It's Better This Way(43)

Her eyes had been opened. This was a dead-end relationship. As Carrie and her mother had discussed, Justin was like Peter Pan. He would forever be chasing his shadow, searching to find himself, taking advantage of others, and taking his mother’s generosity for granted, sponging off her.

As she suspected, the call was from Justin. “Carrie,” he greeted her with enthusiasm, as if he’d been waiting all day to hear the sound of her voice. “How about a movie later?”

“I’m working.”

“You work, like, twenty-four hours a day. Don’t you get time off for good behavior?”

Carrie didn’t find his humor amusing. Since he didn’t seem to be getting the message, she decided to spell it out for him. “I appreciate you asking,” she said, although she strongly suspected she would have ended up paying for him as well as herself. “I believe it’s better if we don’t see each other again.”

    “You mean you’re moving on? Are you breaking up with me?”

“We aren’t actually a couple, you realize. We’ve had some good times and it’s been fun. But I have other interests now and feel you should look for someone else to pay for your lunch or movie ticket. I’m busy.”

He seemed to have trouble believing her. “Come on, Carrie, you don’t mean that.”

“I do. And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t call me during work hours.” Something she’d already repeatedly mentioned. Or contact her at any other time, for that matter, although she didn’t say it.

“Okay, if that’s the way you feel. No biggie. The sea is full of fish, if you catch my drift,” he said stiffly.

“Then you best get fishing. Good-bye, Justin,” she said, and disconnected, glad to officially put the relationship behind her.

Not five minutes later, her personal phone rang again. It would be like Justin to try to talk her out of this, and she answered abruptly. “What now?”

“Carrie?”

She’d snapped without looking to see who called and realized it was her cousin Hillary. “Oh Hill, sorry,” she said, “I thought you were Justin.”

“Is he still calling?”

“Unfortunately, yes, but I made sure this time he understood I’m moving on.”

“Good for you. Did you tell him about Eric?”

“No way. The last thing I wanted to do was prolong the conversation. What’s up?” Carrie had casually mentioned Eric to her cousin, looking for feedback on this new, promising relationship. Hillary had listened and encouraged her, not that she needed much. The time she spent with Eric was often the highlight of her day.

    “Can you sneak away and meet me at the hospital tomorrow for lunch?” Hillary asked.

“Sure. Is everything all right?” Her cousin didn’t sound like herself.

“Not really,” she whispered. “I saw my dad.”

This was news. Big news. Neither Hillary nor Marie had had much to do with their father in the last six years. In all that time there’d been only an occasional phone conversation, none of which had been pleasant or lasted more than a few minutes.

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t say anything to your mom or mine.”

“Of course.” The three girls often shared confidences, which had made them as close as sisters. “I’ll see you at noon in the hospital cafeteria.”

“Great. Thanks.” The line went dead.

Whatever had transpired had upset her cousin, and she apparently needed a sounding board. Carrie was happy to be the one Hillary had reached out to, and she sincerely hoped she could help her cousin and best friend make sense of whatever had taken place.

Seeing that the book club didn’t seem to be needing her for anything more, Carrie made her way to the rooftop and was pleased to find Eric waiting for her, although she was several minutes beyond the time they usually met.

He glanced at his wrist as if to say she was late, which made her smile. She’d meant to tell him the night before about the book club gathering for that evening.

    “Did you miss me?” she teased, taking her seat in the lounge chair beside him.

He grinned, shrugged, and reached for her hand, wrapping his fingers around hers. She noticed he’d brought up a bottle of wine and two glasses.

“Come on, admit it! You thought I wasn’t going to show.”

He grinned and conceded. “Okay, fine, I was beginning to have my doubts.”

“Eric,” she said, serious now. “I enjoy spending time with you. Being with you is what I look forward to most in the evenings.”

“Me, too,” he confessed. He hesitated, looked at her intently, and then looked away. “The movie was fun. Would…Would you consider having dinner with me next?”

He was asking her out on a date. She more or less did the asking about the movie. This was big for him, and it thrilled her that he was willing to step out of his comfort zone on her behalf. “I’d like that more than just about anything, but not in your condo, right?”

“Right. A restaurant. I’ll make the reservations.”

She did her best to hide how pleased she was. “I can do that if you like, it’s part of my job.”

“Thanks, but I’ll take care of it.”