Her freckles had faded over time to be replaced by "fine lines and wrinkles".
How could she look so old when she still felt exactly like she had at twenty?
And what the hell was she supposed to do now with no one to take care of except herself?
Twenty-one years ago she'd given up her youthful dreams of becoming an archaeologist and living a glamorous life on digs in exotic places. She'd been blinded by love.
Apparently Gary's vision had always been twenty/twenty.
How was she supposed to start over? She couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that instead of looking forward to retiring with Gary to a high rise condo on the beach in Panama City she was going to have to find a way to make up for losing twenty years of career time.
Doing what? She sure as hell couldn't jump back into academia and she didn't have any experience in the real world of business. Maybe she could become a greeter at Walmart. They were always advertising their great career opportunities.
This time she didn't let the wave of nausea get the better of her but the chill of fear in her stomach wouldn't go away.
Heartbroken would have been okay.
Fear was unacceptable.
And what did the fact that she wasn't heartbroken say about her? And her marriage?
Maybe heartbreak was lurking on the other side of the fear.
Overwhelmed at the loss of her entire identity in less than twenty-four hours, Lucy went to the kitchen to call the one person who'd know just what to do. Aunt Belle always had the answer to life's tough questions because, unlike Lucy's mother, Belle had spent her adult life living in the real world instead of studying it. Over the years, Belle shared her life lessons with Lucy.
She hit the speed-dial button for Aunt Belle's number and waited through six rings before being switched to voice mail. She punched the off button without leaving a message.
What was she supposed to say?
Gary left me, but it's okay because I'll have clean bathrooms?
She glanced at the kitchen clock, shocked to realize it was barely noon. How could she have gone from contentedly married to separated and soon to be divorced in less than an hour?
Her mind tried to dance back to the "what's going to happen to me now" question but she couldn't form a picture of her new reality.
Hell she couldn't figure out what she was supposed to do for the next ten minutes let alone the next ten years.
Jane Pepper Blows a Deal
Jane Pepper smiled until her jaw ached. If she pulled off this deal they should name her realtor of the century.
"I know it needs a little work," she said to the twenty-something bimbette. "But the location more than makes up for the need to put in new appliances." And new plumbing, electrical, heating, floors, ceilings . . . In reality whoever bought the place would be better off burning the damn house down and starting over. "I mean, who could pass up a chance to live a block away from the Governor's mansion?"
The bimbette rubbed her surgically enhanced tits against her husband's arm. "I really want to live by the Governor, Timmy. Can't we please have the house?" She leaned in and whispered something in his ear.
Jane watched Timmy turn a fascinating shade of red and hoped he wouldn't have a heart attack before the closing. It wasn't looking good right that second. The man was nearly sixty. Not a young sixty, more like an eighty pounds overweight, heavy drinking, high cholesterol sixty.
Jane figured when all his blood started rushing to his dick, his heart didn't have an easy time keeping up. And right now, whatever Missy had whispered in his ear seemed to have given him a pretty good stiffy.
Time to push for the close of the deal. With any luck his brain was as blood deprived as his heart.
"You're not going to find another property like this," Jane said. That, at least was the truth.
"Please, Timmy?"
Timmy continued to hesitate.
Jane tapped her Manolo clad toe and drummed her perfectly manicured nails silently against her lemon colored silk skirt praying for patience.
Her cell emitted a discreet chirp calling for her attention and giving her a reprieve from the Missy and Timmy show. She glanced at the display. Lucy. "Could you excuse me for a minute? I need to take this."
The mismatched couple nodded and Jane walked away a few steps, turning her back to them as she answered.
"Gree lef meee."
"Lucy? Are you okay? You