Chapter 20
20
Michelle had kept herself busy for several days. She screened her calls, not wanting to speak to Gene. He’d called a few times and left a message the last time. She knew she needed to listen to it but decided she’d rather grab a cup of coffee on her way to the gym. Jackie had an early call with a client, so she was meeting Michelle in time for class. Dressed in workout clothes and a light jacket, she walked out the door. The air had a nip to it, causing Michelle to smile. The peak leaf color wasn’t far away now.
Michelle drove into the Coffee Café’s parking lot. Not wanting a scene, she looked around to make sure Gene wasn’t there with another friend . Gretchen acknowledged Michelle when she walked in with a bright smile.
“I was surprised to see you with Mr. Franklin the last time you were here.”
“Why is that?”
“He comes here sometimes with different women. You don’t seem his type.”
Michelle fought a smile. “You’re very perceptive.”
Gretchen shrugged. “You didn’t look happy when you left.”
A sad smile formed on Michelle’s face. “Thanks for caring.”
Michelle paid, and Gretchen slid her coffee cup to her.
“Have a good day,” Gretchen said as Michelle turned for the door.
“I will now.” Michelle held up her cup.
Several minutes later, Michelle parked at the gym to find Jackie sitting on the bench outside. She quickly walked over. “C’mon, let’s get our sweat on.” She looped her arm through Jackie’s.
“So, you’re over all that mess with Gene?”
Michelle looked at the ground. “He’s left a voicemail I need to listen to, but yeah, I think I am. Like you said, maybe I just need to concentrate on people who don’t live here.” She smirked.
After their workout, Jackie stayed to see Oscar while Michelle ran errands on her way home. As she put away the items she’d purchased, she listened to Gene’s voicemail: “Hi, Michelle. I really enjoyed our breakfast last week. I’d like to see you again. Think we could grab a drink sometime?”
Grab a drink. Did she want to do that? Remembering Gretchen’s words renewed her confidence in herself, so she returned Gene’s call.
“Hello?”
“Gene.”
“Michelle, you’re calling me back.”
“Yes, how are you?”
“Better now. I thought I’d lost a friend and didn’t know why.”
Michelle sighed. “You haven’t lost a friend, Gene. But our breakfast was quite uncomfortable for me. If we spend time together, I want to talk about the present, not the past. I loved Bill and will always love him, but I don’t want to spend the rest of my life living in a state of mourning. If you think you can agree with that, then yes, I’d be happy to have a drink with you.”
“I’m so sorry, Michelle. I didn’t realize I’d done that. I... I thought Bill and Heather were common ground, something we shared. I didn’t think how it’d make you feel.”
“Now you know.”
“I do, and I’d still like to have that drink.”
“Sounds good. Maybe one day next week.”
“I’ll call.”
“Have a good day.”
She ended the call with a calm washing over her. She was back on solid footing and was ready to move forward again.
After lunch, she walked into her office, ready to work on her book for the first time in days. Her agent was going to strangle her if she didn’t get something to them soon. She checked emails first to ensure she hadn’t missed anything important. It’d been almost two weeks since she sent her application to the MyPrivacy dating app, and the top email was from the dating service. The time stamp showed it came in while she was at the gym. She closed her eyes with the same anticipation she felt when she received letters from college applications many years ago. Funny how some feelings take you back to specific events in life. With the cursor hovering over the email, she took a deep breath and clicked on it. She scanned through it only seeing certain words: Dear Ms. Conroy... pleased... application accepted... your credentials... log in... Our hope is that you meet a companion that exceeds your expectations... Thank you for choosing MyPrivacy for your dating needs. Michelle jumped out of her chair and squealed like a schoolgirl, dancing with excitement. When she calmed down, she called Jackie.
“Hey, sweets. What’s up?”
“I’m in!”
“In?”
“ MyPrivacy application was accepted. I just read the email.”
“That’s wonderful! We need to celebrate.”
“Let’s go to the Grove Inn on Saturday. We haven’t been there in a long time, and they’ll have live music.”
“Sounds perfect. I’ll tell Oscar.”
“Oh, do you have plans with him? I’m sorry, Jackie, I didn’t even think to ask.”
“I’ll see him before, and you can drop me off at his place after if that’s all right.”
“Yes, yes, yes. We won’t be late.”
“See you Saturday. Say five?”
“See you then.”
Michelle disconnected the call and stared at the credentials on the screen. Writing? Who could write now? She curiously logged onto the website. It was calm, not like the others, but pleasant and inviting. A more aesthetically pleasing, mature site, not one directed toward twenty- and thirty-somethings. She typed her information into the registration screen. The next screen was a checklist of attributes she was looking for in a match. She clicked on age preferences, only marking those a few years younger and older. The rest she was open to. If she decided to change her preferences, she could do that later.
As she scrolled through the possibilities, she saw actors, musicians, entrepreneurs, executives from different industries, scholars from the US and abroad, high ranking military officers, politicians, and upper government employees. Amazing, but unnerving at the same time. As she moved the mouse to log out, a hand appeared beside her profile picture. She clicked on it to find a CFO from Oklahoma waving. She checked his profile and deemed he was safe enough, so she waved back. He messaged her, and they chatted for a while. This, she could handle this. After learning that he was forty-nine, divorced with one grown daughter, the chief financial officer of a large construction company, and looking for someone who wasn’t twenty years younger than him, Michelle begged off with hopes of actually working. She’d responded with like information and hoped they’d chat again.
She pulled up her manuscript with a renewed vigor for the story she was working on. Before she knew it, the office was dark except for the light on her desk. She looked down and saw that she’d been writing for hours, lost in the world in which she’d created. Finishing the last sentence, she wrote: “I decided to ward off dating for a while.” She saved her work and stretched her back, not realizing how stiff it had become.
As she walked into the kitchen, she made the decision to keep her chat with Steve to herself. She’d tell Jackie about it Saturday during their celebration. Dinner and a little reading would help bring her day to a nice close.