Page 18 of The Holy Grail
“What?”
“Painfully honest, on occasion. Well, on many occasions, actually,” Jules admitted. “And not everyone can handle it.”
“How painfully honest?”
“On a scale of one to ten, I usually come in around a nine and a half. It’s my default setting.”
Beverly’s chuckle was a little louder this time. “Well, that sounds refreshing, to be honest. Pun intended. And I think Malcom would find it refreshing, too. He could benefit from an honest woman in his life.”
At the reference to her being an ‘honest woman’ Jules once again felt like a complete asshole, because she hadn’t been completely honest with Beverly and decided that needed to be rectified. “Listen … I wasn’t entirely truthful with you earlier when I said it had been several months since I met him.”
“You weren’t?”
“No. It’s actually been … fifteen months.”
There was a noticeable silence on the other end of the line, and Jules waited in utter discomfort for the other woman’s reaction.
“Fifteen months?” Beverly repeated.
“Yes.”
“Well, I can see why you weren’t totally forthcoming about that.”
“I’m sorry. I thought you wouldn’t take me seriously if you knew how long it had really been.”
“I might not have,” Beverly replied slowly, before turning businesslike once again. “So, why did it take you so long? And I want the real reason, not the generic ‘personal issues’ one, because this is my son we’re talking about.”
“The real reason is that I was a coward.” Jules released a deep breath. “Wow. That was a lot easier to admit than I thought it would be. But it’s true. I was a coward. I told myselfI was staying away from Malcom for his sake, because he was obviously a man interested in finding a long-term relationship, and I would only break his heart. And I didn’t want to do that because he was so nice.”
“Why did you think you would have broken his heart?”
“Because I’ve never been a long-term girl. The longest relationship I’ve ever had was two weeks—and when it ended, it was for the same reason all the others had ended. He couldn’t handle my ‘crazy’.”
“Your ‘crazy’?”
“My personality. It’s a joke between me and my best friend, Paige, and not an actual clinical diagnosis, in case you were worried.”
Beverly chuckled at that before saying, “May I ask you something, Jules?”
“Sure.”
“Are you a pretty woman?”
After a slight pause because of the unexpected question, Jules answered, “I’ve been told I am. Why?”
“Well, remember when I said Malcom’s looks sometimes attracted the wrong sort of women? Well, I’m wondering ifyourlooks attract the wrong sort of men, and likely contribute to your … unsuccessful track record.”
Jules cleared her throat, amused at the other woman’s candor.Unsuccessful track record, indeed.“That could be part of it, but I haven’t been choosing quality men, so that’s on me … which is why I decided to call for the character reference tonight. I was watchingThe Godfatherand it made me think about Malcom, which led to me question if I was picking the wrong men. It occurred to me I might be afraid of really investing myself emotionally into a relationship, making me a coward. I didn’t like that, so I decided it was time to take a chance on a man who was looking for long-term—the man who I really haven’t stopped thinking about for fifteen months—despite my New Year’s resolution.”
“Your New Year’s resolution?”
“To rip up his card and quit thinking about him.”
“I see. So, now what happens?”
“Now, I call him and hope he doesn’t hang up on me, which he very well might do, given how long it’s been since he asked me out. Of course, that’s assuming he’ll even remember me ...”
“Oh, I’m sure he’ll remember you.”
