“And reproductive rights? Domestic violence?”
“Hmm… I guess, maybe. But she’s really excited. Do you guys want to watch her TV debut with me? It’s next Thursday.”
“Definitely!” Amy nodded.
“Great. Who has cable?”
“We have ESPN, Disney, and Netflix.” Amy counted off on her fingers.
“And I just share your Netflix account, Rach,” Eva said.
“Wait,” I said, “I thought I was using your Netflix account.”
“Huh. Whose Netflix account are we using?”
There was an awkward pause. “We need to find someone who has cable. I’m so not watching with my mom. I’ll ask around and let you guys know.”
We polished off the sandwiches and munched on fruit, watching our fellow Seattleites gamboling in the sun like happy kittens. We watched a couple of athletic-looking people balancing on a tightrope slung between two trees.
“That reminds me,” I said. “I’m getting my ankle boot off this week. I’ll have to do physical therapy, though.”
“PT isn’t bad,” Eva said. “I did it when I had tennis elbow. My therapist was super cute. I actually looked forward to appointments with her.”
“Ooh.” I feigned excitement that I did not feel in the slightest. “Perhaps this will be the meet-cute I’ve been waiting for. Maybe I’ll have a strapping young physical therapist named Jeremy.”
“Now I’m just picturing Jeremy Coltrain,” Eva said.
“I miss watching him on TV every week.” Amy sighed. “I wonder how he’s doing.”
A few days later, I sent a message to the group chat.
Rachel Weiss 6:44 PM:
If anyone was curious, my physical therapist is not a Jeremy. He is a balding, curly-haired man named Howard.
Eva Galvez 6:50 PM:
Enough said.
Rachel Weiss 6:52 PM:
He is not quite old enough to be my father, but old enough to make me wonder if he could be. He does, however, have an exceedingly gentle touch.
Eva Galvez 6:53 PM:
Is this about to get weird?
Rachel Weiss 6:57 PM:
Never say never.
This was my life now: I woke up and fixed myself a sensible breakfast. (Coffee and peanut butter Cap’n Crunch. Sensible for my wallet, not my health.) I worked all day, so diligently that Kenneth made me his deputy sticker-giver-outer. Mondays I volunteered at the library. Wednesdays I did ankle exercises with Howard. I was a saint.
Dear God. The only man to have touched me in the past month was Howard. What had my life become?
It turned out that Jane and Owen were the only people I knew with cable, aside from my parents. So on Thursday night, we headed to their condo to watch Jane’s TV debut with Owen.
He greeted us with a huge, excited smile. “I made popcorn!” He ushered us in the door. “Hey, aren’t there usually four of you?”
