Page 187 of One More Kiss
Cut to the Heart of It
April D Berry
Chapter1
CJ
“What a piece of shit.”
After running into Laurie at the deli, I learned that Mister Let-Me-Whisk-You-Away-For-The-Weekend was getting married in December, just two months from now. Unbelievable. We grew up in the same town and knew each other for over forty years. He moved a few towns over several years ago but came to our small hometown on weekends a lot to see his mom and visit with friends. I had been telling him about this jerk I was dating until recently and he did this whole spiel about how I deserved love, he’d pined for me for years, he’d treat me right, blah blah blah. It all sounded great, and he was very handsome. Honestly, I had imagined being with him lots of times but never approached him. So, when he offered to take me away for a weekend, I said yes.
It was a lovely weekend. He sure did wine and dine me. And sleeping with him came easily; he wasn’t a stranger. Far from it. And it was all I’d imagined it would be. It was like a dream. Not just the sex, though that was blissful. The whole weekend was amazing. Just the two of us at a beautiful resort with private cabins near Olympic National Park. It was about a four-hour drive, so it felt like we were completely away from everything and everyone. There were plenty of amenities we could have used, but we were too wrapped up in each other.
I ran out to get lunch on my break since we just returned late Sunday and I hadn’t made it to the grocery store. Laurie was there and invited me to sit with her. After catching up with her for a few minutes, she asked what I had done over the weekend. That’s when she asked how his fiancé felt about him spending a weekend with another woman.
I kept my cool but drove back home as fast as my small SUV would take me. The universe was on my side as I caught every green light on the way. As soon as I slammed the door behind me, I called John.
“Hey beautiful—”
“Don’t ‘hey beautiful’ me. Are you crazy? You’re engaged?”
The line was silent for several beats.
“Hello? What gives? This is a small town. I can’t believe you thought I wouldn’t find out. What were you thinking?”
“I…CJ…I’m so confused.”
“Well, I’m not. Good luck to her. And good riddance to you.”
God, I hated cell phones. Smashing the end button on a smartphone didn’t have the same effect as slamming a receiver on a real phone.
I tossed my bag on the sofa and put my sandwich in the fridge. I was unable to finish it because of the news. Walking to my desk, I turned on the laptop then I headed to the bathroom to splash some cold water on my face.
How humiliating? Not only was I duped by someone I thought was a longtime friend-turned-lover, but motor-mouth Laurie was the one to burst my bubble. I’m sure everyone within a ten-mile radius was now aware of my misfortune and stupidity. I always thought I was making smart choices in men, but it either turned out to be a tremendous waste of time or a quick disaster.
Grabbing the white hand towel from the hook, I dabbed the water from my face. I was blessed with nice skin, albeit fair, but my eyebrows and lashes were practically non-existent. Luckily, you can pay for permanent brows and eyeliner. I had them done after I let my natural silver grow in. Also, having eyes the shade of sage completely washed me out without the black liner and more defined brows. Even though I was in my forties, my hair had decided to go grey years ago. After finally deciding I was tired of dealing with the upkeep of dye, I had my stylist color it as close to the silver roots as possible so the grow-out process wouldn’t be horrendous. She agreed it was a beautiful shade with purple undertones that so many women paid hundreds of dollars for now. I still had to visit her for a trim every six weeks to keep it just above my shoulders, but it became a much quicker and more affordable recurring visit.
Heading back to my desk I sat and made sure to login again. My lunch had taken a little longer than expected since I ran into Laurie, and I didn’t need my boss having a meltdown. Working from home had its perks, but my boss was such a stickler it sucked the fun right out of it. Sure enough, as soon as I pulled my emails up there was one from him “making sure everything was alright” which was code for “you didn’t log back in on time.” A sigh escaped me as I looked over at my wall calendar. I needed to have my book to my editor in three weeks and I lost a whole weekend of writing because of the douche canoe. Having a full-time job and trying to make it as an author was tough enough without dealing with looming deadlines because you fell for some bullshit.
“Not your fault, CJ. We will catch up.” I laced my fingers together and cracked my knuckles as I nodded my head. An email was sent to the boss with the promise to stay on fifteen extra minutes this afternoon to make up the time.
My work was done in just two hours, but I had to stay logged in. I grabbed my phone and checked my social media, hoping not to see any messages about John, or from him. Thinking of that possibility, I went ahead and blocked him everywhere. I did feel bad for the unsuspecting woman he was promised to, but I couldn’t decide if it was really my place to try to tell her. I considered if I would like to know, but I couldn’t relate and wasn’t sure I could assume. I’m sure Laurie would spread the word. Hopefully my name wouldn’t make it to the poor woman, but I did know if I was asked directly, I wouldn’t lie. Best to stay out of it.
I checked Laurie’s various social media and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Then ad after ad for clothes showed up, but they all looked more like something Laurie would like and fit into. I had two favorite plus-sized-only shops because everything I bought there actually fit. Sure, those other stores advertised sizes to 5x but anything over XL was just a poorly cut garb using the same fabric and never hugged you or hung the way it was supposed to. My shops only catered to gals like me, and everything fit the way it hung on the models, regardless of their size. I may have been in a bigger body, but I was still fucking fabulous and didn’t want to look like a washed-up old maid.
In fact, a little retail therapy may do me some good. I found Toddir’s page and scrolled to find a recent deal. “Shit,” I said as I leaned over and moved the mouse on the computer to be sure it didn’t time out. No new emails. Whew.
Settling back into my chair, I returned my attention back to the phone screen. It was getting cooler out and some new sweaters would be nice. There were several great sales, so I wound up with three new sweaters and a pair of fur-lined boots that I could wear with nearly any outfit.
Pleased with my new purchases, I went back to scrolling. Now I only saw ads for my kind of stores. Algorithm restored. Looking back at the screen, I contemplated sneaking in some writing since there was now only an hour left. Scrolling was easy enough to do on the clock but writing sometimes made it difficult to snap back to reality and check the screen. If I got on a roll with a scene or an idea, hours could go by before I realized how long I was writing. Shaking my head, I decided it best to scroll and watch the screen until it was time to log off for the day, then I could finish that sandwich and get some words down the rest of the night. I’d be caught up in no time.
Scrolling away, I noticed an author friend had posted loads of pictures of a mountain getaway. Her caption read, “Wow! What an amazing weekend to get some writing done! No distractions, just a beautiful and cozy backdrop to get my muse talking! If you’ve never gone on a writing retreat alone, DO IT NOW! I nearly finished my manuscript in three days! Sorry not sorry for the pics!”
Clicking through each picture of the scenic mountain view and rustic but cozy cabin, I decided to take her advice. I had enough money to go away alone, and I could get away from the soon-to-be peering eyes of this town and get done with my first draft while enjoying a beautiful place. I messaged her to ask for the info of the cabin because I knew she wasn’t too far from where I lived in central Washington.
Me: Hey, congrats on the productive and fun weekend! If you don’t mind, where is that place?
Tammy: Girl, I’ll send the link. You will LOVE it! Also, there’s some nice eye candy for inspo!
