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“I met someone last night when I went out,” I tell him.
“Really? Who? What does she look like? Is she pretty? Do you think she’d like me?” He tosses questions at me left and right, causing me to laugh.
“It’s a girl I went to high school with, Dusty. She’s a nurse now, but she served in the military until she got hurt. I think she’s very pretty, but just so you know, looks aren’t everything.”
I feel as though I have to remind him of that fact because his mother was the quintessential blonde-haired, blue-eyed cheerleader. Pretty face, banging figure, but sour disposition and soul. She hid it rather well, though. I mean, I saw glimpses of it from time to time, but whenever I’d call her out on it, she would just say I was imagining things.
“Does she like football?” he questions.
“I think so. I mean, she used to come to the football games when we were in school.”
“Cool. Because you have to find someone who has the same interests.”
Jeez, this kid.
“Why?”
“So you have things in common. You should know this stuff, Dad, you’re older than me.”
“Been out of the game for a long time, Dusty,” I remind him. “Things might’ve changed.”
“Naw,” he confidently replies. “Aunt Cissy says couples who stay together do stuff together, but they also have things that they do on their own. Something about mystery. I don’t understand that part, though. Shouldn’t the person you’re spending your life with be your best friend or something?”
“I think so, yes,” I slowly state. “Although, couples should have their own interests as well, so they have other things to talk about, being able to share common likes is very important.”
“Good. So you need to find out if this woman likes football, then how she feels about pizza and wings, and if she likes kids or not.”
The laugh that bursts free at his comment has him glaring at me before he shrugs, and gets himself another slice of pizza.
“Suit yourself, Dad, but if you don’t, you’ll get stuck with someone like my mother again.”
Looks like he already knows what his mom is like, and we won’t have to have the conversation I’ve been dreading his whole life.
ChapterThree
Sunday
“Are you blind, ref?”I yell at the television after my team gets another flag thrown at their play. “He was obviouslynotholding, for fuck’s sake!”
“Anyone listening to you would think life and death hinges on this game,” Bria teases, handing me a full glass of wine. “So, I saw you dancing a lot with Jett Blake.”
I can’t help the flush that rises, heating me from the inside out.
“He’s just as nice as he was in high school, Bria,” I quietly state, taking a sip of my drink.
“And he’s single again too,” she sing songs, nudging me with her shoulder. “Couldn’t ask for a better guy for my best friend in the whole wide world.”
Brows raised, I glare at her. “Trying to marry me off already? Have you forgotten my ass and thigh look like ground meat?”
“They do not, dammit! Yes, you can tell you were hurt and have had surgeries there, but the areas are smooth thanks to the grafts. Get out of your own damn way, Sunday, and let whatever’s gonna happen between you two happen for heaven’s sake!”
Sighing, I put my glass down. “Bria, now that everything’s done, it’s time for me to focus on my job.”
I just got hired at the local hospital as an emergency room nurse. While a lot of my friends in school preferred to focus on one area, like surgery or labor and delivery, I wanted the adrenaline rush from trauma that handling different cases would give me. I suspect my stint in the Navy, where every day was never the same mundane routine in the medic tent, drew me to emergency medicine. I’ve gone through my orientation, and start working the eleven to seven shift in three days, which is one reason I’m staying up late. I have to change my whole schedule, something I think will be consuming, but I’ve never backed down from a challenge in my life, and I’m not going to start now.
“Bullshit,” she retorts. “Most people successfully manage working and maintain a relationship, Sunday, and you’re no different.”
“Whatever,” I reply, anxious to change subjects. “Mom said Jonas stopped by the dealership today to buy a new vehicle.”
