Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Being sore after bowling was nothing like being sore after fifty minutes of Slimercize with Betsy Vintner.
In Cece’s estimation, Betsy was entirely too perky for someone inflicting that kind of pain on other women. No one should be able to smile that long. It was just unnatural.
And despite the fact that Cece’s day had started with a large coffee, two Motrin, and a long hot shower, she was still moving like a woman who’d misplaced her walker. She needed breakfast, but after what she’d put herself through yesterday, she wanted to eat something sensible.
What she really wanted was a couple of waffles with strawberries and whipped cream, but she couldn’t imagine a diet where that qualified as sensible.
With a sigh, she stood in front of her refrigerator and contemplated her choices. Peanut, who’d been fed first thing, came to look in the fridge, too.
Cece shook her head. “There’s nothing in here for you. There’s not much in here for me, either.”
She had no idea what to eat. Maybe she should skip the meal and stick with coffee, but too much caffeine without food and she’d get shaky. She shut the fridge.
On a whim, she texted Paige. Weird question, but what do you normally eat for breakfast?
Paige responded, Sometimes just a protein yogurt, sometimes bacon and eggs. Once in a while, I’ll do a goat cheese omelet, maybe with sausage?
Cece frowned at her screen. Bacon and eggs? Omelets? Sausage? She’d fully expected Paige to say something like a quarter cup of oat bran with skim milk followed by half a grapefruit. Bacon, eggs, and cheese was something Cece could definitely get behind.
Thanks!
YW, Paige replied
Cece had eggs and some cheddar, so she decided on an omelet. As she cracked eggs into a bowl, she figured Paige must be one of those low-carbers. She’d never given it much thought, but now that she cared again, maybe she’d give it a try.
After she ate, she’d run to the store and stock up. She made her omelet and while she ate at the counter, she did a quick search on her laptop for a low-carb shopping list. She didn’t care what she had to eat as long as it helped her drop some pounds.
She wasn’t going to go crazy, she just wanted to feel better, especially around Joe.
He was so active. If she couldn’t keep up with him, she’d be deeply embarrassed.
She liked him a lot and the honest truth was, she was enormously flattered that a guy like him would be interested in a woman like her.
The funny thing was that in just thinking that, she knew she didn’t need to lose weight or get in shape for him. He already liked her exactly as she was.
But being around him made her want to be a better version of herself. It was what had inspired her to look into starting a podcast.
Which reminded her that some of her equipment might arrive today. Wouldn’t that be fun?
She made her list, finished her omelet, and went off to Publix. The store was busy but that’s what she got for shopping on a Saturday. It was worth dealing with, though, because once her podcast equipment arrived, she’d be focused on that and wouldn’t want to have to leave the house again.
She made her selections carefully, sticking to the list she’d made, then added one item that wasn’t on her list—a rotisserie chicken. That would make lunch easy today. And she needed easy, although getting out and being active seemed to be helping with how sore she was.
Maybe she’d walk the beach tonight. She smiled. Maybe she’d text Joe and see if he wanted to go with her. That would be nice.
Should she get something snacky in case he came back to the house? She had no idea what snacks were low-carb. She got her phone out and did a quick search. Cheese, but not crackers, so that wasn’t going to work.
Nuts weren’t bad. She’d grab a container of the nicest ones they had and put them in a pretty dish. That would be enough, wouldn’t it?
By the time she got home, unloaded her groceries, and put everything away, she was feeling significantly better. Still sore, but able to move with wincing every step. Maybe Slimercize wasn’t so bad.
She briefly entertained stepping on the scale, but she’d already eaten and there was no way she’d lost anything in two days.
She called Natalie to see how she was, but she was at soccer with Tyler and couldn’t hear well. She promised to call back later.
Cece wished she could do more for her daughter, but unless Natalie wanted her mom at her side when she talked to the attorney on Monday, there wasn’t much Cece could help with. She’d hint at that when she talked to Natalie later and see how it was received.
She took her book and a bottle of ice water out to the porch. She felt healthier already, although she really hadn’t done enough to feel that way yet.
Chuckling at herself, she settled in to read. Once again, Paige had made a good choice for book club. This one, The Language of Waves, was a completely different genre, but Cece was immediately drawn into the story.
As she read, she lost track of time until her phone pinged. She checked the notification and found that Essie had emailed her review of the last book for The Buzz.
Cece replied right away, telling Essie how much she appreciated her getting that done. Cece never imagined that joining a book club would result in her getting more content for the community newsletter.
Which reminded her, she needed to get another interview lined up. She’d have to check with the office to see who the most recent arrivals were. She liked to Google the names once she had them, just to see who looked like they’d be the most interesting subject.
If none of the new folks jumped out at her, she’d go to her files and look for an existing resident with a good story.
Now that Blaise was looking to get a book deal, she’d probably reconsider doing an interview—except if she was going to be Cece’s first guest on the podcast, doing an interview for the newsletter might not be the best idea.
She’d come up with someone else. She’d never interviewed Joe. He might go for it.
As if she’d sent him a telepathic message, her phone chimed with a text from him.
How’d you like to do something fun tonight?
She smiled. Joe’s idea of fun could be anything and that was low-key frightening, but she trusted him. I’d probably like it. What is it?
I don’t know if I should tell you or not. I don’t want to ruin the anticipation.
She laughed. Should I be afraid?
He sent back a laughing emoji. No, I promise, nothing to be scared of. Unless you hate the water?
No, I’m good with water. She thought about that a second. Unless I’m going to be submerged. I might need more details if that’s the case. Do I need a swimsuit? She really hoped not.
Probably no submersion. Not on purpose anyway. Swimsuit is up to you.
How was she supposed to interpret that? She wasn’t sure. And her reporter’s instincts wouldn’t let her leave it at that. What’s the dress code?
Casual. Comfortable. Sturdy shoes.
She shook her head. None of this was helping. Where and when?
Can I pick you up?
She smiled. Sure. She sent him her address. What time will you be here?
Six.
I’ll see you then. She still couldn’t guess what he had planned, so if he wanted her to think about him for the rest of the day, he couldn’t have done a better job.
She sat back and did just that, trying to figure out what he was up to and where he might be taking her.
She spent about ten minutes ruminating, then got stuck on his dress code descriptions. That got her back on her feet and inside the house. What was she going to wear?
Casual, comfortable, and sturdy shoes? That could mean anything. And her wardrobe wasn’t the most expansive. She was not borrowing anything from Blaise again, either. Not when Joe had said the evening would involve water and unintentional submersion was possible.
The last thing she wanted was to have to buy Blaise a new Gucci scarf because she’d ruined it falling into a pool.
Cece’s eyes narrowed. Was there going to be a pool involved? She went back to her laptop and checked the community calendar to see if there were any poolside events tonight. There was a sunset water aerobics class at the athletic center, but she doubted that’s what Joe had in mind.
And why hadn’t he told her to wear a swimsuit? She stood in front of her closet exactly like she had the first time she’d gone out with him, trying to decide what to wear. At least then she’d known they were going to be bowling.
This time, she was clueless. Casual and comfortable described half of her clothing, but that was the half that she wore around the house, not out.
The rest was too dressy. She sighed. Maybe she would have to call Blaise again.
No. She could do this. She was a grown woman. She could dress herself.
She checked the time. At least she had seven hours to figure it out.