Page 40 of Idle

All alone, I choose a chair in the dining room and allow myself to pull out Paige’s notes. Her ideas explode off the page. Mary Ellen’s assessment of the space fails. Boring? Certainly not with these drawings. I’m studying Paige’s bedframe design when my partner reappears, rubbing a towel across her short, wet hair.

“Hey.”

Her head turns in all directions until she spots me. “Oh, there you are.”

She walks over to me, her shapely, long legs exposed in her denim shorts.Stop thinking about her like that. She’s Bo’s.I hold up her sketches. “These are fantastic.”

Pink crawls up from her neck to her cheeks. How can she be embarrassed at her talent? She waves her hand. “They were some ideas I drew. No biggie.”

I pat the chair next to me. “I think they’re innovative.” Pointing to her creative use of the high ceilings, I note, “Not many people would think to go vertical.”

She settles into the chair I indicated. “When the space is taller than wide, it seems a natural fit.”

I place the papers on the dining table. Time to get to the bottom of her insecurity. “Paige, I think you’re very talented. Your ideas are always fresh, and they spur me on to think outside the box. I don’t understand why you try to hide your gifts.”

She toys with the towel. “You must not know too many designers. I’m more run-of-the-mill.” She half-laughs. “Hell, my degree wasn’t even in interior design. And I only took one art class in college.”

“What was your major?” She opens her mouth, but I don’t let her speak. “Wait. Let me guess.” I size up my partner for a minute then snap my fingers. “English.”

“Wrong!”

I frown. “Don’t tell me.”

“I won’t. I bet yours was business.”

“Guess I’m pretty transparent.”

“Only because I know you work in a bank. But I’m thinking you took some woodworking classes on the side.”

My lips lift upward. “At a Vo-Tech nearby. My college didn’t offer them.” I can hear Homer’s disparaging voice deridebecause they’re too blue collar, and my lips return to normal.

“Very industrious of you. I couldn’t imagine leaving campus to go to another school for more classes.” She shakes her head. “By the way, my degree was Spanish. We have a place down in Cabo, so it seemed a natural fit.”

“Did you want to teach?”

“Oh, hell no.” She chuckles. “Consider me more of a liberal arts person.” She folds the towel on her lap. “So, what do you want to do today? Work on our designs?”

“Seems like the thing to do.”

“I need some fresh air. How about we walk the High Line before getting down to it?”

I tilt my head. “I haven’t gotten out of this building since we started filming. And we do have tomorrow free too.” My hands land on my thighs. “Let’s go.”

She pops up. “Great. Let me get my sneakers.”

She pads, barefoot, down the hallway and I decide to change into shorts considering it’s over eighty outside. In the bedroom, Bo’s putting on his workout clothes. I don’t say anything to him, simply pull out a pair of shorts that will match my shirt.If Paige wanted him to join us, she could ask him.We return into the main area together.

When he sees Paige standing next to Mary Ellen, Bo lets out a whistle. “Lookin’ good, cowgirl.”

He used the singular so I’m sure he wasn’t directing his rather uncouth comment to his ex-wife. My thought is affirmed when he continues, “Hi, Mary Ellen.”

I have nothing to say, so I keep my mouth shut. Mary Ellen’s eyes narrow, but she keeps her mouth closed too. For her part, Paige offers him a sunny smile. The one I thought was reserved for me. Evidence I’m not special to her shouldn’t cause my gut to tighten.

Paige addresses Bo. “Going to work out?”

“Yup. These guns don’t prime themselves.” He makes a fist and raises his arm, exposing his biceps.

Probably steroids pump them, I think, but keep my comment to myself. Mary Ellen covers up what I suspect was a snort by coughing, drawing Paige’s attention. “Let me get you some water.”

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