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She shouldn’t have to do that. It hadn’t been her fault.
“No, thank you.” Dee glared at Allison and then took Cali by the arm and started flouncing out of the restaurant.
But she threw Rob a look of icy anger that let him know he was in for it. Maybe not now, but at some point.
Rob had never been so glad to see anyone leave in his life.
12
On Thursday nightof that week, Allison was sitting on her couch, searching through classes on the website of the local community college and trying to feel excited about them.
She didn’t particularly want to take Geography or American Literature I. But if she was going to get a degree, she knew she needed to, and she felt a little guilty that she’d fought so hard to take college classes while she was married and the year waiting for a divorce, only to be so reluctant now that she was completely free.
Staring at the web page, she was hit with the bleak realization that she was never going to get her little jewelry shop in Charlotte.
It was going to take her a while to finish college. Then she’d have to find a better job where she could earn a lot more money than she was making now. Then she’d have to save money like crazy, and even then she might not be able to make it work.
She was an idiot. A silly fool. For dreaming that it could ever happen without Arthur paying the bills. She’d clung to the fantasy like a little girl because it was the only concrete thing she could visualize as making her happy.
But now all she had was a crappy job and a mostly empty house and a bunch of boring college classes in her future. Telling herself to take it one step at a time didn’t really help when she could no longer imagine herself in a life she really wanted.
She needed to do something, though, or all her effort and emotional turmoil would have been for nothing. Finishing college was the obvious first step, as Vicki kept reminding her.
Community college classes were cheap. And since she was earning so little, she would probably qualify for some sort of grant that would reduce the tuition even further. She’d determined that it really wouldn’t take that much money out of her savings to start up classes again. Vicki was right. She needed to get going on them again. Even if she couldn’t see how she could ever have her little jewelry shop, she couldn’t get stalled merely because she couldn’t have everything she wanted.
Feeling kind of blah and exhausted, she filled out an online application and submitted it before she could change her mind.
Then she requested her transcripts from the larger state school she’d enrolled in back in Charlotte.
Then she put down her laptop and her glass of cheap red wine.
At least she only had one more day of work this week. Then she’d have two days coming up to spend how she liked.
When she heard raised voices outside, she stood up—wincing because her feet hurt—and went to peek through the blinds. It was just dusk, and there was enough light for her to see across the street to Rob’s house.
There was a sporty little red car in his driveway.
Maybe he had a date.
The thought made her slightly sick, although she knew she had no grounds to feel that way. That scene with Dee in Dora’s earlier that week should have turned her off from him. Heobviously had a very complicated personal life, and it wasn’t really something she wanted to get involved with.
But she kept seeing his face when Dee was throwing her fit. He’d been concerned about Allison—about whether she was upset by the melodrama—but he’d also been really troubled and frustrated.
He’d looked helpless. It was the only time in the month and a half she’d known him when she’d ever seen him look helpless. He was always so strong and capable and solid. But at that moment he’d looked… just as human as she was.
She couldn’t stop thinking about it. It made her want to help him, take care of him.
Not that she’d be any good at taking care of men. She’d had no practice at all. Arthur had never wanted or allowed it, and she’d never really felt the inclination anyway.
Looking out at the street in the dim light of the nearly set sun, she wondered what it would be like to take care of Rob when he needed it.
She heard the voices again. The main one was female, and it was screeching loudly. That gave Allison a clue, so she wasn’t surprised when she looked closer and saw Dee’s brassy blond hair and slim figure on Rob’s front walk.
He was out there too. They must have stepped off his porch because they were now visible. He wore a T-shirt and a pair of sweats that made Allison think he hadn’t been planning on going out tonight.
Dee must have shown up uninvited. After what had happened on Monday, there was no way Rob would have invited her over for a cozy evening.
Allison was too far away to see Rob’s expression or hear any of the words they were saying. Rob must be really upset about this. It was almost as public as the scene Dee had made at Dora’s.
