Maureen came into the house waving a grocery bag. “You’ll like what’s inside!” She was a petite brunette with deep brown eyes that revealed her subtle wit and intelligence. Her hair was the same shade as her eyes. She wore it shoulder-length, and I envied how thick it was.
Over the years I’d come to appreciate Maureen all the more. We talked often and supported each other through everything that life had thrown our way. She’d been the first person I’d called after Kyle left, and when Allie broke her arm. I couldn’t have asked for a better best friend.
She pulled out a container from the bag, revealing my favorite flavor of ice cream: salted caramel, my weakness.
“A perfect addition to a perfect day.” I took it from her and headed into the kitchen to place it in the freezer.
Maureen trailed behind me. “How was your hot date?”
My hand paused on the freezer door as I thought back over my dinner with the insurance adjuster. It had been washed from my mind, an evening I was eager to forget. “A disappointment.”
“Yellow light?”
Maureen and I had devised our own grading system when it came to men and dating. A green light meant there was real potential. A yellow light meant we were waiting to learn more and would proceed with caution. A red light was a flat no, no questions asked, not happening. No way. No how.
“Red light?”
I gave a sad nod.
“After one date?”
I expelled a lengthy sigh, letting it whistle through my teeth. What was it with men? “He thought dinner at a cheap Mexican restaurant gave him a free license to spend the night.”
“Give me a break,” Maureen said, shaking her head.
I’d dated off and on since my divorce. My children had always been my priority. Still, there were times when I needed adult male companionship for my own mental health, yet in all the years since Kyle and I had split, I hadn’t met a man I felt deserved a green light. Several had looked promising in the beginning, but as we got to know each other better, something always seemed to be fundamentally lacking. I was beginning to think the “lacking” might be me—that I’d set my standards too high.
My marriage to Kyle hadn’t helped matters. I’d come out of it with trust issues and with the fear of making yet another mistake. Now, with both kids in college, I’d hoped to seriously look at my relationships with men.
“How frustrating,” Maureen said. Seeing the bowls of popcorn on the kitchen counter, she reached for them and led the way into the family room.
I loved my Colonial-style house that was set on a hill overlooking Elliott Bay. Other than my children, it was the best thing I’d gotten out of my marriage. The family room off the kitchen was where we all gathered to watch television, or to sit by the fireplace on a cold, rainy Seattle day on the comfortable, oversized, well-loved leather furniture. One year for Christmas, my dad had a gas line installed to the fireplace, so I didn’t need to fuss with building a fire with wood any longer. All winter long, I had that fire going. It added a touch of warmth to those chilly nights while Paul and Allie sank into the big chairs to do their homework.
I had Casablanca primed and ready to play.
Popcorn for dinner and ice cream for dessert. Now, that was freedom.
I reached for the remote. Maureen had her shoes off and her ankles crossed on the ottoman as she munched on the popcorn. “You picked the movie?”
“Yup, and you’re going to love it.” I hit the remote, and immediately the music leading up to Casablanca began to play.
Maureen’s smile widened. “Is this what I think it is?”
I couldn’t keep from smiling. “Yup, and that should tell you what I’m thinking.”
“Paris,” Maureen cried. “You want to start planning for our trip to Paris.” Her eyes shone with enthusiasm.
“At last, our someday is here.” I could already feel the excitement building inside me. Over the years, we’d never stopped talking about our trip to Paris, but the timing had never been right. “I’m thinking we can go next spring.”
“Spring,” Maureen agreed with a single nod. She was the trip planner, Lonely Planet in human form. The woman was a hound dog when it came to research. She could find her way around the Internet the way some people could find