Page 98 of The Disasters of Dating
She pats my stomach, and her brows go up. “I think you’ve got some give.”
We are quiet as I watch different giant ice creams being delivered to various tables. I’m not sure how she expects me to eat one of those things.
Finally, the hostess shows us to an empty table and sets the menus down in front of us. I put mine to the side and look at Poppy.
She looks at me with a concerned look. “What?”
“I have no idea what to order. I’m going to leave that decision up to you.”
“I don’t know what you want,” she protests.
“How am I supposed to eat one of those? They’re huge.” I fold my arms over my chest.
“Are you seriously refusing to order ice cream?” She looks at me like I’m crazy. “Do you want to share?”
Now, there’s a fantastic idea. “I’d love to share. What kind do you usually get?”
“Do you like peanut butter?” Her brows lift, and I want to reach over the table and kiss her. But I refrain…grudgingly. Where’s a kiss cam when you need one?
“I do like peanut butter,” I say.
“Then I think we should get the Terry’s Peanut Butter Cup. It’s my favorite.”
“Sold,” I say.
Our server comes with water and takes our order. He doesn’t seem remotely surprised that we only order one ice cream. It seems we are not the first to share one of these monsters.
I look over and Poppy’s head is shaking.
“What?” I ask. Have I done something wrong?
“I can’t believe she’s been hiding this. A boyfriend? Do you know how many lies she has told me over the last month to cover this up? I thought she had Alzheimer’s or dementia.”
I’m not sure if she wants me to answer the question or if she is just ranting. I’m here for her either way.
She stares at me expectantly, so I guess she wants an answer.
“I’d guess it’s a relief. A boyfriend seems much healthier than either of those two things.”
Her eyes widen and I think perhaps I was wrong and she was just venting.
But then she starts to laugh. “Did you know she is now planning afood drive because that was one of her lies? I guess it’s the least she can do. Can you imagine, lying about helping starving people?”
I try to smother my grin. “She sounds like a degenerate.”
“Right?” she agrees, but she is smiling. And it makes me all kinds of happy to know that I contributed. “Thanks for not running out of the house and leaving me to deal with it on my own.”
I put my hand on hers. “Anytime. There’s no place I’d rather be.” And I mean it. Wherever Poppy is. That’s where I want to be.
CHAPTER 29
POPPY
Don’t take your direction from everyone else. Trust your instincts. As the sun and lunar nodes clash, yours needs to be a unique path.
You have a strong foundation. Start there and continue to build on it. Deferring to those you love will only confuse your purpose. Even if they mean well. Do what feels right to you. Do what feels worth pursuing.
Follow your impulse.
