Chapter 6
6
By the time Michelle got out of the shower, Jackie had left a text that she had made it home and was taking a long bath. She laughed, knowing she wasn’t about to act like Jackie did over a man. With that thought, she dressed for the grocery store. Was she embarrassing herself by agreeing to go to this game? When would she stop second-guessing herself? She thought about calling Belynda but decided she wanted to do this on her own. She’d talk with her afterward to let her know she’d gone out. What if it was just too awkward? Her mind wandered through different scenarios as she prepared a light lunch and contemplated new changes. Before she took the first bite of her sandwich, her phone pinged. She looked at the screen and found Ronnie wanting to video chat through the app. What? She quickly chewed and ran her fingers over her teeth. Since she’d already dressed to leave the house, she knew she was presentable. Taking a deep breath, she clicked the video button.
“Hello,” Michelle said.
“You look great!”
“Thank you. I’ve got an errand to run.” Her face heated with the compliment. “You look nice too.”
A self-assured grin pulled at one side of his mouth. “Just making sure that we’re still on for tomorrow.”
She smiled. “I’m looking forward to it. I haven’t been to a softball game in years. Back then it was church leagues or the fire department playing the police department, so those were co-ed teams.”
“Did you ever play?”
“Sorry. I was the dancer. I don’t even know if I could’ve hit the ball. My eye-hand coordination wasn’t great. Still isn’t.”
He laughed and it was a deep laugh that caused her smile to widen. “What errand?”
She was so caught up in his laughter that she didn’t hear what he said. “Pardon?”
“You said you were running an errand. Where are you going?”
“Oh, grocery store.” She rolled her eyes. “I love to cook, but cooking for one isn’t a lot of fun. Having said that, I do need to eat.”
He cocked his head to the side. “Favorite food?”
“To eat or cook?”
“Both.”
“Spaghetti on both counts.” She laughed. “Honestly, I’d eat Italian seven days a week.”
“So, when are you cooking for me?”
She swallowed. “Um . . .”
“Kidding. I figured you’d want to get to know me better before asking me to dinner.”
Michelle chuckled and thought there was no way he didn’t hear how uncomfortable she was. All she wanted to do was end the conversation. “Well, thanks for checking on me, but I better scoot.”
“I can take the hint, Michelle. I’ll see you in the morning.”
She smiled and wiggled her fingers like Jackie did in what she hoped was a friendly wave. “See ya tomorrow.” She clicked the video button to end the call and exhaled a breath so deeply that she caught herself with her forearms on the kitchen counter. Could she really do this? She massaged her forehead as she looked at her grocery list.
Thirty minutes later, she was parking at the local grocery store, praying that Ronnie wasn’t there. In such a small town, the odds were good that they’d run into each other, if not today, sometime in the future. Mr. Gorman, the manager that Bill always spoke to, waved and she returned the greeting. Looking at the fresh fish in the seafood department, she noticed Danny behind the counter grinning at her. She glanced around to see who else was there, only to find she was the sole person at the counter. She smiled back and decided she didn’t need any fish today. She walked along the refrigerated meat coolers and noticed one of the butchers smiling as he walked over. “Can I help you with anything today?”
“Um, can you split this package of pork chops?”
“Absolutely. How would you like that split?”
“I just want two. Can you do that?”
“It’d be my pleasure.”
As she waited for him to return, she saw a man walking up beside her from the corner of her eye. He looked at the packages as well. Getting too close for comfort, she shifted her stance. Was she imagining this? Had she just been living with blinders, or were these men staring at her?
The butcher came from the back room. “Here ya go. Those will make you and your guest very happy.”
Did she tell him it was just her and she was putting one in the freezer? Not knowing what else to do, she said, “Thanks.”
She finished her shopping and headed home to open the bottle of wine she had purchased. Maybe she needed to look at the pictures of the men she waved to on the dating app last night. Scanning the app on her phone, her eyes almost popped out of her head when she saw Danny and the butcher staring back at her. Shit! What had she done? Jackie said that she’d rarely met local men online. Michelle palmed her forehead. She was going to kill Jackie if she’d been lying to her all along. Her elbow found the counter and her hand rested against the side of her face, shielding her eyes from the light. Note to self: check out profiles before waving to anyone .
She went into her office intending to work but knew she’d have difficulty concentrating after her shopping trip, not to mention her thoughts about tomorrow. She took a deep breath and read the words on her computer screen. Over the next few minutes, she’d typed and deleted more words than were initially there. Ugh. This was not working. She took her glass of wine and headed toward her closet, pulling out her favorite jeans and a shirt before she looked for her boots. It never hurt to prepare early, right? What if she overslept? Who was she kidding? She’d be lucky if she slept at all. With that done, she walked toward the kitchen. An early dinner, then reading. She prepared a nice dinner and ate at the breakfast bar. No need to mess up the table for just one person. Dinnertime, she thought, was the worst part about being a widow... eating alone after years of cooking for her husband and children. She sighed as she ate, not knowing if she’d ever get used to this part of her life. She decided to check on Jackie, and she hit her number.
“Hey, girlie.” She slurred her words, which was never a good sign.
“Hi. How are you feeling?”
“Wonderful,” she said in a sing-song voice.
Yep, she was drunk. “How much have you had to drink?”
“Oh, only a glass or two... or a bottle.”
“Jackie, are you all right?”
“Of course. After my bath, I opened a bottle of wine. I finished my brief and the bottle of wine. I’ll look over what I wrote in the morning before I send it in to make sure there aren’t any typos.”
“Or incomplete sentences.”
“Yeah, and that.”
“I just wanted to check on you. I’m curling up and reading a book before bedtime, myself.”
“It’s only eight.”
“Yes, and I have an early morning. The book will help calm me so I can sleep.”
“Good idea. Call me afterward, okay?”
“Deal. Get some rest. I don’t want you hung over tomorrow in case I need emergency advice.”
“Like what kind of advice?”
“I don’t know, Jackie. I haven’t dated in over thirty years.”
“Oh, don’t sleep with him on the first date. You’ll never hear from him again.”
“As if that were even an option. Good night.”
Michelle disconnected the call and dressed for bed before locating her book and setting the alarm. Reading with a glass of wine. It was a sure formula for a good night’s sleep.