Read Online We Interrupt This Date by L.C. Evans - Free Book Online Page B

still a southerner at heart, always have been. So I moved back
about a month ago.”
    “Welcome back.” I sipped at my coffee. It was
dark and hot and the rich scent that had wafted toward me ever
since the cup landed on the table didn’t disappoint. “But what
about...” I paused, dug deep into my memory banks, and finished my
question. “Darlene? I thought she hated the South.”
    He leaned back in his chair and stretched.
“It’s Marlene. We divorced about five years ago.”
    “I’m sorry.” Was I? I hadn’t been around her
much, but his ex hadn’t made any secret of the fact that she didn’t
care for any of Jack’s friends, me especially. I’d thought at the
time she was a world class snob. I’d felt like shaking some sense
into Jack, but then he and Marlene married suddenly, a month before
I met T. Chandler.
    He rolled his shoulders in a shrug. “We were
a mismatch from day one and both too green to figure it out. I
learned from the whole experience that opposites might attract, but
it can be hell trying to stay together. At least we didn’t have any
kids to divide up. She’d bought a couple of Persian cats and she
retained custody—no argument from me. What about you?”
    “I don’t have any cats,” I said.
    He leaned across the table and tweaked my
hair. “How many kids do you have besides your little boy?”
    He knew about Christian. I’d sent a birth
announcement and received in return a card with a terse
congratulatory note written in a feminine hand and with a twenty
dollar bill tucked inside. At the time, I was torn between going up
to New Jersey and slapping Marlene silly or calling to give her a
piece of my mind. Of course, I’d done neither.
    “Only Christian. My ‘little boy’ started
college a few weeks ago.”
    He raised an eyebrow. “I could say something
trite about time flying, but I won’t; that would make me feel old.
Wow. You have a grown kid.”
    “Hey.” I playfully smacked the back of his
hand. “I’m not exactly ready for a nursing home.”
    “I can see that.” Amusement showing in the
crinkles around his eyes, he let his gaze travel over me with what
I hoped was appreciation for my twenty-fivish figure. Okay, I’ll be
honest—thirty-ninish figure.
    “Yeah, it’s been all of a month since
Christian left for Virginia. And I realized only a few days ago I’m
living alone for the first time in my life. No Mama or T. Chandler
to run my life. No loud stereo or TV blasting from Christian’s
room. No teen-aged boys crowding me out of my own kitchen. I’m
almost an empty nester.”
    “You like that? Being an empty nester, I
mean.”
    I thought about the question before I
answered. “Mostly.” I’d forced myself to spend the first afternoon
post-Christian working in my garden. By the end of the day, part of
the gloom had lifted, but it wasn’t until the past week that I’d
quit listening for Christian’s step in the hallway every afternoon.
I was still lonely at times, nothing I couldn’t handle. Like Mama
always says, life is full of tradeoffs. “It’s not like he won’t be
home for holidays. I’m enjoying the peace and quiet. I like being
able to wander the house in my nightclothes if I want to and watch
ancient movies without Christian pasting on a look of superiority
and telling me I’m an old fogie. He’s sure I could learn so much
about modern culture from an evening of football.”
    “Well…” Jack straightened in his chair and
rubbed the small of his back. “Ouch. I hurt myself on a
construction site a few months ago and I sometimes get a reminder
twinge. What were we talking about? You home alone. I’d say you
deserve time for yourself.”
    Emmie refilled our coffees, and Jack and I
talked on, first going through a round of “remember the time?”
    “All our friends thought we were perfect for
each other,” I said.
    “But we found out better.” A twinkle appeared
in his eyes. “Remember when I broke up with my girlfriend and