Though the pay was good, the hours and the dissatisfaction she felt over not contributing to the greater good wore her down.
As she exited Tallahassee, her phone started ringing. The sight of her sister’s name popping up on the dashboard caused an instant smile.
“Hey.” Viv answered the call by hitting the button on her steering wheel.
“Ouch!” Veronica shrieked. “No, Emma, just… color for a minute. Here you go. It’s green. Look. Grass.”
Viv laughed. This could take a while.
“Mom!” a little voice shrieked from the other end of the line.
“Yes, Mateo?” Veronica called back.
“I’m hungry.”
“You just had a snack.”
“I’m hungry.”
“Okay, hold on… I… oh, shit. I mean, shoot. Viv, you there?”
“Here.” Viv laughed.
“Wow. I didn’t realize you even answered. Here, Mateo. Have some cereal and watch your show. It’s almost dinner.”
Viv waited patiently, cruising down the highway and not feeling as rushed as she had a minute ago. This was a typical way for her younger sister to answer the phone, and the noises of family were comforting.
“Okay.” Veronica let out a long exhale. “I’m ready. Sorry about that.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for.”
“How was the event?”
“It was…” She cringed, wishing for anything else to talk about. “Like they usually are.”
“That bad, huh?”
“Can you hear it in my voice?”
“I can nearly feel it across the miles that separate us,” Veronica answered.
“Mm. I just… I want…”
To quit.
Truth was, there wasn’t another career she dreamed of having. Which was why the only one she’d ever had had happened. It paid well, and with no husband or kids, she was free to travel.
“How’s everything there?” Viv asked, tired of talking about herself.
“Good. Cruz got that contract for the new liquor store.”
“That’s awesome!”
With Veronica’s husband’s construction business doing well, it had allowed her to quit her teaching job and stay home right after Emma had been born four years earlier. Sure, they weren’t rich by any means, but from where Viv stood, it seemed like they had it all.
“Yeah.” There was the sound of a cupboard opening and closing on Veronica’s end. She was getting dinner ready. “And I talked to Mom today. She wants to know…”
“Ugh.” Viv cringed.
“Yeah. Never mind.”
“No, it’s okay. It’s just… she wants to know if I’ve been dating, right? What is it with moms and that?”
“Tell me about it.” Veronica laughed. “It’s the twenty-first century. A woman isn’t going to starve to death if she doesn’t find a man.”
Viv bit the inside of her lip. Fact was, she would love to find a man.
The right man, that was.
“Also…” Veronica cleared her throat. “Dad…”
A sharp pain hit Viv’s chest. “Hey, did you see the forecast for this weekend? Crazy, right?”
The long silence made her ears buzz.
“Yeah,” Veronica said slowly. “Crazy.”
Viv’s face burned. It was wrong to pull that shit on her sweet sister, but there was only one topic that was off-limits, and Veronica knew what it was. Or she should have known.
They finished up their phone call talking about small things, like how Emma’s first Judo class went and when they could go shopping together to pick out new curtains for Viv’s apartment. Too soon, Veronica had to hang up to focus on the kids and dinner, and Viv was left with another two hours till Jacksonville.
By the time she pulled into the parking lot of her beachfront apartment building, she was full of that weird mix of exhaustion and nerves that come from sitting in a car for extended periods. The sun had set, leaving nothing but the lamp posts to light the building.
Closing her car door, Viv looked up at her dark corner window on the third floor. As much as she’d wanted to leave Tallahassee, she now found home to be the last place she wanted to be.
Her stomach growled.
“Good idea,” she said. “Dinner.”
Locking up the car, she shouldered her purse and walked down the sidewalk. Her favorite grill was only a few blocks away and had late hours.
After getting settled into one of the small tables near an ocean-view window, she ordered a margarita and a plate of ribs. Relaxing into her seat, Viv looked out at the dark water dotted with ships’ lights.
Growing up in Jacksonville had done nothing to diminish her desire to be near the water. She and Veronica always joked that they had more saltwater than blood running through their veins. When they were little, there was a time when their dad would take them every day to…
Viv closed her eyes.
Now why would she go there?
It was all because Veronica had brought up their father. That’s why. Usually, he hardly entered her mind at all.
Taking a deep breath, Viv opened her eyes and pulled out her phone. It was late, but she hadn’t gotten a chance to check her email since early afternoon.
As per usual, there were a number of messages. Giving them all a quick once-over, she slipped the phone back into her purse. Tomorrow was Sunday, her day off (technically), but she would get to them then.
It wasn’t like she had anything else to do.
For what felt like the hundredth time that day, she fought a cringe. She was fortunate, really. She had a great career and a sister and mom—even if she was retired all the way in Mexico—who loved her.
But there was still the other side of the coin. Almost all of Viv’s friends were not only busy with work but with families as well. They didn’t have the time to hang. Not like they used to.
They had all moved into the next stage of life, the husband and kids stage. Wouldn’t it be nice if she did, too?
The waitress dropped the margarita off, and not a moment too late. Viv took a long drink.
Yeah, a family would be great. First, though, she needed to find a man.
Chapter 3
Markus
“Was this your card?” Markus flipped the card over and showed it to Stan, the bartender.
“Hah!” Stan, an older man with a fisherman’s tan, clapped his hands. “That’s it! Fran, you see that? See what Markus did?”
The woman down the bar smiled and nodded her head. “Cute trick, kid.”
“Thanks.”
Markus pocketed his deck. He wasn’t that great at magic, but the few tricks he knew made people smile, and that was the best part.
“Another one?” Stan nodded at Markus’ empty tumbler.
“Eh…”
“It’s not that late.” Stan’s grin revealed a missing tooth.
The couple at the end of the bar got up, and for the first time Markus noticed a young woman sitting in the corner. At the sight of her, his back straightened.
“Where’d she come from?” He nodded his head at the brunette sipping a margarita and finishing off a plate of ribs. Her loose hair hung down her back, and a pair of bright red stilettos offset the black skirt suit.