much Martin held me back until we divorced. At the time, I didn’t take it well. But now… I wish he’d dumped me years ago.
Putting on my pants, I realized they were too loose to stay up on their own. Might be time to scale down another size. I hadn’t been this small since I got pregnant with my first kid. The addition of extra physical work prepping the store also meant I was in the best shape I’d been in a decade. If not more.
I ended up using a thin fabric scarf that my best friend, Trish, had given me as a belt. But that was only a temporary solution. I’d need new clothes. The question being, would I dress like a mom, as I’d been doing for so long, or opt for something more daring? I’d gotten a few shirts in bold colors that had some shape that accentuated my positives.
Maybe time for some jeans? I’d not worn them in awhile, preferring the stretchy variety of pants. In my younger days, I used to live in denim. Time to rediscover that love.
Entering the kitchen, I noted Wendy sitting at the table, munching on some buttered toast. It looked delicious, but it was bad for me.
A lifelong addiction to carbs and no self-control led to me gaining a lot of weight, which, in turn, snowballed into health problems and self-esteem issues. Which exacerbated my anxiety and led to, you guessed it, more eating.
I’d broken that cycle, but it was a daily struggle. I missed delicious things like toast and French fries. But you know what I liked even more? Getting up in the morning with knees that didn’t hurt and being able to shop anywhere I liked and finding clothes that fit.
I aimed for the coffee pot and poured a cup of coffee that I lightened with a dash of heavy cream. I took a gulp and sighed in satisfaction as the caffeine filled me. Morning just wasn’t right without it.
I turned and leaned against the counter as I sipped. Wendy browsed something on her phone as she ate her second piece of toast, this time dabbing a bit of jam on it.
“You working all day?” I asked.
“Mmhmm.” She swallowed before saying, “I have a dinner date right after, so don’t wait up for me.”
My daughter had gotten over the breakup that brought her to live with me and was seeing new people. Lucky. I’d yet to figure out who I was and what I wanted.
I want to get laid.
The thought hit, and I choked on my coffee, spraying it everywhere. As I heaved and hacked, with Wendy slamming me on the back, it occurred to me I’d never find someone interested in me romantically. I was a mess.
“You going to live?” my daughter asked as my attempt to drown myself with coffee failed.
“Barely,” I croaked.
She laughed. “There’s the spirit. You heading over to the shop?”
I nodded. “Although I told Marjorie I’d take over for her at the diner late afternoon so she and Trish can go out for dinner. It’s their six-month anniversary.”
“Good for them. We’ll have to remember to send them flowers when they hit their one year.” Her use of “we” never failed to warm me. Her tone turned uber casual as she said, “So, hey, remember how I was saying maybe your store needs to be multipurpose? My boss was telling me he knows a guy who knows a guy with a line on genuine healing crystals.”
“I thought we agreed no psychic stuff.”
“No, you decided. I still say you need to expand the scope of your offerings.”
Which thus far were antiques I had no use for that I’d found in the cottage. Funny how no matter how many I located and put aside, I still found more. According to Trish, it was the house providing me what I needed. Which was nuts. Houses didn’t just magically create stuff. It was just that the place was so cluttered we couldn’t keep track of it all. That made more sense.
“Come on, Winnie. Psychic crystals?” I couldn’t help the mom tone. “I can’t with good conscience sell something I don’t believe in.”
“You and your morals.” Winnie rolled her eyes and laughed. “I think you forgot to give me any, which is why if my date goes well you shouldn’t expect me back until really, really late.” My daughter bent down to kiss me on the cheek. “So feel free to have a guest over. Or two. Whatever floats