My Life as a Doormat (in Three Acts) Read Online Free PDF

a denim shirt, and near-perfect features.
    â€œHi. I was just admiring the flowers.”
    â€œAre you part of the party?”
    â€œYes.”
    He looked in that direction and then back at me. Then he smiled. My heart fluttered. I begged myself not to splotch. “Do you keep the gardens?”
    He held out his hand. “I’m Robby. Geoff and Margaret’s son.”
    â€œOh, sorry,” I said, and shook his hand. “Not about being their son. About thinking you were the groundskeeper.”
    â€œNo need to apologize. And it is a sad story, really, being Dr. Glyndell’s son. I don’t play chess, after all.” He laughed. If this man had any more charm about him, he’d be a bracelet. “Who are you?”
    â€œLeah. Townsend.”
    â€œNice to meet you. And you’re here with . . . ?”
    â€œEdward Crowse. Dr. Edward Crowse.”
    â€œIs there anyone here without a doctorate?”
    â€œMe.”
    â€œMe too.” He smiled. “What do you do?”
    â€œI’m a playwright.”
    â€œReally?”
    â€œReally. What do you do?”
    â€œI’m a landscaper.” He swept his hand over the tulips.
    â€œYou did this?”
    â€œSome of it. The landscaping was here when my parents bought the house, but it was in need of a lot of attention. I spent most of last year getting it together.” He looked at me, and the look said a lot of things, the least of which was that he approved of my dress.
    I flattened my hand against the side of it, smoothing out nonexistent wrinkles, and sipped my lemonade. I was blushing. Not splotching. Real-life blushing.
    â€œLeah?”
    I turned to find Edward walking toward us. Robby cleared his throat and took a step away from me.
    â€œHi,” I said. Edward gave me and then Robby equally polite smiles. “Have you met the Glyndells’ son Robby before?”
    They shook hands. “I think I’ve met you before,” Edward said.
    â€œRobby is a landscaper. I was just admiring his work.” I looked at the flowers for something to do other than stare at these two men staring at each other.
    â€œI thought you’d gone to fetch us some drinks,” Edward said, glancing at the drink in my hand.
    â€œIt’s serve yourself tonight,” Robby said, startling me as much as Edward. Robby admired me one more time with a stare that defied Edward’s presence, then excused himself and started toward the house. Edward was watching Robby like a science experiment that had just stood up and walked away.
    Edward then turned to me. “I wasn’t implying you should get us drinks. I just thought that’s what you went to do.”
    His defensiveness was nothing short of satisfying, but instead of relishing the moment, I said, “I know. I didn’t take it that way.”
    â€œGood.” He chewed his lip. “So do you want to join me up there?”
    â€œWhat’s going on?”
    â€œI think Dr. Glyndell’s going to show us some pictures of his trip to Egypt.”
    â€œAre you sure the glare from my dress won’t be too distracting?”
    Edward flopped his head to the side. “Is that what this is all about? Your dress? I didn’t say enough about your dress?”
    â€œYou didn’t say anything about my dress.”
    He glanced behind him, as if to see whether anyone was in earshot. “It’s different, okay? You’re usually not this loud.”
    Loud. Now, that was an unusual description for a man who would be able to prove mathematically that colors do not have sound. He looked at my dress again, as if trying his best to give it a second chance. He gave his mouth a good rubbing. He threw out his hands like a few gestures might help him find a simple word like nice.
    â€œLook,” I said, breaking the silence, “I’m sorry, okay? I got a little carried away. I was with Elisabeth, and we went shopping, and it seemed