Page 25 of Peak of Love
Marcelina:Yup. And you?
Ben:Oncology. I work at U Dub.
Using the local term for the University of Washington, Ben established himself as a local.
Marcelina:That must be intense.
Ben:Sorry, I forgot to say doctor. I’ve been told that people don’t want to be reminded of cancer.
That gave her pause. What were the boundaries for serious conversations? As far as she was concerned, if that’s how he wanted to describe his occupation, he shouldn’t have to worry about upsetting her. For some reason, Celina didn’t want him to apologize. Since teasing came naturally to her, that’s what she did.
Marcelina:Guess you should’ve been a firefighter after all. Shortsighted on your part—saving cancer patients and such.
A longish pause before Ben texted:I was just saying that this morning.
Marcelina:Surely not to your patients.
Ben:You’re right. I forgot. They’re the ones who told me I should have been a firefighter.
Celina laughed because this was both a bit funny and plenty macabre, considering they were talking about the c-word. She liked that he didn’t take himself seriously. There were enough dire topics and bad news. Being able to make fun of yourself through it all was a definite plus in her books.
Marcelina:I’m not even a good cook. Only passable. And only some of the time.
Ben:Finally, the truth. I appreciate you coming clean, Marcelina. Did I mention how much I like your name?
Marcelina:You did.
Ben:Cooking is overrated. Especially since there’s so many excellent restaurants popping up in town. Wanna meet in one this week?
He was in a routine check-in with the boys, who were having trouble with math, when Dane noticed the college-age babysitter in the background.
“Is your mom out on an errand?” he asked.
“She went to a restaurant tonight. Grilled something?” Jonas spoke into the camera.
“Grilled Goose,” Jerome said. “She does that now.”
“Does what?”
“Goes to restaurants on Fridays. She says she’s trying new places but she never brings us.”
Dane felt a lump the size of an apple in his throat. Restaurants on weekends meant one thing. Celina was dating. And not just once.She does that now. Those words made his gut clench.
“I’ve been working in Seattle this week. How about I take you somewhere tomorrow?”
“OK! Can we go to the Grilled Goose?” Jerome asked.
“Why?” Dane asked, intrigued by the mind of a ten-year-old.
Jerome shrugged. “Mom looked excited. The food must be really good.”
Excited?For hell’s sake.He was living in the pit of his own making, asking for details about Celina’s dating life.
“Sure. Wherever you want.”
When he ended the video call, Dane told himself that he should pour a drink to unwind. If that didn’t relax him, he might as well fire up the laptop and scour through reports from his two project managers. There was also the list of books he had meant to read and shows he hadn’t watched. Both lists were impressively long.
Did he pursue any of the reasonable activities preventing him from acting like a jealous, spurned lover? No. No, he did not.
