Page 100 of Grown-Up Second Chance

Maybe it would replace the ache I already knew I was going to have in my heart after Joe left.

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About an hour later, someone herded Joe over to the gifts. He talked about every gift and thanked the person, allowing everyone a moment in the spotlight. The small plaque given to him by Mason and Naomi made everyone laugh. When Joe read it aloud, Mason gave me a big wink.

“If the trailer is rockin’

“Don’t come knockin’”

I had to laugh. For someone close to being an octogenarian, he was as full of life as anyone else I knew.

While I had successfully avoided Joe for most of the party, part of my attempt to keep him in the friend zone, he was equally determined to spend the remainder of it by my side.

“Have you been avoiding me?” he asked. “Every time I turned around, you were talking to another guy.”

“Jealous?” I teased.

“You bet.” He looped his arm around my waist.

“No need,” I said, extricating myself. “They’re all taken, and from what I saw at church this morning, you won’t be on the market long.” I put my fist on my hip, and considered him, tapping my finger on my lips. “Who will it be? The blonde or the brunette? Our audience can’t wait to find out. Don’t keep us waiting.”

He laughed. “It will be the former redhead if she gives me a chance.”

I touched my gray hair. “I was thinking purple for a change.”

“Don’t you dare,” he said. “Just be who you are.”

If only I knew who I was. The brazen hussy who wanted to take him to bed, ED be damned, or an old high school friend?

“What is it you want, Joe?” I whispered so only he could hear.

“You used to be an English teacher, didn’t you?” one of the guys said to Joe, interrupting us.

“Yes.”

“I need you to settle an argument between me and my wife. She’s over here.”

As he was pulled away, Joe looked over his shoulder and mouthed, “Later.”

“You know,” Liz said, coming up next to me and refilling my glass with the last of the G and T from the pitcher. “One of the things that I was worried about when we planned this trip was meeting all these new people.”

“Why?” I asked. “You go to New York at least once a year—although you’ve never told us the reason. There are lots of people in New York.”

“That was different,” she said. “I never really interacted with strangers. Everything I needed was taken care of.”

My curiosity ramped up. “And what did you do while you were there?”

“Took care of business,” she said. Her attention was focused on the people around us. “But these people are really nice. They help each other out.”

“Some of them are a bit long-winded,” I pointed out.

She laughed. “They don’t have anything else to do but talk.”

The truth of the statement startled me. Liz and I had things to do while we were on the road, although my few remaining clients didn’t keep me too occupied. While I was comfortable enough talking about business, or meeting strangers during an event, talking to a lot of people sapped my energy.

I didn’t see myself taking up crafts the way that Kathleen was doing. Maybe I could volunteer at something once I decided where to settle.

“It’s been a good send-off for Joe,” Liz said. “Will you miss him?”

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