Page 36 of Perfect Mess

“Are we still talking about pickleball?”

“Yes,” I said. “I think.”

Howard raised his hand. “My name is Howard.”

I smacked my head with my palm. After taking a deep breath, I said, “Let’s just play a game.”

“I’m on his team!” Edna shuffled over to stand next to Jack.

“Fine. Howard, you’re with me. The rest of you, over there.” I pointed to the other courts.

Once everyone was in position, I took the first serve, Edna receiving the ball first. She dinked the ball back at me, soft and low, just over the net. The ball bounced in the front section of the court, the kitchen, and Howard dinked it back toward Jack.

Jack deftly dinked it back, as if he had been playing pickleball since the day he was born. The rally continued, with Jack perfectly finessing every shot. He had the control of a fighter pilot, the touch of a maestro, and a nose for the ball like a sommelier.

“You’re quite the dinker,“ Edna cooed.

“You should see me bang.” Jack countered. This time, he was the one who winked.

That’s when Edna’s teeth fell out. Literally. I’m not exaggerating. Edna’s teeth physically fell out of her mouth and scattered all over the court.

“Hold up everyone!” I yelled. But thePLINKandPLUNKof the pickleballs persisted. Damn, I needed a whistle.

“We have another dentures situation!” I shouted louder, so everyone could hear.

The pickleballs fell silent. After Jack and I finished helping Edna collect her scattered teeth off the cement, I said, “Edna, you better sit this one out. Jack, we’re going to have to get you a new partner.”

“New partner, huh?” Jack looked over in my direction, smiling. “I think I found one.”

It’s hard to put my feelings at that moment into words. Joy? Maybe. Elation? Perhaps. Eternal bliss? That’s the one. It was the feeling that finally, after all these years, everything suddenly, magically was falling into place. But it was even more than that, too. It was a feeling of relief. The feeling that everything was going to be okay. The Universe wasn’t really out to screw me over at every turn. It was like a twenty-year weight had lifted off my shoulders. Happiness, true happiness, was finally within reach.

“Hey Jack,” a familiar voice said from behind me.

“Hey Janet,” said Jack.

“My name is Howard.” said Howard.

“Janet?” I blinked a couple times to make sure the vision of Janet I was seeing was really real. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to see Jack.” And then, as if they knew that words alone were not enough to make me understand, Jack and Janet graciously provided me with a physical demonstration. Jack walked around the pickleball net, went over to Janet, leaned in close, and gave her a hug.

“Come on, Jan.”He calls her Jan?“You and I are over here.” Janet pulled out her pickleball paddle as Jack set up on the far side of the court.

On her way over to join him, Janet pulled me aside, leaning in close to whisper. “So remember when I told you Jack helped me get my car out of the mud, while you were in the hospital?”

I pursed my lips. “I remember.”

“Well, we got to talking and, Mary, you will not believe it, but Jack Thompson is not a bad guy. His medical practice sponsors this charity 5k for sick kids. He volunteers as a cook at a homeless shelter and goes on missions to Mexico to rebuild after hurricanes. He’s like some sort of master carpenter or something. He’s not just nice, he’s amazing.”

“I see.” And see, I did. I saw the twinkle in Janet’s eyes and the way her cheeks turned bright pink as she talked about him. I saw the way she looked across the court at Jack’s toned and tanned legs.Aaaaahhhhhh!!!!!!!Yup. Janet showed all the signs. My best friend was falling for the man who both haunted my nightmares and made me have to change the sheets the next morning when he showed up in my dreams. Janet was falling for Jack.

There were so many questions, I didn’t know where to begin. “So when … where … how …”

“After you got trampled at the reunion, and he helped me get my car out of the mud, we started talking and hanging out. Nothing serious, of course, but …” Janet trailed off.

She still had the look in her eye. The same look she always got. The one right before she fell head over heels for some misfit guy and then had her heart ripped out, tossed on the ground, and bludgeoned with a sledgehammer.

Janet had always been a good friend, and I knew she would never do anything to hurt me. Not on purpose, at least. If I would have told her I was still angry at Jack for what he did to me, everything would have ended right then and there. If I had given Janet even a hint that I was still interested in Jack for myself, she would have backed off immediately. But at that point, I wasn’t even willing to admit my true feelings to myself, let alone admit my delusional feelings to someone else. Even if that someone else was my best friend.

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