Page 48 of Second Round

“How come he has so much space?” I wondered as I pulled out through the iron gates of his driveway. Sharon’s brother was a single guy with a 5000-squarefoothome.

“He bought this place because it’s got a triple lot. But he’s never gotten around to developing it.” Sharonreplied.

“When is he going to marry Gina?” I asked. They’d been going out ever since I’d met Sharon, which was over tenyearsago.

“Fucked if I know. I think it’s because she’s too nice. At some point, you have to tell your boyfriend to shit or get off the pot. She’s never done that.” Her voice trailed off. “Listen, kiddo. I heard what you said about Leo. Did you guys have thetalkyet?”

“The talk? Whatisthat?”

“You know, the relationship talk. Like if you’re boyfriend andgirlfriend.”

I shook my head. “We don’t need to have a talk. We’re having, er, relations.” My blush returned. Incredible, fireworks-igniting relations that made my body tingle when I remembered the feel of his tongueonme.

Sharon’s sigh filled the car. “Why me, Lord? Okay, welcome to dating in the twenty-first century. People hook up and it meansnothing.”

“Of course it’s a relationship. He’s going to be coming over for dinner every Wednesday night. At least when he’s not busy.” That rationale sounded ridiculous even before the last word came out of mymouth.

“So he gets food and a fuck. Sex does not mean commitment. I hate to have to bust the balloon you’ve been floating around in ever since you got laid, but you need to takethingsslow.”

“We are taking things slow. He’s really busy, and I don’t have that much free time.” Otherwise we’d be following Leo’s suggestion of a dirty weekend. That would beheavenly.

“Jackie, you’re not. You only know two states: being alone and being married. You’re cooking dinner for Leo, you’re finding a nanny for him, and you’d be redecorating his place if you hadn’t done that already. A wife does all that shit. You’re nothiswife.”

“Decorating his place was my job,” I protested. She couldn’t know about the new curtains and the fern in a striped pot. “Besides, I’m finally happy after all that time being miserable. Why are you sayingallthis?”

“Because I don’t want to see you get hurt. I’m not saying don’t enjoy yourself; I’m only saying slow the fuck down. Besides you weren’t miserable before, you were painting andenjoyinglife.”

“Ugh, I’m one of those women, aren’t I? The crazed let’s-look-at-china-patterns-after-the-first-date women you see in the movies. I’m being a completeidiot.”

But Leo made me feel like I was alive and desirable after all the time I’d felt discarded and worthless. He was so amazing. Not only the sex, but he was so smart and perceptive. Wait, did that mean he could see how much I was into him? Maybe it was alreadytoolate.

Sharon saw the change in expression on my face. “Fuck. I can see you’re getting all upset. Look, let’s talk about something else. What’s with all the furniture we took over to Marco’s place? Didn’t you do all that clutter-cleaning shit before the real estate agentscamein?”

“I did. This is all the stuff I’ve been buying for the project I’m doing with Fiona in the fall. Whenever I’m at a garage sale or thrift shop, I pick up bargains that I canrefurbish.”

“You go, girl! Hey, have you given any more thought to doing a house flip with me? There’s a guy I know who has a nice house to rent. It’s only a block from us, and he’s picky about who he rents to. If I recommend you, you’llbein.”

I scrunched up my nose. “I’m still not sure about leaving West Van. After everything I’ve done to keep their lives stable, should I be making them change schools and theirfriends?”

“Tristan’ll have new friends in no time. Hannah would have Kayla. It’s her last year of elementary. Once they’re in high school, moving gets way moretricky.”

“Yeah, I know. I’ve thought about all this, but it’s tough for me to make up my mind.” Maintaining the status quo was easier than making a big change. But still, dating had been a big leap, and look how well that had turned out. “Besides, our house may not even sellforages.”

“Your house is a realtor’s wet dream—it’s going to sell after the agent’s open. Did you go withCarole?”

“Yes.” I didn’t go into all the details of the battle royale that ensued when I insisted on Carole over Brent’sagent.

“Good for you. Did you end up telling Brent to fuck off on the artissue?”

“No, but I had a brainstorm. It was all the colour he didn’t like. I took my existing paintings, put lines of painter’s tape over them, and then painted the whole thing with raw titanium and yellow ochre. Then I pulled away the tape, popped them into plain wood frames, and voila… tasteful, refined art! Brent didn’tsayboo.”

It was a small victory for Team Jackie, but a victory was avictory.

17

CalledOut

Leo

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