he darted off toward the door.
I dropped my head on the table. Great advice! You missed your calling, Jana. You should have been a psychologist. Instead of getting a date with a hot lawyer, you told him to quit his day job and become a writer. Smart!
I felt a pat on my back and I looked up to see Media Man. “You okay?” he asked.
“Uh, yeah.” I gathered up my few things and rushed toward the closest exit.
“Jana,” Media Man called, but I rushed out the front door as fast as my legs would carry me. I didn’t know why, but I was pretty sure I’d hear an Action News alert about Media Man. I could hear it now, “He was so sweet. Always so helpful.” Yikes! My dad had warned me to always go with my gut. Too often, I’d chosen to ignore that small voice, but not in this situation. Alarm bells might as well have rung over his head.
I hopped in my car and pressed the lock button. I still had hours
before I had to pick up Eric.
When I’d been getting ready, I’d envisioned running into Mr. Forgetful and him asking to take me to lunch — on the beach. We’d be having such a good time, discussing books, but then I’d have to dart off like Cinderella to pick up my son, and he’d be longing after me.
Instead, Seth had dashed out of the library as though he were the prince and he’d just remembered that he had to go to war today.
Sigh! Why didn’t men ever do what women expected them to do? Or, the better question was … why did I expect a man to do anything?
This was my life. If I wanted something, I would damn well have to learn how to ask.
Chapter 6 – People Don’t Change
My eyes darted around the Starbucks, hoping no one I knew would walk in. I’d purposely chosen a Starbucks that I rarely went to so that if things went poorly, I’d lessen the chance of a recurrence.
I set the bright purple shoulder bag I’d received as a gift-with-purchase at the end of the tabletop. Other than the beach, I rarely used the neon-colored monstrosity, but I hadn’t wanted to do something as cliché as carrying a yellow rose or setting my tattered paperback version of Pride and Prejudice beside me.
Chancing a quick peek at my phone for the time, I wondered again why I’d allowed my cousin to talk me into this. Why was she so adamant that I dated someone? At least Angela hadn’t suggested that I sign up for online dating; she’d just insisted that I meet the brother of one of her sorority sisters. It had been a few years since she’d seen him, but she insisted that he was super sweet, cute, and every time she’d seen him, he’d had a book in his hands. So worst case, if we had nothing else in common, at least we could talk about books. Assuming he didn’t read space operas or horror novels. Those were the two genres that I couldn’t seem to get interested in reading.
And that was what I was starting to realize … The reason my marriage had failed, the reason that every guy I’d dated before Dick hadn’t worked out. I hadn’t shared an interest in anything that they enjoyed.
Some Lucky Woman Page 4
