AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTER 13
“So, you finally gave in,” Liz says coming in through the front door.
“I wouldn’t call it that, exactly,” I say.
“Whatever it is, good for you.” She pats me on the back and returns to the kitchen where she and Reese are working.
“Where were you?” She’d been gone for hours, though her Audi was parked out front.
“Sher’s house. I took her a catalogue for Well Traveled,” Liz answers.
“She won’t do it. She’s not the kind to stray outside her comfort zone, and trust me, paying to ‘vacation’ is way outside her comfort zone.”
Liz shrugs. “People aren’t static. The ones you think will run free forever, ground themselves on purpose. And the ones you think will be tied, soar.”
“Huh. What do you see me doing?”
“Mom, are you going to have a slice,” Reese yells before Liz can answer.
Sinday. The only day I allow myself dietary freedom, and pizza is generally a big part of the day.
But today, there’s something much yummier, and he’s out there fixing my car. He wipes his brow as the intense sun beats down on his tan skin. Sweat trails down his bare back, which I have a great view of when he bends over the open hood, adjusting who knows what. I shake my head at his lack of sense. There are plenty of seniors living here. Some poor unsuspecting woman, or man, could end up with a cardiac episode if they catch sight of his hotness.
“Dear lord, cover up!” I yell, but he doesn’t hear me.
Dean. Good looking, amazing in bed, and beautiful inside. I mean, he visits little orphans for crying out loud! And he wants me. Why?
I’m the first to admit I’m a catch. Fun, pretty I think. I have energy for miles and really try my best at everything. Yet with all the things that I think make me great, there are others that make me question his mental health. For one, I’m so much older than him. He could have any beautiful young woman, why go for someone who will be wrinkled and aged way before him?
I have a kid. She may be older and about to leave me, but she’s still someone who’s life he’d have to mesh with in order to mesh with me. It’s easier said than done, although Reese seems to have taken a liking to him.
Relationship resistance is my M.O. Why bother? Why not move on to someone less complicated?
Yeah, there’s something not right, and I’m going to find out what it is. With that mission in mind, I sit by Liz and Reese.
I pull out my phone and do a quick search on the internet. “If you wanted to dig up dirt on someone, how would you go about it?” I ask them.
“Dean is good to go,” Reese tells me, taking a bite of her cheese pizza. Even as a woman she’s never liked toppings, only now she doesn’t need me to cut it into bite size squares.
“What are you guys doing?” I ask, distracted by the stacks on the table.
“I have a presentation to make for my Phycology class,” Reese replies. “Aunt Liz is my subject.”
“Ooh, can I help?” I rub my hands together, ready to jump in. Liz and Reese look at each other, talking without using words. “What?”
“You don’t know psychology, Mom.”
“I can read people,” I argue. “Okay, so maybe I can’t. But you don’t need to.”
“Yeah, you kind of do,” Liz says, looking over her readers.
“I’m smart enough, kid. Try me.”
Reese sighs. “Okay. So, I had to write a paper detailing Aunt Liz’s history, what her inherent personality traits say about her career path…”
Sometime between Liz’s choice to become an attorney and where she actually ended up, the words begin to fade. I try hard to listen, to pay attention and keep track of the details, but the truth is that they might as well be speaking Spanish. The lack of understanding mixed with my exhaustion from lack of sleep overtakes me.
“Kitty cat. Kitty, wake up.”
