“That’s too bad,” Wade said. “And I understand. Money’s tight for me too. I was actually going to ask if you’d be willing to split the bill after dinner.”
She wasn’t a gold digger looking for a big payday, but part of her criteria was a stable income.Strike one, Julia thought.Next question.
“Sure,” she said. “That’s fine. So, your profile said you loved kids, but you don’t have any?”
“No. My ex-wife never wanted them. It was one reason we divorced.”
“She didn’t mention that before you got married?”
“She did, but at the time, I didn’t want them either. I hear they’re a lot of work.”
“Well, that’s true. You know I have a son, right?”
“Yes. I saw that on your profile,” Wade said. “Is he well-behaved?”
“He’s five.”
“Still, he should be taught manners early.”
Not having kids wasn’t a deal breaker, but she would feel more comfortable if they had experience with children.Strike one and a half.Next question.
“There’s more than just manners to deal with,” she said. “For instance, he’s been sporadically wetting the bed, and I’m not sure what to do about it.” This was how she found out whattheywould do, because theyalwayshad to give advice.
This “test” wasn’t technically a lie—just a slight bending of the truth. Calhadregressed some after Sean died, but it had been weeks since he’d had an accident.
“You said he’s five.” Wade frowned. “I didn’t think they wet the bed that old.”
“He reverted a little when his dad died.”
“Just give him a swat, and he’ll stop.”
“Spank him? For wetting the bed?”
“A good spanking will solve most problems. At least it did with me when I was a kid.”
“Hm.”
Throughout dinner, she peppered in a few more scenarios. Between asking him about himself and explaining her business, she rotated in other dad test situations—how he would handle back talk, deal with a picky eater, or what he would say if Calvin got in trouble at school—to get a sense of how he would discipline. Answers were mentally noted and evaluated later. Wade’s answer to just about everything was a spanking. That, and sending him to bed without dinner.
After strikes three and four, she called it a night. Once they struck out, she didn’t waste any more time on them. If he bothered to contact her, she’d give him the ol’ “you seem great, but…” line.
An hour later, she lay in the bathtub, sipping wine and lamenting that she hadn’t just skipped the date and gone straight to a relaxing night alone.
She replayed the evening and tried to give Wade the benefit of the doubt, but that was proving difficult. She could get past the ten-year-old profile pic. Looks didn’t matter in her marriage scenario. The non-negotiables were that the guy be a good role model and dad to Calvin and that he make enough money to help her stay in her place. Wade had failed on both counts.
After her bath, she got everything ready for tomorrow’s videos. Calvin stayed overnight at her mom’s on Saturdays so Julia could have a long chunk of uninterrupted time on Sundays to work. She would record three to four videos on Sunday and then release them every other day during the week.
They’d had this routine for several months, and it was working out great. Her mom’s month-long cruise would throw a wrench in Julia’s schedule, but she’d make do. Her mom deserved a luxurious vacation.
Sunday morning, she laid out four different outfits and put on her makeup. Between each video, she changed her outfit and hairstyle to make it seem like she taped multiple times a week. Without Calvin, things moved quickly, and she finished by noon.
After lunch, she called Ellie, who lived in the UK. Ellie was young and single and didn’t mind working weekends or that the time difference often meant evening phone calls. Her part-time job duties included posting content, monitoring the different social media channels, and keeping Julia on track for what products needed to be mentioned in which videos.
“Any ideas from followers for topics?” Julia asked.
“They like the ones where you make the recipe,” Ellie said. “And the exercise ones. Although, it’s mainly men commenting on those, and I’m pretty sure they’re more interested in ogling your downward dog than working out.”
“Funny you mention that,” Julia said. “My date last night mentioned something similar. He said he watched my yoga videos, but when I asked if the poses were too hard, he gave me a stupid look and said he didn’t realize he was supposed to follow along.”
