No Regrets

Judy jogged over, her face flushed with exertion. She gave me a big smile as she fanned herself with her hand. On her finger, a diamond engagement ring glittered in the afternoon sunlight.

"Oh my goodness, I can hardly keep up with the two of them," Judy laughed. "I promised I'd teach them my old cheerleader moves."

I pointed to the ring. "I heard. Congratulations." I leaned in and gave Judy a peck on the cheek. She grabbed me hard and hugged me, planting a wet kiss on my face.

"Thank you," she whispered in my ear. She pulled away and smiled sweetly.

"Is everyone getting along OK?" I asked.

"I was worried about how Matt would react to Rob, but they just seemed to hit it off immediately. Rob insisted on taking Matt back to school this morning himself. That's why I've got the girls today. And Amanda and Traci just adore Matt." Judy chuckled and shook her head. "They actually make him play Barbie with them. Can you imagine?"

She looked back over her shoulder at the girls playing on the grass. "We've decided we're going to stay in the house. The girls love the yard and the pool. Rob's still an awful cook, but he's very handy." She tilted her head and looked at me with a wry grin. "Some men just can't resist a fixer-upper. You know that."

She reached over and pinched me playfully on the love handles.

"And what about you? I've noticed that the merry-go-round of pretty young things riding on the back of your motorcycle seems to have stopped on that cute little brunette number...Sandra is her name?" Judy winked at me. "Your mom says she's very sweet. Says you two seem sort of serious."

"I really like her," I said sheepishly. "I'm heading back to school tomorrow. I'm not sure what's going to happen then."

Judy gave me a knowing look. "Oh, I'm pretty sure she'll stick around if you let her. Good men are hard to find nowadays."

I looked down at the ring on Judy's finger. "You found one."

She looked at me and touched me on the cheek. "Actually, I found two. I had to let the first one go." Judy took a step back, her eyes on me the whole time.

"You take care of yourself, Michael, OK?" She hung there, waiting for me to answer.

"Don't worry, Judy. I'll be fine."

Judy flashed her grin at me and jogged back down the driveway. When she reached her lawn, she reached up to the sky and launched into a perfectly executed cartwheel. As her feet returned to the grass, she leapt high in the air, landing with a perfect cheerleader plant. Her exuberant laugh echoed between our houses, filling the gulf between us.

"Remember! No regrets!" she called out to me. She gathered up the pom-poms, and shooed the girls up the lawn, though the front door and into the house. Turning in the doorway, she looked back at me one last time, gave a lingering wave and then closed the door behind her.