something,” he replied. “Speaking of, I suppose I should start heading in that direction. Thanks for the coffee, Linda.” David stood and looked at Ellie. “I didn’t mean to upset you, Ellie. I just want to be your friend. I’d like to have another coffee again the next time I’m in if you have time.”
Ellie shrugged. She had to think about what all this meant and make some sense of it first. Her reaction to David was throwing her for a loop.
It was David’s turn to frown. That was obviously not the reaction he wanted, but it was the best she was going to give under the circumstances. “I guess I’ll see you ladies on Saturday then.”
Linda pushed a piece of paper into his hand. “Here’s my address. Come around six. No need to bring anything. I’ll take care of it all.” Then she lowered her voice a notch. “And please, no jeans, dear. I like the chance to dress it up a little.”
David nodded. “Sounds great, Linda.” Then he turned and left the store without another glance at Ellie.
Ellie started to say something when a towel flew out of the air and hit her in the head. “Hey!” she sputtered. She stood and found herself confronted, one on each side, by Kevin and Linda. “What the hell is the matter with you two today?”
“You’ve been moping around here for months. Now some fantastically handsome man comes along, shows obvious interest, and you start getting all uppity with him!” Kevin exclaimed.
“Really, dear, how can you expect to find someone new if you are such a sourpuss all the time?” Linda chimed in right after him.
Ellie closed her eyes against the onslaught. She threw up her hands. “Look, look, look. I’m only going to say this once. When I am ready, I will be much less ‘uppity’ and ‘sourpuss’ like.” Her no-nonsense tone quieted her two friends. “Until then, trying to force anything when I am not ready is not a good idea.”
“But don’t you like David?” Linda asked. “He seems like such an upstanding young man. He certainly is quite handsome.”
“I don’t know anything about David,” Ellie exclaimed in frustration. Then she added, “But he seems nice enough.”
“Well, this dinner party sounds like just the right idea then!” Linda smiled in satisfaction.
“Dinner party? What dinner party?” Kevin asked.
“Oh, come along, dear. You and Eric are invited too, of course.” Linda led Kevin away.
Ellie sat back down in her chair. Maybe her friends were right. Maybe she had sat in her depression for too long. She stared out the window, wishing for simpler times. As independent as she had always been, she wondered what it would feel like to have a man around to take care of her. She had married Jake expecting that exact scenario, and instead she had wound up with an even bigger mess on her hands.
“If only they had left me a trust fund,” she quipped to herself. Her parents had seemed well to do, but it had all been an image put on for their friends. Their untimely death had left Ellie alone and defenseless against the world. She gathered her things, ready to go home.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Skipper was delighted to see Ellie when she walked through the door, and jumped up and down demanding her immediate attention. She sat on the floor and played with him for a few minutes.
“Okay, boy. It’ll be just a minute and then I’ll take you outside.”
She picked up the phone receiver and heard the insistent beeping that she had a message. This was yet another odd thing in an already odd day. Ellie rarely received calls, and when she did it was usually a telemarketer trying to sell something. She entered the pass code and tensed as she heard Jake’s voice.
“Ellie? Are you there? Geez, I’m so dumb. You’re probably at the shop. I’d call you there, but you’d probably just hang up on me. Look, I wanna talk to you, Ellie. There are some things we need to talk about. Call me.”
The slur was so slight that no one else would have been able to
Ellie shrugged. She had to think about what all this meant and make some sense of it first. Her reaction to David was throwing her for a loop.
It was David’s turn to frown. That was obviously not the reaction he wanted, but it was the best she was going to give under the circumstances. “I guess I’ll see you ladies on Saturday then.”
Linda pushed a piece of paper into his hand. “Here’s my address. Come around six. No need to bring anything. I’ll take care of it all.” Then she lowered her voice a notch. “And please, no jeans, dear. I like the chance to dress it up a little.”
David nodded. “Sounds great, Linda.” Then he turned and left the store without another glance at Ellie.
Ellie started to say something when a towel flew out of the air and hit her in the head. “Hey!” she sputtered. She stood and found herself confronted, one on each side, by Kevin and Linda. “What the hell is the matter with you two today?”
“You’ve been moping around here for months. Now some fantastically handsome man comes along, shows obvious interest, and you start getting all uppity with him!” Kevin exclaimed.
“Really, dear, how can you expect to find someone new if you are such a sourpuss all the time?” Linda chimed in right after him.
Ellie closed her eyes against the onslaught. She threw up her hands. “Look, look, look. I’m only going to say this once. When I am ready, I will be much less ‘uppity’ and ‘sourpuss’ like.” Her no-nonsense tone quieted her two friends. “Until then, trying to force anything when I am not ready is not a good idea.”
“But don’t you like David?” Linda asked. “He seems like such an upstanding young man. He certainly is quite handsome.”
“I don’t know anything about David,” Ellie exclaimed in frustration. Then she added, “But he seems nice enough.”
“Well, this dinner party sounds like just the right idea then!” Linda smiled in satisfaction.
“Dinner party? What dinner party?” Kevin asked.
“Oh, come along, dear. You and Eric are invited too, of course.” Linda led Kevin away.
Ellie sat back down in her chair. Maybe her friends were right. Maybe she had sat in her depression for too long. She stared out the window, wishing for simpler times. As independent as she had always been, she wondered what it would feel like to have a man around to take care of her. She had married Jake expecting that exact scenario, and instead she had wound up with an even bigger mess on her hands.
“If only they had left me a trust fund,” she quipped to herself. Her parents had seemed well to do, but it had all been an image put on for their friends. Their untimely death had left Ellie alone and defenseless against the world. She gathered her things, ready to go home.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Skipper was delighted to see Ellie when she walked through the door, and jumped up and down demanding her immediate attention. She sat on the floor and played with him for a few minutes.
“Okay, boy. It’ll be just a minute and then I’ll take you outside.”
She picked up the phone receiver and heard the insistent beeping that she had a message. This was yet another odd thing in an already odd day. Ellie rarely received calls, and when she did it was usually a telemarketer trying to sell something. She entered the pass code and tensed as she heard Jake’s voice.
“Ellie? Are you there? Geez, I’m so dumb. You’re probably at the shop. I’d call you there, but you’d probably just hang up on me. Look, I wanna talk to you, Ellie. There are some things we need to talk about. Call me.”
The slur was so slight that no one else would have been able to
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