Page 43 of Unconventionally, Elle
"Oh absolutely. And it's just as bad for lawyers, trust me." He stood up and walked to my chair. He motioned for me to stand, and I reluctantly agreed. He pulled me close and held me in his arms. His chest was warm, and his heart a steadythud, thud, thud.
When he spoke again, I felt his voice vibrate through his body. "You're strong though, Elle. And I know you takezero shit from people. You wouldn't be your grandmother's granddaughter if you weren't spicy." He kissed the top of my head and released me. "Now, how do you want your eggs?" He smirked as he walked into the kitchen.
"Sunny-side up, please," I said over my shoulder.
"Anything for you, Elle Belle."
For a moment, I forgot about work. I forgot about my emails and my coworker Chris. I loved when Jude called me Elle Belle. I loved him. His words were still whispering through my body when a phone call scared the shit out of me. I noticed Jude glance over at me from the stove, and I looked at the phone.
Work was calling.
30
Now
I couldn't get enough of Barrett Henry. Every kiss, every hug, every text was a Cupid's arrow to my heart. I fell harder for him every day, and when Emma casually mentioned his ex was Margaret from the office, I finally understood why he would avoid coming into the Boston Social office with me. He didn't want to run into her. I thought I might be jealous of her, especially since they were an item for a few years, but she wasn't the one going to the Henry family Thanksgiving dinner. I was.
Barrett wasn't off work yet, and I was sitting on my balcony with my legs propped up on the railing and my computer on my lap. He was staying over more often, and then occasionally I'd stay with him at his fancy Seaport condo. Barrett wasn't oblivious, he knew how much I loved my condo, so he stayed with me more often than not and never asked for us to go to Seaport. I had a feeling Seaport didn't feel like home to him. He hadn't been there long before I moved to Boston, so when he was with me, he was home. I was his home.
First his toothbrush stayed behind, then a pair of shoes, then suddenly I was dog-sitting Louie and sharing my couch with himpermanently. Barrett told me he felt bad leaving Louie at home all the time, and since I was home regularly, we decided that Louie would stay with me and live at my house. And not that I thought of this right away, but it also meant Barrett wouldn't have to go home to let him out or feed him. He'd just come right to my condo, and the three of us would be together.
I gave a frustrated sigh and shut my computer. This wasn't working. I grabbed for my phone and opened my text messages.
Me:Sarah, it's time.
Sarah:OK, make your list of ideas and send them over. You've got this, Ellz. How many words do you have right now?
Me:Forty-five thousand.
Sarah:Shit, OK, that's going to hurt, but we can manage. Don't delete anything! You might use it one day for something else. Send me over your ideas, OK?
Me:OK, OK. Actually, I have an idea. It's crazy as hell. What if I wrote a rom-com loosely based on mine and Jude's story?
Sarah:Um, what?
Me:Not like "us" exactly, but girl meets boy one summer while interning, and then their paths cross again later on in life. I can get an outline together super fast; I mean, our story is straight out of a Christina Lauren book and could be really cute.
Sarah:Oooh, I love it. It's something you know, and you can play with plot and character development so easily since you are already familiar with your main characters and their story.
Me:Exactly.
Sarah:I'm not gonna say don't stress, because that'd be stupid, but I think your forty-five thousand words will come back way easier this time around.
Me:Me too. I know how it ended in real life, but per the rules of romance, I'm going to give my characters a happily ever after. It's something I can work with. I think I've got this. Check your email tonight.
Sarah:Ellz, wait. What about Barrett? How is he going to feel about you writing a story based on your relationship with Jude?
Me:I'm just going to say it's a rom-com idea based on my life before I met him. I'm not sure why my grandparents' story hung me up so badly. I really wanted to finish it, but I think I have some mental blocks to work through with how Grandma Di left it all for a life that I don't really understand. I wish I did, but I just can't wrap my brain around such a talented woman leaving it all behind. It felt like it was missing something, and I couldn't figure it out.
Sarah:Honestly, she sounds like you but reversed. You see it right?
Me:Eh.
Sarah:Oh, it's totally there in plain sight. She left something she loved and was talented at to become a housewife and caregiver for her husband. You, on the other hand, left a work situation for something that you love and are talented at. (Don't @ me, you're a talented writer!)
Me:I don't think what she did was wrong, it's just what she wanted (I think). I know she loved being a mother. It's hard for me to picture that for myself though, so it was tough to, I don't know, articulate in writing without sounding like a bitch. If anything, you're like Grandma Di.
Sarah:Such an honor! Love you, Ellz. To the moon and back.
