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“I’d like that, but I’m pretty sure I just promised my mother I’d chain myself to her rack.”
He laughed. Mimi had to admit, she liked the way the skin around his eyes crinkled up at the edges. It had been a long time since she’d noticed another man in that way. For an instant, she felt a little guilty. But it wasn’t as if she was going to do anything about that attraction. It was just nice to know that she wasn’t completely dead when it came to noticing the opposite sex.
He stood and placed his hands on her desk, leaning in just enough to claim some of her personal space. “This is the second time I’ve asked you for coffee and you’ve turned me down. One more time and I just might get my feelings hurt.” His voice carried an unmistakable hint of flirtation. Or maybe he was just a naturally friendly guy. It had been so long sin
ce Mimi had found herself in this type of situation it was difficult to tell which was which.
“I didn’t turn you down. I just had something else to do. But I promise, next time you ask me for coffee I’ll make time.”
He grinned. “I’m going to hold you to that.”
Yikes. That was definitely flirty. But as long as she didn’t reciprocate, then everything should be okay.
She waited till he left her office to study the mound of paperwork on her desk. She should probably just toss all the personal messages. There was really no need to find out who was on “Team Mimi.” But if she threw out all the messages, then she might miss something important.
She quickly read through the slips of paper, dumping most of them into her trash. There was an “urgent” message from the manager of The Harbor House, a local upscale seafood restaurant, demanding to know how long the construction on the lot next door to them would continue, and another one from the principal of Whispering Bay Elementary, asking her to come speak at their next teacher’s meeting. Other than that, there was nothing else that required a response.
She finished prioritizing the messages, made some phone calls, then reluctantly opened up the Spring Into Summer festival folder. It didn’t take an MBA to figure out Doug hadn’t been yanking her chain. Bruce had left her with the mother of all messes. He was probably at this very moment sitting at his office at the bank, gleefully chortling how he’d dumped all his mistakes right into her willing lap.
Mimi rubbed her aching temples. No one forced her to run for mayor. She’d asked for this. And somehow she’d find a way to fix it.
Normally, Thursday night Bunco was the highlight of Mimi’s week. It was a chance to unwind and forget about the demands of everyday life. This week’s hostess was Shea Masterson, creator of the famous super-secret margarita.
Shea, along with Pilar and Kitty Pappas were the group’s founders. There were twelve women total and no one missed Bunco unless absolutely necessary. Mimi, however, had been dreading tonight ever since word of The Separation hit town. She thought about faking a cold. Or a rash. Or possibly even a fever. But if by some slim chance she were to get away with it, it would only postpose the inevitable until next week. She couldn’t avoid her friends forever. Nor did she really want to.
She expected the Babes to pounce on her the second she walked through Shea’s door, demanding to know what was going on with her marriage. Strangely enough, though, no one brought it up. Maybe, for once, the Babes were going to respect her privacy and let Mimi talk about it when she was ready.
It had been hard enough to face her parents the other evening. Despite his obvious confusion over the separation, Daddy had been a sport about it. Momma, on the other hand, was the one who was acting strangely. All these years she’d done nothing but harp on Zeke. But now? She acted like Zeke was the son-in-law she’d always dreamed of. That was Momma for you. Just when Mimi thought she’d figured her out, she realized she didn’t have her figured out at all.
After a while, Mimi began to relax and enjoy the night. The women talked about their kids and their jobs. Everyone was excited about Lauren’s latest addition to Baby Got Bump—a new line of retro-toddler wear. Frida announced she and her husband Ed were taking a month long vacation in Europe, and everyone squealed as Kitty passed around pictures of her ten-month-old baby daughter Amanda.
They were about to begin round two of play. Mimi was on her second margarita when Shea rang the Bunco bell (the signal that another game was about to start). But instead of announcing the game, Shea smoothed down her long red hair and squared back her shoulders, like she was ready to do battle. “Okay, now that we’ve all had a chance to warm up, let’s hear what’s new with Mimi.”
Eleven pairs of eyes turned to look at her.
Mimi stifled a moan. She should have known the first part of the evening had just been an appetizer before tonight’s main course—Mimi ala Flambé.
“Um, well, let’s see,” Mimi said. “I had my first city council meeting, that’s what new.”
“And she was a champ, all right,” Pilar told the rest of the group. “Bruce Bailey was a dick, as usual, but Mimi put him right in his place.”
An appreciative murmur rumbled through the room.
“Is that when Zeke announced to the city council that the two of you are separated?” Shea asked mildly.
Mimi glanced at Pilar, who shrugged her shoulders as if to apologize. Not that Pilar had anything to be sorry about. The Babes were right. They should have heard about Mimi’s upcoming divorce through Mimi herself. Not Pilar. And certainly not through the Whispering Bay grapevine.
“Before anyone says anything, I’m sorry I didn’t tell everyone here first. But we hadn’t even told the kids or any family yet, so…” Her voice trailed off, cracking slightly. She’d only cried once since she’d asked Zeke to leave. But only because she’d had to hold it together. But she didn’t have to hold it together now. No one here was going to judge her.
They swarmed her with murmurs of sympathy and hugs and lots of “I’m sorry’s.” And although it didn’t fix the overall situation, it did help. Plus, a couple more margaritas didn’t hurt, either.
“What happened?” Kitty asked. “I always thought you and Zeke were the perfect couple.”
“There’s no such thing as perfect,” Mimi said, swiping away a tear. Hopefully, that cryptic statement would satisfy them.
“But, there’s got to be a reason,” Kitty said.
“Can I just say it’s private, and leave it at that?”
