Ethan looked down at the mug and then back up at Valerie. “Are you teasing me right now?” He smiled, thinking how nice it would be to actually forget Pearl.
She shook her head. “Did I meet her today? Does she work for you?” She blew across the top of the steaming liquid, her sumptuous lips forming a perfect O. Her eyes were open and sincere. It was like she didn’t remember Pearl at all.
The hair on the back of Ethan’s neck stood up. “Valerie, you know Pearl. She’s been here.” He motioned toward the sunken living space.”
“When?” Valerie sipped the cocoa, her eyes closing in pleasure.
“A couple of days ago. She’s Collin’s mother–my ex-wife,” he felt the need to add. A spot of anger, like an ink stain, began to spread through his chest.
Valerie slammed her cup down, sloshing the contents across the pristine countertop. “You were married?! When?”
He set his drink down, too, and lifted both his palms. “Why are you getting all upset about this? You know my situation. You met Collin before you met me.”
She sputtered. “Collin?”
“My son.” He gritted his teeth. Was she having some kind of episode? “The kid you climbed under a Christmas tree with the day we met?” He felt ridiculous for reminding her about that moment.
“I did no such thing.” She glared at him as she pressed her hand to her forehead. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were married. I mean, I wondered here and there if you were, but I brushed it off. I feel like I’ve been ambushed.”
The ink stain spread to all corners of his mind, and all he could see was red. “Ambushed? Valerie, you’ve met Collin and Pearl. She took videos of you all day. It drove me nuts!” He grunted in frustration. “What’s going on here?” He scraped his fingers through his hair.
She started pacing on her side of the counter, and he did the same on his. “Look, if you don’t want to go to the ranch or I was moving too fast by asking you or something, just say. You don’t have to make up an ex-wife to scare me off.”
He wanted to throw something. “Make her up? I wish.” He stormed to the couch and grabbed his coat. “You know what? I’m not going to play this game–whatever it is. Clearly, performing today messed with your–” he swirled his hand around his head, “and I have enough drama in my life.”
“I’m not the drama!” she yelled after him. “You’re the one dropping bombs in my living room.”
He shut the door on anything else she had to say and stormed to his truck. He stared at it momentarily before realizing his magnetic logo strip wasn’t on the side. Instead of paying to have the truck wrapped, he’d bought large magnetic sheets and had the logo printed there. Seemed like a good idea at the time–a great way to save money–but now it was gone.
“That’s just great.”
Looking under the truck, he grunted. It must have fallen off somewhere. He’d have to order a new one made.
“Wonderful.”
Cruising down the mountain, he decided to go home and chill for a minute before picking up Collin from his parents’ house. He needed to think this through, and that wasn’t going to happen while Collin’s excitement for Christmas grew. Besides, he didn’t want to rain on Collin’s joy and be a downer because Valerie had gone coo-coo-ca choo.
He still didn’t know what had happened.
She acted like Pearl and Collin didn’t exist.
Weird! Who did stuff like that?
Celebrities, that’s who.
Although to be fair, he didn’t know many celebrities and based his assumptions on what he read in the supermarket checkout line.
He turned into his driveway and slammed on the brakes just in time to avoid colliding with the silver Honda parked there. “Who is at my house?” he grumped. He slid out of the truck and slammed the door. A new snowman was on his lawn, and a wreath he’d never seen hung on the door. “Pearl,” he groaned. The woman had no idea what boundaries were. Why was he always bringing in the crazy ladies? He glanced down at his everyday pair of jeans, coat, and boots. Nothing about him looked like a target, yet they were drawn to him like children to a reindeer.
Storming up the steps, he walked in and yelled, “Pearl, we need some serious boundaries.”
A woman screamed and scrambled off the couch, putting the furniture between them. She held out one hand as if trying to ward him off. “Help! Get out! Get out! Aaahhh!”
He pointed at her. “This is my house. Who are you?”
She started crying and gasping as if she was too scared to breathe. “It’s not your house. It’s not.”
A teenage boy came running in, and she threw her arm out to keep him from charging Ethan. “Mom!” he protested.
