“Nobody’s perfect, Jaime. You know that, and if your parents expected that from you, they were idiots.”
“Maybe I wasn’t cute enough.”
“More bullshit. You’re the cutest thing in this town...well, maybe next to that puppy of yours.”
I chuckled. “Gee, thanks. Now I get to add an inferiority complex every time I’m around my dog.”
She laughed. “Look, you know you didn’t cause your parents to leave. You didn’t sign up for that, and you sure as hell didn’t deserve it. You also had absolutely no control over what happened to you. You were two years old, for goodness sake! Every person should matter, should be treasured and feel like they belong. You have that with all of us. You’re loved and cherished by everyone in this town. You’ve gotta let go of all that rejection, abandonment, and those feelings of inadequacy and tear down those walls you’ve built up. Just look at how much you’ve accomplished, all the challenges you’ve faced and overcome. You’re a survivor, Jaime.”
I laughed sharply. “A survivor who’s about to be homeless and jobless, as hopeless as those dogs that get dragged into the shelters. The only difference is that I don’t have fleas...yet.”
“Chin up, girl!” she ordered in a hard tone. “Don’t be hard on yourself. We all go through bad patches in life. The key to getting through it is to stay positive and strong, stay ambitious and keep fighting.”
I rested my head back on the couch and glared at the ceiling. She was right, I knew it and she knew it, but that didn’t make it any easier. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to dump all this on you. I’m just going through some things right now.”
“You know the great thing about dead ends?”
“What?”
“Things are destined to turn around when you feel like you’ve reached one. U-turns happen all the time.”
“I guess I believe that, at least a little,” I said with a sigh. “For now, I think you’re right. I’ll just go out and have a good time. My mom gave me $500 to donate, so I’m happy for that.”
“You really should consider Charlie’s offer though.”
“C’mon! It’s crazy. If anyone ever found out, they’d assume it was for the money and I’d be nothing more than a gold-digger.”
“I don’t think it’s as crazy as it sounds. Isn’t it right up your alley?” she insisted brightly. “You’ve both always been a little nuts.”
“You sound just like Charlie! Listen, I’m not the crazy girl I used to be.”
“I admit you’ve settled down some,” she agreed sounding like she was thinking hard, “but back to the point at hand. You guys used to be the best of friends. Why not marry him and keep it strictly platonic? You can move into one of the guestrooms in that big, beautiful house of his with all your dogs. They’d love that huge back yard, and Max could do his water rehab every day. Then, when the two years are up, viola! You’ll walk away as a half-millionaire. Easy peasy! You don’t have to let emotions or sex get involved at all. Just walk away as friends, with a big, fat bank account to boot. Just remember not to get involved. That’s a key point. Do not have sex under any circumstances. Because I know how much you care about him and you’ll only get hurt. It could work if you do it the right way.”
She made it sound perfect, but she hadn’t seen me with Charlie lately, hadn’t been there for a kiss that rocked me to a whole other planet. “I don’t wanna even think about it anymore,” I said, shaking my head. “I just want to go to this charity event, forget about my life, and have a good time.”
“Well, call Charlie and ask him to escort you as a friend. Cinderella shouldn’t go to the ball all alone, and it never hurts to have a little eye candy on your arm. It’s at a castle, right?”
“Yeah, but—”
“But nothing. Castles call for a prince.”
“Well, he is a great friend, and he does make me laugh.”
“So call him. It’s a harmless date to
help poor animals.”
“I will.”
“Then do it. Because it’s not like you need a “Casanova” field guide to take him as a friend. Right?”
I laughed. “No, but I definitely need the guide if I do something foolish, like marry him.”
She chuckled.
We talked a bit longer, but by the time I hung up I knew I was going to take her advice and call Charlie. He answered on the first ring and the second I told him, he said he’d be there in two hours to get me. The excitement in his voice was vivid and when I hung up with him, I couldn’t stop myself from grinning.
Chapter 9