downstairs to wait, pouring a tumbler of peach sangria to fortify myself.
I simultaneously dreaded what I had to do and wanted to get it over with as soon as
possible. I wished someone would invent a time machine so I could fast-forward to
tomorrow morning, when I’d tell Nick I was a free woman and wanted to give the two
of us a try.
I wondered how Nick would react when he heard the news. Would he grab me in a hug?
Maybe plant a big ol’ kiss on me?
Dare I dream of more?
I glanced at the clock. Brett wouldn’t be here for a quarter hour. Just enough time
to call my mother and fill her in. She’d encouraged me to give Nick a shot when she’d
met him a few weeks back. She’d be glad to hear I was finally heeding her advice.
I dialed my parents’ home number, and after the usual preliminaries—“I’m fine,” “the
cats are fine,” “the weather’s fine”—I told Mom about my plans to put Brett on the
back burner.
“I know it’ll be hard, hon,” she said, “but you’re doing the right thing.”
“I hope so.”
“I know so.”
Sounded like Mom was speaking from experience. “Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah,” she said. “Did I ever tell you about Candy Cummings?”
“Sounds like a stripper name.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” My mother harrumphed. “Candy was this cute little thing on
the drill team. Your dad had a crush on her our senior year of high school.”
What? My parents had been high-school sweethearts. They’d met their sophomore year in biology
class and married just a year after their graduation. They seemed so content, so perfect
for each other, that I’d assumed their relationship had been smooth sailing from the
start. Had this Candy been a bump in their road?
Mom sighed. “I caught your father sneaking glances at Candy several times in the cafeteria.
She was a total twit, but something about her got your father’s motor running.”
Urk. I didn’t want to think about my father’s motor, running or not.
“Anyway, I knew if he didn’t take Candy for a whirl he’d spend the rest of his life
pining for that high-kicking nitwit. I wanted him to be sure about me. So I cut him
loose for a while.”
“If you love something, set it free?”
“Exactly.”
“And what happened?” I asked.
“The two of them fell in love, moved to a castle, and lived happily ever after.”
Obviously that didn’t happen or I wouldn’t have been having this conversation. “Smart-ass.”
For once, Mom didn’t threaten to break out the Ivory soap and wash my mouth. She must’ve
realized she’d earned the curse. “Your dad took Candy out on a couple of dates. Meanwhile,
I went out a few times with the captain of the chess club, a boy named Randall. Smart
as a whip. He’d grown a few inches over the summer and gotten his braces off, and
heck if he hadn’t become quite the catch. He had all kinds of potential, too. Ended
up becoming a research scientist. Last I heard he was working on a new treatment for
diabetes.”
I glanced at the clock. Only five minutes now until Brett’s ETA. “Can you get to the
point, Mom?”
“Okay, hon. Point is, once your dad spent some time with Candy, he realized that as
cute as she was, she wasn’t the right girl for him. She was shallow and spiteful and
full of herself. He came running back to me.”
“And you welcomed him back with open arms?”
“Heck, no! I made him beg and plead and make a fool of himself for me first.”
Mom might be forgiving, but she wasn’t a pushover. “Good for you.” The fact that Dad
groveled said a lot, too. He was a proud man, not prone to displays of humility. If
he’d been willing to beg to get her back, he must have known, without a doubt, that
Mom was the girl for him.
I hoped that Brett would be as understanding as my mother had been when I asked for
a chance to try things out with Nick. I also hoped Brett would give me a second chance
if things with
I simultaneously dreaded what I had to do and wanted to get it over with as soon as
possible. I wished someone would invent a time machine so I could fast-forward to
tomorrow morning, when I’d tell Nick I was a free woman and wanted to give the two
of us a try.
I wondered how Nick would react when he heard the news. Would he grab me in a hug?
Maybe plant a big ol’ kiss on me?
Dare I dream of more?
I glanced at the clock. Brett wouldn’t be here for a quarter hour. Just enough time
to call my mother and fill her in. She’d encouraged me to give Nick a shot when she’d
met him a few weeks back. She’d be glad to hear I was finally heeding her advice.
I dialed my parents’ home number, and after the usual preliminaries—“I’m fine,” “the
cats are fine,” “the weather’s fine”—I told Mom about my plans to put Brett on the
back burner.
“I know it’ll be hard, hon,” she said, “but you’re doing the right thing.”
“I hope so.”
“I know so.”
Sounded like Mom was speaking from experience. “Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah,” she said. “Did I ever tell you about Candy Cummings?”
“Sounds like a stripper name.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” My mother harrumphed. “Candy was this cute little thing on
the drill team. Your dad had a crush on her our senior year of high school.”
What? My parents had been high-school sweethearts. They’d met their sophomore year in biology
class and married just a year after their graduation. They seemed so content, so perfect
for each other, that I’d assumed their relationship had been smooth sailing from the
start. Had this Candy been a bump in their road?
Mom sighed. “I caught your father sneaking glances at Candy several times in the cafeteria.
She was a total twit, but something about her got your father’s motor running.”
Urk. I didn’t want to think about my father’s motor, running or not.
“Anyway, I knew if he didn’t take Candy for a whirl he’d spend the rest of his life
pining for that high-kicking nitwit. I wanted him to be sure about me. So I cut him
loose for a while.”
“If you love something, set it free?”
“Exactly.”
“And what happened?” I asked.
“The two of them fell in love, moved to a castle, and lived happily ever after.”
Obviously that didn’t happen or I wouldn’t have been having this conversation. “Smart-ass.”
For once, Mom didn’t threaten to break out the Ivory soap and wash my mouth. She must’ve
realized she’d earned the curse. “Your dad took Candy out on a couple of dates. Meanwhile,
I went out a few times with the captain of the chess club, a boy named Randall. Smart
as a whip. He’d grown a few inches over the summer and gotten his braces off, and
heck if he hadn’t become quite the catch. He had all kinds of potential, too. Ended
up becoming a research scientist. Last I heard he was working on a new treatment for
diabetes.”
I glanced at the clock. Only five minutes now until Brett’s ETA. “Can you get to the
point, Mom?”
“Okay, hon. Point is, once your dad spent some time with Candy, he realized that as
cute as she was, she wasn’t the right girl for him. She was shallow and spiteful and
full of herself. He came running back to me.”
“And you welcomed him back with open arms?”
“Heck, no! I made him beg and plead and make a fool of himself for me first.”
Mom might be forgiving, but she wasn’t a pushover. “Good for you.” The fact that Dad
groveled said a lot, too. He was a proud man, not prone to displays of humility. If
he’d been willing to beg to get her back, he must have known, without a doubt, that
Mom was the girl for him.
I hoped that Brett would be as understanding as my mother had been when I asked for
a chance to try things out with Nick. I also hoped Brett would give me a second chance
if things with
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