Unlucky In Love Read Online Free PDF Page B

often , those are the most popular guys.” I thought about
the man at the library, Mr. Forgetful, how he’d been more
attractive in my eyes than any guy I’d met. Not because he was
attractive physically, but because he hadn’t come on to me in a Yo-why-don’t-we-go-out-sometime kind of way. I concentrated
on my son’s eyes. “Is there someone you’re interested in?”
    Embarrassed or irritated with my probing
question, Eric dropped his head, shaking it lightly. “No, Mom .”
    Too far , I thought. I knew my son
loved me, but he didn’t like to talk about guy stuff with
me. Dick had been scarce, though, so I felt like I had to ask.
Thank goodness Dick had already had “The Talk” with him when Eric
was in junior high. Dick had insisted that telling him in eighth
grade wasn’t too early. That if we didn’t explain the “Birds and
the Bees,” someone else would.
    Eric positioned himself upright against the
back of the couch as I’d suggested, and in a few seconds, he was
tapping on his iPhone, completely forgetting about the string he’d
been twisting in his fingers.
    Nodding to the white paw poking out from
beneath the couch, I whispered, “Slowly.”
    Eric gently pulled on the string, but then
the kitty pulled back her paw. He danced the twine above the crack
between the couch and the carpet, and the kitty curled her paw
upward, trying to reach it. Eric let her grab just enough to make
her feel as though she’d won, and then he’d slowly pull it
away.
    Who would have thought that a cat and some
string could teach a fifteen-year-old boy how to be patient with a
girl? But I had a feeling it just might. And more importantly, I
had my son in the same room with me.
    I blinked away tears as I realized how many
years Eric had missed having a pet, and how many months I missed
having Eric near me. Yeah, I had Angela, but I hadn’t really felt
the touch of my family for months. Growing up, I’d sworn to myself
that I’d have a lasting relationship, not a broken marriage, where
I made my son susceptible to unloving or callous stepparents, as my
father had repeatedly done.
    After a few minutes, our new family member
ventured out from beneath the couch. Inch by inch, she explored her
new home, stopping and smelling everything, wincing every time
Eric’s phone chimed.
    Without my asking him, he flicked his phone
to silent. He was growing up, and I just needed to sit back and be
willing to listen when he was ready to talk. Play hard-to-get, so
to speak, but be available as soon as he came looking.
    “Why don’t you show her where her food is
again?” I suggested.
    My nearly six-foot-tall son crawled on all
fours to the kitchen, looking back at the kitty to see if she was following him.
    She was, and the sight nearly made me cry
again.
    Eric pulled out a piece of kibble and set it
on the tile. “Here you are, kitty.” He peeked his head around the
counter. “What are we gonna call her?”
    I shrugged. “What do you think?”
    Eric bit down on his bottom lip. “I like the name Jane.”
    “For a cat?” I laughed, but then covered my
mouth. “I do too, actually. Jane Austen is one of my favorite
authors.”
    Eric sat up and scratched the kitty between
the ears. “I got it. How about J’Austen? That sounds cool.”
    “J’Austen, it is!” I agreed.

Chapter 5 – Off Limits
    I dropped my keys on the credenza by the
door and ran — quite literally — to the kitchen and poured myself a
glass of Merlot.
    Even though she knew she wasn’t supposed to,
J’Austen jumped up on the counter to greet me. If I didn’t know any
better, I’d swear she did it whenever I was upset, though, so I couldn’t scold her too harshly.
    I scooped her up and headed toward the
lanai. “You know you’re not allowed on the counter, baby kitty, but
I’ll forgive you since you are much better
company than a man.”
    I sat down on the swing, setting J’Austen
beside me, and then picked up my Kindle to read the latest book