A Different Kind Of Forever Read Online Free PDF Page A

shirt, you know, the kind with buttons at the neck?” The girls were all staring, nodding. “And black sneakers, and his hair was cut short, not a buzz cut or anything, but short, and he had some kind of string bracelet thing on, and a silver chain around his neck. And a very expensive watch.”
    “Was he hot?” Alison asked.
    “Allie!” Sue admonished.
    Diane nodded. “Very hot.”
    “Mom,” Emily sighed.
    “What? He was hot. Not very tall, but adorable.” She leaned into Alison again. “Great butt.”
    “Oh, Mrs. Matthews,” Alison breathed.  
    “Okay ladies,” Sue barked, “we’re outta here in ten. Make your phone calls.”
    They swarmed out, all talking excitedly, and Sue raised her eyebrows.
    “Great butt?”
    Diane nodded. “Oh, yeah. His jeans weren’t tight or anything, but you could tell, you know?” Diane flashed a grin at her friend. “Nice arms, too.”
    Sue looked at her closely. “You seem to have remembered this in great detail.”
    “Hey, how often do I get to meet such a cute young guy?”
    Sue looked at her sternly. “You teach at a college, Diane. Don’t you see cute young guys all the time? Like, in your class?”
    Diane shook her head emphatically. “None of my students ever looked like him.”
    Sue burst out laughing. “Oh God, you fell for him!”
    Diane returned to the stove. “He was sweet. If I weren’t old enough to be his mother, I’d say yeah, I fell for him. So, want to come with me? Friday night? I am going to need help keeping these girls on a leash.”
    “Sure, I’d love to go, but I think you need a date, maybe with a real man? When was the last time you saw a little action, anyway?”
    “I had a perfectly nice dinner with a perfectly nice dentist a month ago and he never called back. You know I can never manage to get past a third date.” Diane glanced over her shoulder. “Please? We’ll get to go backstage.”
    “Sure, I’ll go. I used to be quite the groupie.”
    “I never was, but I figure I’m scoring big with my kids, especially Em. It’ll be nice to be the Mom that got her backstage, instead of the Mom who can’t do anything right.”
    “I hear you there. You seem terribly pleased with the whole thing. You haven’t stopped smiling since I got here.”
    “Because I didn’t expect him to come through with the tickets, and I’ve been kind of beating myself up all afternoon thinking he was going to flake out. It’s nice to meet somebody who does what they say they’re going to do.”
    Sue moved closer and leaned back against the counter. “Did you have, like, a real conversation?”
    “Yeah, we did. A lot of conversation.” She looked to make sure the girls were still upstairs. “We had lunch.”
    “He bought you lunch? Wow. Where?”
    “Chickies.”
    Sue snorted. “Oh, you’re kidding!”
    “He wanted to go to Weatherby’s, but I had class, and there was the dog. So we sat outside at Chickies. It was fun.”
    “What a cool thing to happen. And now we can all stop listening to that god-damned radio station.” She stepped back into the hall. “Griffen kids, let’s go.” She yelled, then winked at Diane. “Way to go, kiddo.”
    After Sue left, Diane finished making dinner, calling down her daughters. They set the table, noisy, happy. Emily actually gave her a hug and a thank you. The meal was eaten quickly, and the girls cleaned up as Diane went back into the den, laying out her books, getting ready for the work ahead for the night. Finals were coming up, and she had lots of prep work to do. She would have to call Kevin about the concert.
    “Kev, hi, it’s me. How are things?”
    “Good. Victoria is a little out of sorts, but that’s expected. What’s up?”
    “Believe it or not, we have tickets for the concert next Friday night.”
    “Good Lord, Di, how did you manage that? Emily must be ecstatic.”
    “Yes, as a matter of fact, she is. Is it any problem?”
    “Oh, of course not. Victoria will enjoy a quiet Friday