Page 62 of Perfect Imperfections

That wasn’t entirely fair. Oliver had been incommunicado for the past three months. His crew was helping the California fire department to help with the raging wildfires they’d been battling up north. He barely had time to call their mother for updates, let alone cry on his baby sister’s shoulder about his broken marriage.

Not that he would cry. He was a sensitive guy, but she didn’t think she’d even seen her brother cry.

“When’s he moving back?”

“As soon as he gets released from duty in California.”

A faint beep sounded, followed by the clinking of ceramic on a hard countertop. Based on her mother’s morning habits, Ellie would say coffee would be poured into her mother’s favorite mug in less than two seconds. The soft sound of liquid being poured confirmed her suspicions.

“He put in for a transfer to Sunlight fire department last month and the approval just came in last week. As soon as the situation out west is under control, he’ll be moving back home.”

“That’s wonderful, mom.” But did it really warrant a wake-up call before seven on a weekend?

“It is wonderful, and your father and I were hoping, since Oliver is so busy saving the west coast, if you could help keep an eye out for available apartments in town?”

Her mother was lying on the hero stuff a bit thick, but she got the drift. Oliver had nowhere to live and she’d bet the last fifty dollars in her checking account he would rather sleep in his car than move back in with their parents. They were great parents but tended to be a bit…overly involved in their children’s lives.

“Sure, I can do that. In fact, I think one of my neighbors is moving out. I’ll ask the super if her place has been rented yet.”

Might be nice to have her brother so close by. It would certainly go a long way to soothing her guilt over being a crappy sister lately.

“Oh wonderful! Thank you, dear.” Her mother’s cheerful tone turned serious as she asked, “Now tell me about this morning caller you were expecting? The, how did you put it? Oh yes, sexy one.”

Crap! She’d hoped her mother had forgotten about that. Dream on. Her mother had a mind like a steel trap. The woman never forgot anything.

“What? Oh, nobody really.”

“Nobody?” her mother scoffed. “Do you mean to tell me you call everyone who rings your phone sexy? Even solicitors.”

“Solicitors don’t call. I put my number on the do not call list.”

“Don’t be smart with me, Eleanor.”

She sighed, seeing no hope of hiding anything from her bloodhound of a mother. “I went on a date last night and he said he’d call, so I thought it would be…him.”

“A date? With who? Where did you go? What does he do? How long have you been seeing each other?”

The rapid-fire questions exploded in her brain. If she was going to have this conversation with her mother—and it looked like there was no avoiding it—she needed her own mug of coffee. Throwing off the covers, she plodded her way to the kitchen.

“Sullivan Green. We went to dinner and the Spring Fling Faire. He’s a doctor, and last night was our first date.”

She answered each question as she scooped the dark, coarse coffee grounds into the machine, filled it with water, and pressed the start button. Within seconds, the rich fragrance of caffeinated heaven filled her little kitchen. She grabbed a mug from the cabinet and stared as the dark liquid filled the tiny carafe.

“Dr. Green? Isn’t he the man of that young girl you—”

“Yes, mother. He’s Charlotte’s dad. She’s kind of taking a liking to me and invited me to her birthday party and, well, Sullivan and I hit it off and he asked me out.”

“Oh darling, that’s wonderful!”

It was pretty wonderful. She couldn’t remember a time she’d felt this happy.

“Now just be sure you don’t go spoiling things with your…issues.”

There went all her warm and fuzzies. Leave it to her mother. She knew her mom didn’t mean to intentionally hurt her, but comments like that…did. No matter the intent. Her issues, as her mother called them, weren’t spoiling anything. Sullivan, amazingly enough, seemed fine navigating her anxieties and rituals. Could be because he was a doctor and understood mental health. Then again, he was a doctor, so how long would it be before he saw her as less of a woman he found desirable and more of a patient he needed to fix?

No. She couldn’t let thoughts like those enter her brain. That was just the OCD talking…right? Dammit! Now her mother had gone and made her doubt. Doubt was never a good thing for Ellie. She lived with it constantly as her bedside companion, and now it seemed to find its way inside her bed.

Sonofabitch!

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