Page 20 of Woman on the Verge

Definitely a mama’s boy. It’s more endearing than cringeworthy.

They each sip their wine. She’s wondering what’s going to happen next. What does shewantto happen next? When it comes to considering her desires, she’s rusty.

“I find it hard to believe you don’t have a girlfriend,” she says. “I mean, you have candles.”

He laughs again. He makes her feel like a comedienne. A sexy comedienne.

“I happen to like candles,” he says. “Who doesn’t appreciate some good ambiance?”

“Wait ... you’re not gay, are you?”

“Come on now. A straight dude can be into ambiance.”

“I don’t know. I’ve never met such a guy.”

“You’re missing out, then.”

He’s right about that.

“Anyway,” he says. “I did have a girlfriend. We broke it off last year.”

“Who ended it?”

“You go right for the jugular, don’t you?”

“I don’t like to waste my time.”

“It was mutual,” he says.

She rolls her eyes. “Of course it was.”

“What? Itwasmutual. She took a residency in Illinois. Different paths, that’s all.”

“Residency?”

“She wants to be a pediatrician.”

“Of course she does.”

Even his girlfriends sound saintlike.

“What about you? You don’t have a boyfriend?” he asks.

She shakes her head. “Nope.”

She’s not lying. She doesn’t have a boyfriend. She has a husband.

“And with the last one, was there something wrong with you or something wrong with him?” he asks.

She thinks of her husband, who, right about now, is probably lying in bed in his holey briefs, watchingSportsCenter.

“Definitely something wrong with him,” she says.

“Because there’s nothing wrong with you.”

“Obviously.”

She sets her glass on the coffee table. She decides she’s just going to go for it. She’s going to kiss this man who is basically a stranger because he seems kind and not like a serial killer. And he is beautiful.

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