“A year, tops,” I lied. I actually planned on poisoning my body for at least twenty more years. He sighed and frowned at my answer. “Who are you?”
“Sorry. I’m Hudson. Hudson MacMillan.”
“I’m Eliza Farris.”
“Eliza, why are you doing this to yourself?”
“Excuse me?”
“This.” He pointed to my chest. I looked down. I was still wearing the dress I wore to my son’s graduation, and it was covered in food stains.
“Are you a Jehovah’s Witness? Is this a conversion thing?” I asked. It was okay if he wanted to give me a sermon, but I wished I had gotten my groceries if I had to listen to his warnings about going to hell.
“I don’t know what’s happened to you—work, husband, whatever—but you have to pull yourself up and right your life. Are you going to give in? Are you going to let life get you down?”
“I’m pretty sure the answer’s yes.” And boy, was it yes. After all, only three days ago, my entire life went down the toilet. Three lousy days. So, I was going to let life get me down for a long time to come. I was going to give in and give in big time. I was even planning on changing my middle name towallow.
He took my hand on the table and held it in his large hands. “No, you’re not, Eliza.”
His eyes bore through me, right to my battered soul. He was mesmerizing. I trusted him, which wasn’t saying much about his trustability, considering my batting average. I had trusted my husband and what did that get me? “Are you a model?”
“I’m a Marine.”
“Oh.” That made sense. There wasn’t any fat anywhere on him. His chest pushed against his t-shirt. I could have bounced quarters off his ass…not that I looked. Okay, maybe I looked once when his back was turned.
“You’re not going to give in,” he repeated.
“I’m not?” I was starting to believe him. For a hardened Marine, he oozed earnestness out of every pore. I believed he wanted to help me. But couldn’t he help me with ice cream instead of egg whites?
“You have to make the decision right now to turn yourself around.”
He was speaking Greek to me. I had no idea what he was saying. How could I turn myself around when I didn’t know what direction my life was, now? It had sunk into a dark abyss, and I had no control. Didn’t he recognize a victim when he saw one?
“We were going to go on a cruise around the world, but now he’s with Tight Tammy on our Ethan Allen bed,” I said.
The waitress came back with my eggs. “Eat,” Hudson urged me. I wanted to say no, but he was so earnest and compassionate, not to mention bossy, that I picked up my fork and took a bite.
“How is it?” Hudson asked.
“Great, except for the taste and the texture.”
“That’s the taste of empowerment, Eliza. That’s the texture of rebirth.”
“You sound like Deepak Chopra,” I said.
“I sound like the truth, but you don’t recognize it when you hear it.”
“Egg whites are the truth?”
He nodded. “I’m going to help you. I’m going to be there for you.”
He meant it. I might not have recognized the truth when I heard it, but I recognized his earnestness. He believed what he was saying. Even though I thought I was beyond help, I grabbed onto his offer to rescue me. I had my doubts that a muscle-bound hottie could save me, but I wasn’t going to reject his efforts. He already knew I was pathetic. What else could I lose?
“You’re going to help me?”
“Yes. You’re going to do everything I tell you, and I’m going to help you. You’re going to be happy again, Eliza Farris. You’re going to be happy and content. No strings attached. You won’t owe me a thing. It’ll be good for my soul and give me a good dose of karma.”
Yep, he did sound like Deepak Chopra. He also sounded too good to be true, and he probably wasn’t. But any port in a storm. My tears began to flow again, and my nose ran. “I might not mind being happy and content,” I conceded. “As long as I don’t have to eat egg whites again.”
