“Yes, Mark was nice, but he and I weren’t right for each other.”
“And why was that, Kara? Because he didn’t ride in on horseback and ravish you like one of the characters in your novels?”
“Mark and I didn’t work out because we didn’t have the chemistry needed to sustain a lifelong relationship, on top of our other issues.” I then add, “Plus he always flossed in front of me and it made me want to vomit.”
“He was a dentist! There’s nothing wrong with him practicing sensible dental hygiene.”
“Okay, enough.” My voice is even but firm. “Mark and I are not getting back together and I’m very satisfied with both my physical and mental health, so you need to relax and let me live.” I then turn to Jen, not giving my mom a chance to respond. “Now, where was I?”
“The party,” she says, popping a saltine in her mouth from a travel-sized box she’s hiding in her lap.
“Yes, the party.” I’m about to elaborate when my phone vibrates in my sweater pocket. I pick it up and see a text message from an unknown number. “One second.” I type in my security code and the message pops open on the screen.
Just giving you a heads-up, I snore louder than Duke.
My stomach flips. I know I told Cristina to give Ryan my number but him texting me right now feels too strange to be real. I grip my phone with both hands and type,Not surprising. Guess I’ll have to break out that new sound machine after all.
Blinking dots pop up right away. At least he’s not one of those guys who take five hours to text back.
I also do chanting meditation at 5:00 a.m. with a substantial gong solo, performed live by me. Would you like to participate?
I smile to myself and look up to find Mom and Jen watching me. “Sorry,” I say. “It’s Cristina with wedding stuff.” I glance down and quickly type,I’ll take a rain check. Thanks, though.
My phone buzzes.
Let’s get down to business, Sullivan. Are you luring me to your apartment so you can seduce me or what?
I laugh then and it doesn’t go unnoticed by Mom and Jen. Thankfully, they return to their own discussion and I text back, lowering my phone underneath the table like a guilty teenager.
Absolutely.I type, emboldened by our easy back-and-forth.Here’s a preview—I’ll be wearing back-to-back sweat suits as I ignore you completely and work on my book all day. Good luck resisting that sultry dance.
Wow. How about some warning before things get X-rated?
You’re an idiot. I’ll talk to you later.
The blinking dots pop up one more time.
See you at home.
Dear God, what have I done?
I place my phone down onto the table in front of me, feeling nervous and excited. I’m reminding myself that this is purely work-related when I notice my mom and sister staring right at me.
“Hi,” I say innocently.
“Who was that?” Mom asks. “And don’t bother saying it was Cristina.”
How to play this...
“That was a guy I met last night.”
Mom looks at Jen before turning back to me. “Well, that’s good. Are you interested in him?”
I pause before answering. “I am possibly interested in him.” I don’t mention that I’m referring to Ryan. My mom met him plenty of times in college and always liked him, but after being privy to all the details of our breakup, I don’t know how she’d react to him now.
“And what does he do? What does he look like?”
“He’s an engineer and looks-wise...he’s tall. He has sandy-blond hair and a strong jawline. His eyes are green with little specks of brown along the edge.”
