“Do you have sunscreen?” I asked, looking down at her long, pale legs.
“Of course.” She winked. “Marta helped make sure I thought of everything.”
I shook my head. “She takes good care of you.”
“Don’t I know it. She’s like the mother I never had.”
Given that I knew her mother was still alive, there was a world of meaning in that statement, but now wasn’t the time for a heavy discussion. Instead I followed her to her rental, and we headed out to one of the many lakes within driving distance of the city.
After a long day at the lake reading, swimming, and napping we came back to my apartment, took separate showers, and ordered pizza. If Livi was taken aback by the small size of my apartment or its simple decor, she didn’t say anything. She just made herself at home, befriending Leo and helping me with the dishes after we finished our pizza.
Livi and I ended up spending the weekend together just hanging out at my place talking, watching movies, and having sex. Lots of sex. When Sunday night came we were both sad to see our weekend together end.
“I’m not going to know what to do in an office anymore,” she said, her head on my shoulder as we watched Leo play with a little felt mouse full of catnip that Livi brought him.
“The Victorian will be quiet without you. No one will be falling or putting tools through drywall or knocking things over,” I teased. “And your friend the squirrel will miss you.”
“Ha ha.”
“You did a good job, Livi. You way exceeded everyone’s expectations.”
“Including mine,” she said.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Yeah, of course.”
It was something I’d been dying to know the answer to since the first day we met.
“Why did you freak out on your ex?” I asked. “It doesn’t sound like you were that into him, were you?”
“Not really. The truth is, I didn’t even want to date that asshole. My mother kept pushing us together, inviting us to dinner, making sure we were in the same place at the same time, that kind of thing. I wasn’t in love with him, but we were comfortable together, friendly, seemed compatible. The sex wasokay, nothing great but passable. I’d been single for a couple of years and dating him stopped my mother’s nagging about why I was single, so that was a bonus. When Matt suggested we get married, I figured why not. It wasn’t like I was finding any other good options.”
She sighed deeply.
“Then I caught him cheating on me with my skanky cousin and I lost it. Not because I was hurt by him but because I was so pissed that I’d once again gone along with my mother instead of standing up for myself. And I’d thought he and I were becoming friends at least, but he didn’t hesitate to screw me over the first chance he got. But you know the worst part?”
“What?”
“I was settling. I mean, we both were, but if I hadn’t caught him cheating I would have married him and had a perfectly bland marriage that was more of a business merger than a love match, and that’s the part that really infuriated me.”
She looked up, giving me a sweet smile. “I’m glad it happened though. Otherwise I never would have met you.”
Our lips met in a long, tender kiss, then Livi pulled away.
“I really should get going since we both have to work in the morning.”
“Will you text me when you get home?” I asked. “Let me know you made it okay?”
She looked pleased, like maybe she wasn’t used to people looking after her. Then again, I hadn’t heard her phone beep with a text or a call all weekend. Wasn’t anyone else checking on her?
“I will.”
The next morning when I got to work I was met with expectant looks from my crew.
“What?” I asked, even though I knew exactly what they wanted to know.
“How’s Livi?” Jose asked.
