no longer describe myself as gay if I’m having a nice day.” She sniffed. “In my day, they were either poofs or fags. I knew a few. They were always fun to have around. I’m sure Ashley was sucked off by one or two.”
Having just taken a sip, I reacted to Aggie’s crude comment with a coughing fit.
“Are you all right?” Aggie asked.
I patted my chest and waited for it to settle. “I’m sorry, it went down the wrong way.”
“I shocked you, didn’t I?” Aggie reached into a crystal box on the white filigree table by her side and brought out a cigarette, lighting it with a matching crystal lighter. Exhaling a puff of smoke, she asked, “You don’t smoke?”
Shaking my head, I said, “Never have.”
“In my day, we did it to stay slim.”
“Your doctor hasn’t tried to make you quit?” I asked.
She waved her hand as if shooing a fly. “I don’t have a doctor. I don’t believe in them. They poke around in places. Even when uninvited.”
Another loaded comment. I was still gestating the one about her late husband being bisexual and wasn’t quite ready to ask if a doctor might have molested her.
“I would have thought it wise to have a doctor to check over you.”
“Why, because I’m eighty-two?”
My head pushed back in surprise. “I wouldn’t have guessed you to be that.”
Aggie studied me for a moment with narrowed eyes. “You’re telling the truth.”
“I always do,” I said.
“That’s not always wise.” She rose and walked back inside before I could respond and returned shortly, wearing sunglasses. “Mm… I love the sun, don’t you?”
“I do.”
“Are you a beach girl?”
“I’d like to be,” I said, sipping my martini, which grew more appealing with each swallow. At the least, it relaxed me.
“What stops you?” she asked.
“Well, money, I suppose.”
“You don’t have a boyfriend who spoils you? A beautiful girl like you.”
I recalled Justin cowering at the prospect of a shark attack that one time we paddled in the shallows along the bay. “He’s not that kind of guy, I suppose.”
“Then he doesn’t spoil you?”
I shrugged. “Justin’s not really into that.”
“Get rid of him then,” she said, looking out into the distance onto the Hudson River that sat behind the variegated green lushness of the park.
I bit my lip. “He’s my boyfriend.”
She turned to study me again. “He’s well hung?”
I swallowed. “Um… I’m not sure. If he…” I stammered. Was I really about to discuss my boyfriend’s penis with an octogenarian?
Aggie grinned at my stunned expression. “Don’t fall for that nonsense that size doesn’t matter. Monty was hung like a horse. And my, oh my.” She fanned her face. Wiggling her little finger, she added, “Ashley, on the other hand, had a tiny little thing, but he had a huge bank account to make up for it, I suppose.”
I had no idea how to respond to that. A faint nod was the best I could offer.
For the rest of that afternoon, I watched Aggie drink five martinis, while I barely finished the small glassful I’d poured earlier. Whatever this was— strange, to say the least—I developed a deep fascination for my new employer. And as she saluted me, asking me to find my own way out, I bowed and thanked her profusely.
When I stepped onto the busy avenue, the thought struck me that I hadn’t called Justin. Grabbing my phone, I pressed on his number, but it went to voicemail, so I left a message apologizing and headed back to my tiny, messy excuse for a home.
CHAPTER TWO
After what had been an odd, if not eventful week, I kicked back my shoes and slumped back on my sofa. There was a party to go to. And I looked forward to catching up with Cassie, mainly because I wanted to tell her about my new job. I’d already tried telling Justin about it, but his eyes glazed over, as they often did whenever I spoke about myself.
Hating to admit it, but I wasn’t sure why we were together. Having never been in love, I had no idea what it felt like. One thing was for sure: whenever I was with Justin, I didn’t experience a racing heart or butterflies in the belly. I just assumed that love didn’t consume one in real life as it did the characters in books and movies. There was also my mom’s take on marriage: that security should come first and that passion was the cherry on the cake.