When I described the scene I had walked in on to Kim, including the sight of Richard with his head tipped back, mouth agape, looking at me with a glassy, uncaring stare, unwanted tears had started to form in my eyes.
Kim patted my knee and said, "Honey, that's just the head face. They all get it when they're getting a blow job." Then she dropped her face into an exact replica of the blank look Richard had given me, and we both whooped with laughter.
The memory made me smile. The message I had left on Kim's mirror was perfect. She really does make everything better.
As I walked along the lakeshore, I noticed that tourists were starting to trickle into town. It was mid-April, still early for snowbirds and vacationers, but each year the tourism season seemed to be starting earlier and lasting later into the fall. For a small, quiet town like Colleen Shores, Nairobi, that was great news for the local businesses, like the trendy shop that had employed me since I moved here.
I decided to go see grandma Kris who also lives in the neighborhood. As soon as I opened the door she attacked me with questions. "How was it? Did you two hit it off? Was it love at first sight? Are you going out again? Why aren't you telling me all about it?"
"I was waiting for you to take a breath." I smiled at her. She looked lovely today with a sunshine yellow scarf tied in her unruly red curls and, a Bohemian skirt flowing around her. In typical Kris Black fashion, she was wearing turquoise Converse high-tops. The combination would not be flattering to most, but somehow she made it work.
She looked so hopeful that I hated to disappoint her by telling her about my less than stellar date with Lucas. I decided it would be best to rip the bandage off quickly. "It's a no-go," I said.
"Not even one more date?" she tried. To her credit, when I shook my head, she let it drop immediately. "No worries," she said as she breezed past me. "Plenty of sardines in the can."
I chuckled at the motto she had chosen, as unique as Kris herself. Kris has tried her best to be their for me since my parents passed away. She was there to help me through the complete devastation of the loss of my parents, and the crumbling of my marriage in a way that is much appreciated.
She knew that the money from my inheritance and company made it so that I didn't need to worry about financial freedom. I needed to work on my sanity and keep the company running.
I began turning on the myriad of twinkling lights that dotted the store when Kris propped the bright purple front door open, jingling the bells on the handle and yelling down the sidewalk, "Tchotchkes! Get your one of a kind artsy fartsy treasures here!"
Dad opened a store for her before he passed, so that she doesn't stay all by herself everytime. At least she gets to interact with people. Grandma Kris so loved her job, people already knew her for it, they couldn't resist her magnetic charm, and it wasn't long until the store was bustling with activity. I liked being busy and helping people find the perfect gift for a loved one or a special souvenir. It was terrific getting to see people when they were at their most relaxed and happy.
I smiled as I watched Grandma open a huge cardboard box that contained the new teapot line we would be carrying. The ceramic teapots were animal shaped, and they were beautiful. Grandma exclaimed over each one like a child on Christmas morning. "Look at the giraffe! Oh, I think the dolphin is my favorite! Such beautiful colors on this parrot! Oh, Kylie, look. The cow has a calf." She bubbled with uninhibited joy as the crowd that had gathered around her leaned in to see what she would discover next.
Suddenly, I felt almost overwhelmed with gratitude. Kim and Grandma were two of the most wonderful people on Earth, and they are my only family now. My parents had left me a magnificent cottage within steps of the beach in a beautiful town, which I had been able to escape to after my divorce. I was an incredibly lucky lady.
The only thing missing was a man in my life, but who needed one of those, anyway? In my brief history with them, they seemed to be far more trouble than they were worth.
The next morning when I stumbled into my bathroom, I found a message scrawled in a beautiful, light pink lipstick on my mirror. It says "Say 'Hi!' to a cute guy today."The words were followed by a huge, winking smiley face with long eyelashes.Oh, Kim, I thought, I just came to the conclusion that I don't need a man. I left the message on my mirror, though, as a reminder to have fun and not take things so seriously.Since it was weekend, with no special plans, I decided to go for a workout. After a quick shower, I donned my capri yoga pants and a sports tank, then I coated my exposed skin with sunscreen. I knew my mother was smiling down on me for that. She had always insisted on moisturizing and protecting. I pulled my thick, black hair back into a simple ponytail, skipped makeup (other than cherry Chapstick, of course), and tied my bright purple tennis shoes.Looking at my reflection in the mirror, I decided that I was a solid six with my glossy, chestnut hair and big gray eyes. I
Bubble finally harrumphed and started the process of standing. Sumptuous Devin, as I had decided to call him silently in my head, surprised me by saying, "Wait."This gave me an excuse to pause and look directly at him. He was a sight, all tall and handsome, but that standard description didn't do him justice. He was all of those things, but he was also one of the most ruggedly good looking men I had ever seen. His jeans and tee shirt were snug enough to give a hint of the tight, tan body that they covered. I licked my lips and realized that his full attention was focused on me. It was almost as if he was waiting for me to say something. Oh no! Did he ask me a question?"Huh?" I asked, looking clueless.He didn't seem to be phased by my inner turmoil. "I said that Buddy and I were just getting ready to head to Treats, the bakery on Beach Street. Would you like to join us?"I knew the place he was talking about. It was a local favorite. They had a few alfresco tables that overlooked th
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I said, grabbing Kim and hugging her as soon as she walked downstairs."Umm, you're welcome," she said, hugging me back. "What'd I do that was so great?""You suggested that I go out more often and meet new people, so I did and he is so handsome, but I didn't know how handsome he was until he came closer to me. He's so dreamy that it nearly took my breath away, but it's not just that his looks. He's also kind and funny and down to earth, and he has a cute dog," I gushed, breathless."Well, any guy who has a great dog like that has to be somewhat okay, but slow down. Who is this guy, and what do you know about him?"I took a moment to enjoy how protective she was of me, and then I started about telling her all about Sumptuous Devin. "He seems to make you happy." Kim admitted. "Just be safe and only meet him in public places at first. You never know. He could be an ex murderer or some other kind of freak.""We're coming to Biggie's on Friday night, so
Time seemed to slowly crawl by while I was waiting for Friday. When it finally arrived, my nerves kicked into high gear. All week, I had been writing pick me up reminders to myself on sticky notes, and they circled my mirror. I took a moment to read through them. Breathe. You are an intelligent woman. Don't chatter non-stop. Smile. Do not worry. You are worthy. You deserve to be happy. They were simple, but reading them helped me calm down.I smiled at the new one that Kim had added in the center of my mirror. Have fun. I took a sip from the glass of chilled white wine that she had delivered to my bathroom before leaving for her shift at Biggie's.Since I still had over an hour before I needed to meet Devin at the restaurant, I decided to take a bubble bath. The wine and bath must have been just what I needed because I was almost calm as I donned my denim mini skirt and the v-neck, light pink tee shirt that Kim had chosen for the occasion. I still couldn't believe that she had loaned
We walked hand in hand along the sandy shore. The nearly full moon glimmered on the water. It was unseasonably warm, so even the breeze off the water wasn't too chilly. I was pleasantly tipsy and happier than I ever remembered being in my entire life.I was in my own world with Devin and barely took notice of the couple walking towards us, until the man spoke. I would have recognized his voice immediately, even if he hadn't called me by the nickname he had used the entire time that we were married, despite the fact that I didn't care for it."Surprise." He drew the word out. "Working your magic on a new fellow, I see."Devin smiled and introduced himself, extending his arm to shake hands.I almost felt sorry for Tiffany when Richard introduced himself as my husband. "Ex-husband," she and I interjected simultaneously."Right, of course, we all knew that. What good fortune, to run into you on our little weekend getaway." I had to force myself to refrain from rolling my eyes at his broad
I blurted out, "Want to take this party inside?" I wondered where this newfound boldness was coming from."Oh, uh." He ran his fingers through his hair.He doesn't want me. He's just being nice. My inner voice panicked."I'm not exactly prepared." At my perplexed look, he elaborated. "I didn't think we'd be in this situation tonight, so I don't have any condoms.""Oh." Relief flooded over me. Since I hadn't had sex until I was married, I had never had to worry about condoms. In fact, I'd never seen one other than during the banana demonstration that every teen suffers through. "Okay, we don't have to." I paused before adding, "But I know I don't have any diseases because I got tested after I found out Richard had been with that whore we saw tonight." Whore?!? My mental critic screeched. How classy.He looked down at me and smiled. "I know I am disease-free because I always wear a condom, but I don't want to get you pregnant on our first official date.""Apparently, I can't get pregnan
I awoke to the delectable smell of sizzling bacon. "Could you be any more perfect?" I asked as I devoured the sight of him working in the kitchen. I watched the muscles in his bare back flex as he turned the bacon. Clad only in perfect fitting jeans, he looked completely at ease in the kitchen.When he turned to hand me a mug of English Breakfast tea, he asked, "Cream and sugar, right?"I could see by the color of it that he had already added the ingredients, and I was beyond touched that he had remembered. "I hope you don't mind that I borrowed a shirt," I said, indicating the long, navy blue tee shirt that I was wearing."Looks way better on you than it ever did on me." He smiled. "Mind buttering that toast? Then we can head outside to eat. It's a beautiful morning."He was right, the sun was glistening on the water and the air was fresh and clear. We ate in companionable silence, and I kept finding myself gazing at him. He was so handsome it almost hurt my eyes. When he tossed his last
I could not stop smiling. Last night had been the best of my existence. It felt like a giant weight had been lifted from my shoulders, knowing that my body was capable of experiencing so much pleasure. Now I could see what all of the fuss was about. The only mar on our perfect night was seeing Richard and learning that I was the reason he and I had never conceived a child. I had wanted a baby for as long as I could remember, and I would not give up on that dream. Perhaps I would just need to explore other options, like adoption. I decided to put off thinking about it for now. It's not like I had to be in a big hurry. I wanted my life to be more settled before I made a plan for my child. Settled with Devin? The possibility popped into my head. I attempted to nudge it down, realizing that I might be skipping ahead way too quickly. I ran up the stairs two at a time towards my bedroom. As I rounded my doorway, Tobi, Kim's bitchy cat, skittered out of the room as if I had just kicked her.