Page 5 of Midlife Shifter Unexpected

I swatted her as I giggled. “Well, he said coffee date and then I made him ante up for a dinner date because I thought he’s so young, I can’t do the fake millennial coffee dates. It’s just not me. And I mean, it has to be at least dinner, right?”

Mae’s skin turned a little bit red. “Oh, yeah. Branson and I still haven’t gone out to dinner yet, actually.”

“You haven’t gone on a date?”

“I guess not what you would consider the classic sense of the date. A date where you’re dressed up and go out to dinner or something like that. No, I can’t say we have actually.” She shook her head, swiveling her penetrating gaze back to me. “This isn’t about me. This is about you. You said yes, I take it?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I did. I haven’t been on a date for so damn long, though. It’s frightening. I don’t know. It’s just, you know, I’m like that crazy cat lady really, with two jobs and a grown kid in college. I’ve been supporting him, but I haven’t been on a date in five years. Or three. But still. It’s been a really long time.”

“Three years?”

“It won’t be a problem.” I straightened my back and smiled at her. “I mean how hard can it be?”

“The good news about dating now is that you get to set whatever rules you want to set for yourself. You don’t have to create rules about how old he is and how old you are and all that bullshit. You can just go on a date and see what happens.

“In other words, act like grown adults,” I said as we walked by the Witches Brew Bakery. Trina saw us and came out. I was a little wary of her, remembering what I’d seen through Mae’s window yesterday.

“What are you two up to?” she asked us.

“We were headed for a drink,” Mae said. “Why don’t you join us?”

It wasn’t exactly what I had in mind, but I probably needed to be a little less close minded about having more friends. I was so focused on Mae. Maybe Trina was someone who could be a friend of mine too?

Chapter 4

“I’ve got something a little better than what you’re going to find at O’Halloran‘s,” Trina said with a smile.

“Do not tell me the Witches Brew Bakery has a secret menu,” I asked, snickering. “If it has a secret menu, how is it that I have not heard of this before?”

“Come in. It’ll be fun,” Trina said, deftly avoiding my question.

I looked over at Mae because I wasn’t sure it was what she had in mind, but she was looking at me. I realized we were in one of those standoffs. I looked back at Trina. She and I had been enemies since she stole my boyfriend in high school. But I needed to let bygones be bygones. If she was willing to do it, then so was I. She was probably the only other single woman with kids my age, or close to my age, in this whole town. We had been living side-by-side for more than twenty years without really spending much time together, other than when we saw each other at the kids’ sporting events and other community events.

“Let’s do it.” I nodded to Mae, knowing that she was seeking my permission.

Mae had no idea what had transpired in the past between Trina and I, and the God’s honest truth was that, at my age, I needed to let it go.

The bakery was on the corner of Main Street and had a small nook in the corner that was perfect for us to sit at.

“Mind if we sit in the nook?” I asked Trina politely as we walked through the door.

“That’s exactly what I thought you’d say,” Trina said.

“Are you going to take a break from working?” Mae asked with a smirk.

“We don’t live in Cougar Creek so we can work hard,” Trina said. “We work in Cougar Creek so we can live well.”

I laughed out loud. “That’s what I’ve been getting wrong,” I said. “I’ve been working hard and living in Cougar Creek.”

“But yeah, your kid’s in school.” Trina settled us down at the table I had picked. “Does his dad pay anything toward his schooling?”

I shook my head. “I don’t want to talk bad about him. He’s not a bad guy and he did his best.”

“Sounds like he sucks,” Trina shrugged and headed towards the kitchen.

“You almost sound like you miss him. Your ex,” Mae said.

“No,” I said. “You know what I miss is the relationship. The connection, the having somebody to do things with. You know, your person that you spend time with. The person who is used to your quirks. We had that going, but we never had a really settled down together. The only person I found suitable to settle down with was my son.”

---