Page 12 of August
“Yes. We work, and that’s it. We don’t have pets. There are no kids. We don’t go on vacations because you need to be here for work all the time. I finally got a job where I get to travel, and it’s nice. I know it’s business hotels and per diems, so nothing like a vacation, but it’s still better than just sitting around at home talking about nothing, which is what we’ve been doing for years.”
“Andshe’snot boring?” Myra had asked.
“No, she’s not. But it’s not just about that, Myra. I’ve changed. I don’t want the same things I wanted before.”
“You mean kids?”
“No, not just kids. I haven’t even met hers yet, but I’m looking forward to it. Now that she’s leaving her husband, it’ll be us, and we’ll be a family. I want that, but it’s also more than that. She’s not a workaholic. We can go on vacations and travel the world if we want.”
“With three kids?”
“With or without them,” her ex had said. “Their dad will have them sometimes, and we can afford to have a nanny or something.”
“We?” Myra had said, shaking her head. “You’re already a we?We’remarried.”
“I know. I have a lawyer, Myra. I have the papers ready.”
That had been it. Myra had hired her own attorney to look over the papers, but since her ex hadn’t wanted any part of the business and only asked that they sell the house and split the money, the process had been fairly simple, which made no sense. How could someone declare lifelong love tosomeone else, taking them more than a year to plan the day when they would make it official in front of their friends and family, only to have it all dissolved with a few signatures and money paid to attorneys and the courts?
“You okay?” Melinda checked.
“Sorry?” she asked, refocusing on her friends and their lunch.
“I just asked if you were okay. You were kind of zoned out there.”
“Oh, sorry. I’m good. I was just thinking about this job I have later.”
“What is it?” Kyle asked.
“Just some storm damage to repair, but it’s at my new neighbor’s place.”
“That’s convenient,” Jill noted.
Myra nodded and said, “It is, yeah. I’m too busy to just take it on, though, so I’m working on her place at night and on the weekends until it’s done.”
“Her? The neighbor?” Kyle asked.
“Her name’s Elisa, yeah,” Myra said. “And I have a little problem.”
“What kind of a problem?” Melinda asked.
“Well, she’s drop-dead gorgeous.”
“Oh. Suddenly, I’m more interested in this lunch.” Jill put her phone down on the table. “Tell us more.”
“She’s straight.”
“Oh. Bummer,” Jill replied, sitting back in her chair. “I was hoping for some hot gossip.”
“You have a hotgirlfriendnow, remember?” Melinda teased.
“I know. I didn’t mean that I wanted this Elisa to be hot for me, but for Myra, obviously, and I wanted the hot details if there were any.”
“There aren’t,” Myra said and sighed. “It’s a little confusing.”
“What’s confusing?” Kyle asked.
“She’s lived there for months now, but I’ve never paidmuch attention. The summer is always so busy for me. I’ve been putting everything into the business recently, and it’s finally really taking off. Like, we’re making a real profit now for the first time that I can use to reinvest in marketing or hiring.”
