27. Every Chance I Get
When I walked into the kitchen, a cup of coffee was already waiting by the pot. The newspaper page turned, and Dad jostled it just a little to flatten it out again. “Where did you say this house was?”
Peeking out the window to the street below the hill, I shrugged at him in the reflection. “Not sure. He only said he thought it was the one for me.”
Clearing his throat, he folded the newspaper and slid it away from him. “So, how did things go with Dom?”
Letting the mug hover at my lips to wake me up, I replayed the whole thing to myself. “Like we never missed a beat.” My chin brushed my shoulder so I could look at him. “So don’t have a heart attack if you run into him in the hallway in the middle of the night.”
Leaning back in his chair, he laughed gently from his nose and nodded as he clasped his hands across his belly. “I’m glad to hear that. I always did like that boy.”
A gray van zoomed up the driveway, and I took one more sip before I dumped the coffee into the sink. “Alright. Got to run.” I grabbed my pocketbook from the countertop and bent down to kiss the top of his head. “Love you.”
When I closed the back door behind me, Carolyn was still cleaning stuff off the passenger seat. I opened the passenger door, and she sighed at herself as she frantically smacked away crumbs from my seat. “Sorry about this. I want to say it isn’t such a mess, but” — she tossed a paper bag of fast food behind her seat — “that would be a damn lie.”
I slid across the seat and pulled the door shut. “Don’t worry about it. I don’t even have kids, and my car doesn’t look any better after the drive here.”
She tore open a strawberry-scented tree air freshener with her teeth and wafted it around us before she hung it from the rearview mirror. “That’s a little better.”
What should have been a three-point turn out of Dad’s driveway ended up a ten that took out at least one of his hostas. “Shit. Tell him I’ll buy him a new one.” Waiting for the next car to pass at the edge of the road, she glanced over at me. “How did everything go last night when I left?”
Shrugging back at her, I did a blind sweep of the bottom of my purse with my fingers. “Okay, I guess.”
Right on queue, she smacked my arm with the back of her hand when I didn’t give her enough gossip. “You know what I mean. Spill it.”
A piece of grape bubble gum popped into my mouth, and I handed her the last one from the pack. “Nothing. He kissed me goodnight and followed me home before he drove off.” My lip balm wiggled loose from the little pocket I kept it in. “I think we might get together for dinner.”
“Awe.” She crisscrossed her wrists over the steering wheel while we passed the schoolyard. “I’m so happy for you guys.”
Slathering the gloss between my lips, I slid around on my hip to face her. “What I’m dying to find out is what happened between you and Jason while we wandered off.”
It’s funny the things she thought were so mediocre about the boy were the same things that made her smile like that this time. “He’s so sweet and funny and normal. You know?” The wheel slid through her hands as she made the next left turn to the nicest street in town. “Plus, when he asked if I wanted to bring the kids over to use the pool sometime, I nearly climbed up on his lap and jammed my tongue down his throat.”
A finger left the steering wheel and swung back and forth. “A dozen men have asked me out since I got divorced, but not one of them has ever mentioned wanting to meet my boys before.” Blowing a wisp of hair from her face, she flipped up both hands toward the road. “I don’t want to get my hopes up, though. He’s a really successful real estate whatever, and I’m sure he has tons of women interested in him.”
The big white house with columns like a Greek estate that haunted me for the last two decades came up on the right, and I scooched down a bit to see if Dom’s truck was there. “He’s a decent guy. So, if you like him, go for it.”
Across the interstate where the apple orchards started, she made another turn onto a long gravel driveway. “Whoa.” I bent down to see the massive traditional mega-home with double glass doors through the trees. “Jason lives here?”
“Mmm-hmm.” Turning down the stereo as she slowed to keep from stirring up dust, she joined me in gawking at what kids like us would call a brick mansion. “I told you he was super successful.”
It took so long to take in the complete picture that I didn’t notice Dom’s truck until we pulled up to the garage. “You didn’t say Dom was coming along.” The visor mirror flipped down, and I rushed to straighten my hair before she took the keys from the ignition. “I barely put on any makeup at all.”
The door opened, and she hopped down from the driver’s seat. “I had no idea.” She wiggled her legs to work her shorts back in place. “Stop worrying. You never needed makeup anyway, you lucky bitch.”
Just as I shut the door behind me, Jason stepped out of the garage and waved us inside. “Come on. Let me give you the tour.”
Pushing himself up from the stair railing he was leaning over, Dom rushed to shut the door between me and Carolyn. “You two go on and start. We’ll be right there.” Tapping at his lips with his finger and raising his eyebrows, Dom held out his hand for me as I stepped onto the first stair. “Got to pay the toll if you want in.”
Hanging onto his dark gray v-neck shirt so I didn’t fall backward, I wrenched my neck to pull my face away from him. “You’re going to smear my lip gloss.”
“Oh, yeah.” His thumb swept across my lips, and he licked the edge to taste it. “Every chance I get. I promise.” I reached on my toes and pushed my lips against him until the door cracked open again, and he stepped back a little. “After you, darlin’.”
Laying my bag on the barstool, I bobbed and weaved to check out all the fancy appliances I wouldn’t know what to do with. “Wow. This place is amazing. Did he build it himself?”
Curling his lips in, he nodded as his eyes went over the vaulted ceiling. “Mmm-hmm. He’s really good. Huh?”
I sighed as I caught the massive fireplace in the living room when we turned for the basement stairs. “Oh, no. He’s going to cost me a fortune. Isn’t he?”
“Nah.” Standing aside for me to go first, he pushed out his lips and shook his head. “I think you’re going to find yourself a hell of a deal today.”