Why Not Us? by Naomi Rivers

Author:Naomi Rivers
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Naomi Rivers
Published: 2025-10-28T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

T

The turtleneck, hat, scarf, and peacoat I wore, though practical for late January, were making my skin itch. It was a Friday night in the middle of a Baltimore winter. Most folks hibernated until at least March, including me. But I was feeling lonely and jaded, so I had agreed to meet John at The Gallery, one of his favorite bars. The drinks were strong and reasonable, or so I was told. And people turned up for the extended happy hour.

“Aww, what’s the matter, being in a committed relationship is hard?” John said after his second drink. He had been making snarky remarks since we had sat down at the bar, and he wasn’t making me feel better.

“Stop, I’m serious. I want to be included in the decision-making, at least be consulted about some of these huge decisions that have turned our lives upside down.”

Now that Jasmine and I had taken over major child-raising duties, there seemed to be some new thing to deal with practically every week. But Jasmine all too often moved ahead with things without even letting me know beforehand what was going on.

I hadn’t been in a bar in a minute, and I looked around to see who was up in there. I noticed the holiday decorations still up, mainly because it was The Gallery, and The Gallery was festive year-round. Unlike my mood at the moment.

“Would your input be helpful to Jasmine, or are you complaining about things you have no control over?” John signaled the bartender for another drink.

“It absolutely would be helpful and I’m complaining...”

John folded his arms and cleared his throat.

“I should have a say about the little person we’re caring for or about a father who doesn’t pick up his child as scheduled.”

“And then what? Are you going to stop giving care? Are you going to drop the child off somewhere when he doesn’t come?”

“I’m just saying—”

“What are you saying?” John wasn’t giving me an inch.

“I don’t know what you two are talking about...” someone interrupted.

A woman with a blonde pixie cut and a slight slur had suddenly barged into our conversation.

“...but I’m saying...you’re cute, and you should buy me a drink.”

The woman leaned on my shoulder.

I shifted my body, so she was no longer lying on me. “How about we start with ‘hello’?”

I looked at John. Seriously?

“Well, helllloooo,” she complied. “I remember you.”

“Do you now?” I asked, trying to control my irritation.

“You used to drive a cute little car.” She ran her finger along my collarbone. I shifted again. “You were seeing a friend of mine, but it’s all good ’cause she doesn’t live in Baltimore anymore.”

Good lord, I thought, that could have been any number of women. BJ—Before Jasmine—monogamy wasn’t exactly my specialty.

“I’d like a gin and tonic...with your cute self and beautiful eyes.” Blondie giggled.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw John tapping his finger on the bar. It was only a matter of time before he was going to read Ms. Buy-Me-a-Drink. He couldn’t

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.