“I think I may have a new man in my life,” Dot told her.
“He’s not a scoundrel?” Angela teased.
“Well, he hasn’t gotten into my skirt yet.” They both laughed.
Dot was quite chatty. She told her all about her new man; a retired school teacher who loved to read as much as she did. They went for short walks; as much as she could handle. They enjoyed dinner at restaurants. He bought her flowers and chocolates. She told her she has yet to formally invite him over.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” Angela asked. “You should invite him over to our next reading session.”
“Oh, he’s not much for romance. He’s more of a mystery man.”
“Ah, men...” Angela said as she thought of Michael and was partially disappointed she hadn’t seen him.
Michael knew that this was going to be an awkward conversation. He had asked his mother to tell Angela to wait for him after they had finished their reading. Dot, of course, nosy and meddling as you can make them, pestered him with questions.
“What business have you got with her?” she asked over coffee.
“No business of yours, that kind of business, Mum,” he joked.
“You’re being coy. Now tell me, do you fancy her?”
Michael was uncomfortable and wiped the counter with specific concentration, avoiding his mother’s gaze.”
“Of course not.”
“Well, she is quite lovely, maybe a little plain but quite beautiful in a simple way.”
Well, there wasonething he and his mother were in agreement on.
“Or maybe, you’re just looking for a little—”
“Mother, seriously.”
When he came in, Angela seemed lost in thought, staring blankly at the rows of books lining the wall, leaning on one armrest of her chair, her hair flowing down her shoulder. She hadn’t noticed him come in. He stared at her for a few seconds; he loved her sleepy brown eyes. She jumped at the sound of his steps.
“Oh, you scared me.” She held her chest with one hand.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
She looked at him, speechless.
“Thanks for waiting.”
“Yes.” Angela was curious. She was intrigued when Dot had mentioned Michael wanted to talk to her. She had wondered what he could want to talk about. In fact, it’s was she was thinking about when he startled her.
He took a seat in the chair opposite her, where Dot had been sitting a few minutes before.
“I just wanted to apologize for last week,” he said, his steel blue eyes looking straight into hers.
“Oh....it’s ok—“
“No, it’s not. I was out of line. Your life isn’t my business.”
“You were just trying to help but I’ll be honest with you, I was a little annoyed at the time.”
“You were.” He smiled. “Well, that’s exactly why I’m apologizing.”
“But then...” she said “I thought about it. You were right. It’s my life. It’s not Robert’s life. I really shouldn’t let him influence me so much.”
