The two of them went back and forth discussing the man from the Coast Guard, but my mind wandered toHector, then Patrick, and then any other potential prospect for a date.
I was in my thirties now. I needed a man who was mature. A man who had his shit together. Not a man-child.
Sure, I’d had fun in my twenties, dated guys who were a good time but not keepers, but now I was too old for that. I wanted someone I could come home to at the end of a long shift and just relax and talk about my day with—and maybe give me a good snuggle-fuck when I needed it.
I wanted that to be with a man who looked like Hector, but Hector clearly wasn’t interested in filling that role.
But what if he was? Finding a dead body wasn’t exactly the most romantic time to ask a girl out. Maybe I needed to take the first step.
I know!I’ll text him about what Agent Andrews had told me.Maybe try to strike up a conversation and see if he seems interested. I knew it might be a bit weird starting the conversation around the case, but it was the only excuse I had at the moment.
He had given me his number the day at the lake in case I thought of anything else about the case. I stood there for a few moments, debating the merits of randomly texting him about the case.You never know if you don’t try, right?I decided to go for it and pulled my cell out.
Iris: Hey Hector, it’s Iris. Agent Andrews just called me to tell me they identified the body. I’m glad they were able to get closure for her family.
A few minutes later, my phone buzzed.
Hector:
I’m glad Andrews told you.
Me:
She said the family wants to meet me. I’m not sure if I want to. Do you know if that’s normal?
Hector:
Let me know if you decide you want to do it. You shouldn’t be alone for something like that.
Gasp!Was he offering to go with me? It would actually be very nice to have him go with me, since something like this could be very awkward for everyone involved.
Shoot. Okay. Breathe. Be cool. Be smooth.
I was in the middle of typing out my response when a new text came in.
Hector:
I’ll have Ranger Diden join you if you choose to meet with them.
I instantly deflated.
Yep, Hector clearly didn’t reciprocate my feelings.
5
“Newton’s Third Law: for every action, there is an equal and opposite embarrassment.”
—It’s science
Iris
I was greeted by our administrative assistant, Dorothy’s, sweet voice as I walked into the office the next day.
“You’ve got snail mail!”
She was eating what looked like a jelly donut in one hand as she used her other hand to give me a stack of letters. I took the bundle, assuming they were thank-you letters from a few recent school talks I had done, and thanked her as I walked through the door that led to our offices.
I walked over to my desk and dumped them out to read them. Kids’ letters were great for uplifting your soul because they were always nice, included colorful drawings, and sometimes had very funny things written in them.
