Earlier that day, I'd taken one of my girls down to the boat to hang out while I puttered around, de-stressing after a crappy week. We were having breakfast at the restaurant, Middlest and I, and the waitress asked if I'd met the new sailor who'd been hanging around the marina. I laughed, and shook my head no. I had no desire to meet a man, nor the time for dating. I travel for a living, and I was exhausted. I'd just completed a 6 month long project and was taking a break from the traveling to recoup. No way in hell did I want to take on another "project", ie: a man.
"He's gorgeous," the waitress tried to persuade me, "Smart, single, and a firefighter!"
Middlest looked at me, and shrugged. "You should, Mama," she said, "It can't hurt to have a Plan B." She grinned impishly. "Plus, firemen are super cute!" Trust the teenager to focus on the important things.
I looked at her. Plan A was where we were firmly at. No man, no (relationship) drama, everything rolling along relatively smoothly. The ex-husband has been a thorn in our sides since we got divorced 10 years ago, when my youngest was just born, so I don't need any other drama in my life. I'd dated my fair share of men, learned plenty of lessons, and had been fortunate enough to have been in love twice and escaped relatively unscathed. No need for me to go opening Pandora's box, looking for more.
"He's here" said the text, later on that night. I glanced down at my phone, and ignored it. Bing. Another text, this one a pic of a charming grin, mischievous eyes, and dark hair falling across his forehead in a little boy way.
Pandora's box was tempting, and I couldn't resist.
