Page 18 of August
“Good. Now, let’s go pick up some lunch on the way home. You can get ice cream, and I won’t tell Adele.”
“Cool.” He laughed a little.
Driving home and watching her son eat an ice cream cone in about three bites was entertaining, but it also made Elisa think about the fact that this would be one of the last car rides like this that they would have together before her only son went to college. Sure, there would be school breaks and summers, but soon, he would meet a girl he liked, and he would want to spend a holiday with her instead of back home, just like his father had done with her and she had done with him. He would get a job near campus or an internship somewhere, and the summers at home would shorten before disappearing altogether. Soccer was only different this year because the school was in between coaches after the coach left for another university, and they had yet to hire a replacement. Next year, though, Archie would be at school starting in July. She only had so many more days like this with him before things would change, and that was true for Adele, too.
Her life had been about her children for almost two decades, and now, all of that was about to change. She would be left by herself in this house that was half-falling apart but was all she had been able to afford, with no hobbies, aside from her running, and no real friends who weren’t her thirty-two-year-old ex-sister-in-law, who had been living in New Orleans for a while now and was much more established here than Elisa. So, yes, she had Gwen, but that was it. Well, unless she counted Myra, whom she was paying to fix her house and who had turned her down for drinks and dinner twice now, so Elisa probably needed to take the damn hint. Myra wanted a client, not a new friend. Or maybe just a client and a neighbor. Either way, Elisa would need to find something more than just running, cleaning the house, and her job search to occupy her time soon.
CHAPTER 7
Myra pulled her long braids back and looked at herself in the mirror. She didn’t usually check herself out before she went to a client’s house, but she was tonight. Elisa was someone she wanted to be friends with, regardless if there was a chance at anything more, so she was only trying to make sure that she looked professional; that was all. She shook her head at herself then, knowing that wasn’t true, and grabbed her tools, heading out the door and over to Elisa’s.
“Hey,” Elisa greeted. “Come on in.”
She moved out of the way and let Myra walk in.
“Hey. Is it still okay for me to work now?”
“Of course. The kids are gone anyway.”
“Out for dinner?” Myra asked.
Elisa closed the door behind her and started walking toward the kitchen.
“They’re gone for a few days. They went back to their dad’s again. More farewell parties and friend hangouts. Their dad also has a pool, so I’m sure that’s part of it.”
Myra set her toolbox down and took in Elisa, who was wearing a white dress with light-blue flowers on it. She was also barefoot, and her toes were painted with the same blue color.
“You look nice,” she said before she could stop herself.
“Oh. I had an interview. It was a last-minute thing. I just got home, actually.”
“Interview?”
“It’s a receptionist position downtown. I doubt I’ll get it, but I was out shopping with Archie, and on the way home, I got the call that they wanted to know if I could come in today. I don’t really have interview clothes, so I’llneed to go shopping again, but I thought this dress was probably okay. Right?”
‘Okay’ wasn’t the word Myra would use to describe how Elisa looked right now. The pale color of the dress and her soft, caramel skin was a perfect combination.
“Yeah, you… It’s good.” She cleared her throat. “So, receptionist?”
“It was just something I saw online. It’s an hourly position for about twenty hours a week, so I thought it might be something to do more than anything.”
“Well, I hope it works out,” Myra replied. “I won’t get in your way if you need to cook or, I don’t know, just hang out. I have headphones and a podcast to keep me occupied if you need to do something else.”
“Oh,” Elisa let out as if she hadn’t thought about that. “Right. Yeah. I was going to make something for dinner.”
“No problem.”
“Um… The kids are gone, and it’s just me,” Elisa said, clasping her hands in front of her. “I know I’ve asked before, and you said no, so it’s okay if you do that again, but I always make too much food anyway. Do you maybe want to eat with me or take something home with you if you want? It’ll be leftovers tomorrow or go to waste.”
Myra smiled at her because Elisa was just adorable right now. She didn’t want to tell her no for a third time because she reallydidwant them to at least be neighborly without it being awkward between them, but dinner with this woman without flirting with her would be difficult, with Elisa wearing that dress.
“What are you making?” she asked.
“Pasta with chicken. Unless you’re a vegetarian,” Elisa added quickly. “I can make it without chicken. I have a jar of Alfredo sauce, so it won’t be from scratch. Oh, and I have cheesy garlic bread. Archie loves it, but he doesn’t know I bought it because he’s incapable of opening the refrigerator and actually seeing food there. He usually just yells, ‘Mom, there’s nothing to eat!’ and closes the door.”
Myra laughed and began pulling out the tools she would need to get started.
“That sounds good, actually. And I’m not a vegetarian; I’m from New Orleans.”
