“Are you free this weekend for the medical function?” She softens her tone. “I thought us both being single and so busy we’re usually dateless we could attend together.”
I inwardly sigh. This is now the third time she’s asked me on a date and each time I’ve let her down gently. I admire her persistence, but at what point will she take the hint?
“I don’t date.”
“Oh,” she whispers before she quickly laughs. “I thought—“
“Geri,” I begin, keeping my tone gentle, “I really appreciate the offer, but—“
She lifts her hand in the air and waves her obvious embarrassment away with a flick of her fingers.
“It’s okay. I just thought.” She shrugs her shoulders. “But we could still go together. It’ll be fun. We both work really hard. And it’s just a function, not a date.”
Her determination is almost admirable.
Almost.
“I’m sorry it’s because I’m already taking someone,” I lie, hoping she gives up on me and stops asking.
Her eyes widen. Not only surprise flickers across her face, but a big dash of disappointment.
“Oh. Anyone I know?”
“My nanny.” The words come out of my mouth before I can stop them. I fake a smile and say, “She really needs a night out.”
“I thought you don’t date.”
“It’s not a date, date.”
But it’s perfect.
Bree needs an escape from whatever her mother is trying to do. I don’t think she wants anyone serious.
After all, Bree is too free and wild. She proved that after giving the flight attendant a blow job on her vacation.
Why does that irk me?
I shake off the thought and get back to the matter at hand.
Bree will thank me for getting her out of her dilemma, and so will my parents-in-law when they get to spend more time with my children.
“I wasn’t asking for a date, date.” Geri forces a smile, but it looks more like a smirk.
“Sorry. It’s already planned. I can’t get out of it.”
“It’s okay. Enjoy your non date ... maybe another time.”
“Yes, another time.” I lift my wrist and check the time. “Must get on. I’ve got a ton of paperwork to prepare before my next patient.”
I also have to work out how I tell Bree she’s gone from looking after my children to being my date.
I hear Bree before I see her. There’s nothing unusual there - she has this glorious but loud, infectious laugh that carries through the house. Sometimes, I see her staring into space and I wonder how happy she truly is.
But she’s always the same with my children. Joyful. She has a way with them that I love to watch. The smiles I see and the laughter I hear are priceless.
I close my eyes as I think about her.
Then I shake all those thoughts away when I hear my children giggling uncontrollably.