Page 9 of Reclaimed Dreams
Chapter4
2 years ago
Jo should have been having the time of her life. She’d joined an active seniors group for their program that matched volunteers with after-school programs around the city to help cover tutoring and childcare gaps. The fourth graders she’d been assigned to help were delightful. She hadn’t laughed so hard at kid antics in years. She actively ignored the melancholy that came when she thought of her own kids at that age.
One boy, Lanh, had a bright, mischievous smile that reminded her so much of Gabe. Some days were hard, but others were filled with laughter and boisterous hijinks. She was able to help with homework, and she got kid hugs at the end of the day. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed those. With one raised hand at a meeting, she’d added joy and purpose to her daily routine.
She’d also added friendship. Once upon a time she’d had friends. A few from college still exchanged Christmas cards. The mom friends she’d made through her four kids had drifted away as the kids grew older and started driving themselves to soccer practices. She’d heard from a few at the funeral, but she imagined no one wanted to listen to her go on and on about the death of her son. Since that had been all she’d been able to focus on for months after the funeral, she’d stopped reaching out. Elena was the only friend she spoke to regularly, but with her and Tony gone on their multi-month European jaunt, Jo was lonely.
When Jo had gone to her first Late Bloomers meeting, she’d been overwhelmed by the options and had signed up for a little of everything. Coffee chats (where she learned how delightful a mocha could be!), book clubs (so many good stories she’d missed!), salsa nights (who knew her hips could still do that?)… Her calendar was suddenly filled, and faces were becoming familiar. And these people liked her for her. Not because she was so-and-so’s wife or mother or business colleague. But because she was witty, smart, and outgoing. Feeling valued and wanted was heady indeed, and so she’d kept signing up for more events.
It also didn’t hurt that it was easier to keep up her silence if she wasn’t constantly around Dom.
One face in particular was becoming very familiar. Alessandro was a widower the ladies at book club referred to as The Silver Fox, due both to his luscious full head of bright gray hair and his propensity to flirt with the ladies.
He approached her first at one of the monthly mixers.
“Widow or working?” he asked with a smile.
“Pardon me?” Jo paused in the act of selecting a glass of wine from the open bar at the informal mixer.
“Are you a widow? Or a working woman who never married? Most of the ladies here fall into one or the other.”
Jo picked a glass of red and turned to face him. “Neither. I married, and had a career and a family.”
“Ah…divorced?” The blatant hope in his voice made Jo laugh.
“No. Still married.”
“Hmm, so you’re here for…”
“Friendship. I could really use some friends,” Jo said firmly.
“Then here’s to new friendships and where they might lead.” He clicked his plastic wineglass to hers and stayed politely by her side, introducing her to people he knew and keeping a conversation flowing.
It was disconcerting. Give her a muscle-bound meathead and she knew what to do. Hand her a suave gentleman who could talk circles around her and she was lost. Which was how she ended up agreeing to ride to the Winchester Mystery House tour with him. The man was certainly persuasive, and she couldn’t deny it felt good to have someone care enough to persuade instead of just assuming she’d comply.
At least she’d had the wherewithal to suggest meeting him at the coffee shop after her date with Sofia. She didn’t think Dom would take well to another man picking her up from the house.
But she was done caring what Dom thought, she reminded herself firmly. It was time to put her dreams first.
25 years ago
“Hey, Dom! Where’s the invoice for the Shue project?” Tony lifted stacks of paper from Dom’s desk, rifling through them before slamming them back down.
Dom walked into his office, tossed his hard hat on top of the mess, and tapped his temple. “I’ve got it right here. Why do you need it?”
“Mrs. Shue called to confirm something and I need to see it. Damn it, Dom. We talked about this. We need to have things written down.”
“It takes too much time. I’m always on the job site. Besides, I know what we did on that job. Just ask me.”
“No, Dom. Make me the fucking invoice.”
“Come on. I’m about to leave.”
“Yeah? So was I, until I got this call, and now I have to wait because you didn’t do your job!”
“Tony, Jo is on her way to pick me up with all the kids in the car because my truck is still in the shop. I’ll do it in the morning.”
