Page 93 of Seasoned
“Me?” Renee said with an exaggerated gasp. “You’re just as bad.”
“You’re both terrible,” Jackie said.
“Okay, we’ll behave, but you promised to tell us what Kendrick said when he called,” Adelaide reminded her.
“Oh, yeah. Well, that was a strange conversation. He called a couple of days after Tyson came by. We were supposed to go out this weekend, and I assumed he was calling to confirm our date.”
“I can’t believe you were still going to date him,” Renee muttered.
“I wasn’t sure I wanted to, to be honest. After my conversation with Tyson, I was feeling so…”
“Confused?” Adelaide supplied.
“Maybe,” Jackie said in a low voice, loath to admit that Tyson could upset the equilibrium of her life the way he obviously had.
“Then what happened?” Renee asked.
Curling her toes into the cool sand, Jackie continued. “He said he didn’t think it was a good idea for us to be seeing each other anymore. He’s leaving for New York soon, and he said he wasn’t comfortable dating someone his father had slept with.”
Adelaide gasped. “So Tyson told him everything?”
“Maybe not everything, but enough that he knows Tyson and I had been lovers.”
Renee groaned. “Well, at least you don’t have to have the awkward conversation where you tell him yourself, but does he know his father is trying to get back together with you?”
“I’m pretty sure he does,” Jackie replied.
“Interesting. Which means he stepped aside so Tyson could make a move.” Adelaide sipped her wine, watching Jackie closely.
“That’s what it sounds like, but Tyson’s only here for a short time, which means he’s looking for a fling.”
“He said letting you go was a mistake. That’s not fling talk to me.”
“You agreed to three dates and said earlier you can handle him, but…” Renee’s words trailed off with the arch of an eyebrow.
“I’m going to have fun. That’s what I’m going to do. You’re with your handyman, and you”—she turned to Adelaide—“are back together with Hector. I don’t know where this is going, but I know what’s not going to happen. I’m not going to get my feelings tangled up in Tyson. This time, I’m in control. I have no expectations of a future with him so he can’t disappoint me again. Besides, you know my philosophy about relationships has kept me sane all these years. Rule number one…”
“Never need a man,” Renee said.
Jackie turned to Adelaide. “Rule number two…”
“Always have your own.”
“Exactly, ladies. The only thing I would really need a man for is to have a baby, and I don’t even need one for that.” She laughed.
Adelaide’s face softened. “The adoption,” she said.
Jackie nodded, a smile of pure joy breaking out on her face. The state was conducting a review of her background, to include criminal, medical, and employment history, among other factors. According to the caseworker, the assessment should be over soon. Once she was approved, she’d be able to pick a child, and the empty hole in her life would finally be filled.
“Very soon I’m going to be a mother, and I won’t have time to worry about Tyson and whether or not he really cares about me. I’ll be too busy with my little girl.”
She’d spent years concentrating on building a business and neglected having a family. She had four godchildren, ten nieces and nephews, thanks to her sister and two brothers, and three grand-nieces. Loving on them used to be enough, but over time she longed for more.
Renee placed an arm around Jackie. “You’re going to be a great mom. I can already see your little girl now, buying snack packs at the grocery store and selling the individual bags of chips for a profit at school.”
“I actually did that as a kid,” Jackie said with a sideways twist of her lips.
The other two laughed.
