Second Act - Diana Xarissa Page 0,2
lied, he looked surprised and then laughed and told me that I was probably out of his league then.”
“Which you are.”
“I did tell him that I didn’t care if he was a lawyer or a law clerk or a waiter or whatever. I don’t judge people based on their jobs, but on their character. He said he got five times as many women to click on his profile once he’d changed his job from law clerk to lawyer.”
“And have you had to block his number?”
“No, because I made it perfectly clear to him that I didn’t want to hear from him again. I didn’t care about any of the things he’d lied about, but I cared about the lying. The lying was the deal breaker.”
“I’m sorry.”
Terri shrugged. “It’s okay, really. In a weird way, I’m glad that I did your challenge. I was thinking that maybe it was time for me to give dating a try, but now I’ve realized that I’m quite happy on my own. Thomas only has a few more years of school and then he’ll want to go away to college. Maybe I’ll start dating after he’s gone.”
“How is Thomas? How’s sophomore year going?”
“He’s good. It’s too early in the year for him to be sure about his classes, but for the most part he’s happy. I think he’d be happier if I didn’t teach at the same school, but there’s nothing I can do about that. I don’t want a long commute to anywhere else for either of us.”
“Brandon would rather I didn’t work at his school, but Molly keeps telling me how she can’t wait to get to high school so she can see me all day, every day.”
“So I should have had a girl instead of boy,” Terri laughed. “Or maybe it’s a second child thing. I’m too old now for a second child, though.”
“Molly may well change her mind when she actually gets to high school next year.”
“Here we are,” the waiter said brightly. He cleared away the appetizer plates and then delivered the women’s entrees. “Can I get you anything else?”
“Refills for the sodas would be great,” Terri said.
“I’m sorry I didn’t notice that you needed them,” he replied quickly. “I’ll have them out to you right away.”
As he scurried back to the kitchen, Terri frowned. “He’s very anxious tonight.”
“Douglas must be here,” Camille said again.
“How is everything?” he asked as he gave them their refills.
“Delicious, as always,” Terri assured him.
“That’s good to hear. Let me know if you need anything else.” The man disappeared back into the kitchen with their empty glasses, leaving Terri staring after him.
“I wonder if the restaurant is having trouble of some sort,” she said thoughtfully.
“I haven’t heard anything,” Camille told her. “And you know if there were any problems, the town would have heard about it.”
“That’s true. You can’t keep a secret in Ramsey.”
“Which is both a good and bad thing.”
Terri nodded. She’d found out that her now ex-husband was cheating on her thanks to that fact and she knew Camille had had a similar experience.
“How is Harold?” Camille asked now.
“He’s in Florida at the moment, but he’ll be back soon,” Terri replied. After the initial shock and heartbreak had receded, she’d managed to remain on friendly terms with her former husband. He was the father of her child, after all, and it was important to her that Thomas not suffer because of his father’s infidelity.
“For work?”
“No, he took a late vacation this year. He’s still recovering from everything that happened last year. He wasn’t going to go away at all, but then he decided that he needed a break. Apparently, St. Petersburg is lovely in September. He’s sent me several photos from the beach.”
“Are you just the tiniest bit pleased that he’s so miserable?” Camille asked.
Terri chuckled. “Let’s just say that I find it hard to be sympathetic.”
When Terri had found out about the affair, she’d immediately confronted Harold, expecting him to either deny everything or to agree to end his relationship with Jennifer, the other woman. Instead, he’d told Terri that he was madly in love with Jennifer and then he’d asked for a divorce. Harold had then moved in with Jennifer, leaving Terri to explain everything to a then eleven-year-old Thomas. Two years later, Jennifer had run away with another man, leaving a devastated Harold behind. Jennifer had left Harold almost a year ago, and he was still struggling to recover from his heartbreak.
“And how is the new school year going for