Wronged

The math just didn't add up as he continued looking at her. She had the silkiest, chin-length coffee-brown hair, beautiful, bright green eyes, a perfect smile, and the softest, smoothest skin he'd even seen not on a baby's behind. No wrinkles, no crow's feet, and no laugh lines. It was impossible And then their was her body which was nothing short of amazing. From her slender neck and shoulders to her very nice, probably-C-cup boobs to her tight waist and long, shapely legs, she was nothing short of stunning.

"So that's kind of our price range and the areas we're interested in looking at," Laura said.

Nick blinked his eyes and turned toward her when he finally realized he'd been staring the entire time. "I'm sorry. My mind was somewhere else. Would you mind repeating that?"

Laura looked at her mother, smiled, then looked back at Nick. "What I was saying was..." She told him the kind of house they wanted and gave him a reasonably large area to choose from, and a price range from $800,000 to just over one million dollars. That sounded like a lot to anyone from outside the area, but here it would buy a very nice home, but nothing close to anything luxurious the way it would in many parts of the country.

"Oh, okay. Sure. Yeah, we have quite a few properties I think you'll like," he said to Laura.

"My daughter won't be living with me, Nick," Becky said in a very friendly tone of voice reminding him that she was the one who would be buying the home.

"Right! Of course. So...let me show you a few here on the computer from our MLS." He handed each of them an iPad which were synched to his computer screen. Each time Becky expressed interest, Nick would mark the property and put it into an electronic folder he'd titled using her name. By the time they finished looking at some 25 properties, Becky'd asked to see about half of them.

"Okay, I'll pull my car around and we can get started," Nick said. "So, will it just be you and me?" he asked Becky.

"We may not be living with my mother, but I do want to check out the houses," Laura told him.

"Great," Nick said. "I even have a car seat so let me get everything ready and we'll get started."

Nick opened the back door for Laura and her daughter then did the same in the front for Becky. As they drove around the suburbs south of Seattle proper, Becky said, "So Laura tells me you have two young children, Nick. How old are they?"

He told her and she said back, "Three and six months? Oh, my goodness! I love children at that age! Well, I love children of all ages, but they're just so sweet when they're little and need you for everything."

They spent the rest of the afternoon making small talk in between showings, both of them avoiding any details about their recent divorces with the exception of Nick mentioning his had become final. By 5 o'clock, everyone was tired and hungry and although Nick offered to buy them all dinner, Laura said she needed to get home and get dinner ready for her husband. Nick dropped them off back at the office and gave one his cards to both Laura and Becky and thanked them for their time.

"If you'd like to see any more properties or see some of these again, don't hesitate to call me anytime, okay?" he told Becky.

"I won't," she told him. "And thank you for being so patient with us. It was a real pleasure meeting you. Now I know why Laura spoke so highly of you."

"Mother!" she said again. "I was only saying he was a very nice, very decent guy."

Becky smiled, still looking at Nick and said, "Oh, okay. So that's what 'hot as hell' means up here."

"Ugh!" she growled grabbing her elbow and pulling her mother toward her car.

Becky laughed and as Laura dragged her off she called back to Nick, "And a child shall lead them!"

That evening, Nick's mom asked him, "You okay?"

"Oh, sure. I was just thinking about someone."

"Ohhh!" she said. "Would this...someone be a girl, by any chance?"

"Remember a few days ago when you called me to come take a look at Raquel Welch on TV?"

"Of course. I asked you how old you thought she was."

"Yeah, and what did I say?" he asked.

"You stood there and looked at her for a while and told me she was beautiful. I believe 'hot' was the word you used."

"Right. But what was my first guess?"

"Um, let me see. Oh! You said, 'She's gotta be around 40,' because that made me laugh."

"I know, right? So then I guessed 50 and you kept pointing up with your thumbs."

His mom laughed and said, "The way you looked at me when you said, 'Sixty?' as though there was no way on earth she could be that old was priceless!"

"But you kept doing the 'up' thing. I didn't believe you when you said 70 so I checked it on the internet. She's 75 freakin' years old and looks 40! That's insane!"

"Unfair is what it is," his mom said with feigned bitterness. "She just extremely blessed, that's all. What she has is a highly unlikely combination of really good genetics coupled with her taking even better care of herself." Suddenly she looked up and said, "This isn't about Raquel Welch, is it?"

"Well, kind of," he said. "I mean, I think I just met her this afternoon."

"What? She's here in Seattle looking for a home?" he mother said with genuine astonishment.

"No. It's not actually Raquel Welch, Mom. But there was a woman in the office today with her daughter and granddaughter who looked almost as young as her daughter and that made me think of Raquel Welch and our conversation." Nick's mom didn't press the issue. She just gave him a puzzled look and started clearing the table.

As she did, he sat there and thought about Becky and how she reminded him of a kind of combination of an actress from reruns of a very old soap opera his mom used to watch right as he got home from school and a model he'd seen on reruns of the earliest years of The Price is Right as a kid. The model's name was Janice Pennington and the actress was Genie Francis. He hadn't seen either of them since they were young and beautiful, but Becky reminded him of the best features of both women when they were maybe 30 or so but she had to be at least 10 years older than that and maybe even 15. As much as he told himself that wasn't possible, all he had to do was look at Raquel Welch who looked half her age before realizing it was possible. Even so, it still just blew his mind. And then there was a third woman he'd recently seen. Or rather, another woman his mom had pointed out during a movie. This actress's name was Leah Renee and with the exception of her blonde hair, she looked very much like Becky.

He hadn't thought of those first two women from television in a very long time. He'd had such a huge crush on both of them growing up even though they were both probably 50 by then and who knew how old they might be today. It was just that he'd never seen them age. He only knew what they looked like at one point in time clear back in the 70s and he thought they were both gorgeous.

He'd made the mistake of telling his best friend about it one day and he turned around and almost immediately blabbed it to his mom. And then the jokes started. "Nick's here! Better hide, Mom!" Fortunately, his mom played it off as a joke, but for several years Nick had a serious thing for older women from a teacher at school to one of his mom's best friends. The two women on TV had been the most beautiful older women he'd ever seen until Kelli came along and stopped his heart and made him forget for good. Or maybe...just until this afternoon.

Nick managed not to laugh out loud when he'd thought about how he used to imagine asking out a woman who was twice his age before he could drive a car. "I'll stop by at 7 o'clock and you can ride on the handlebars, okay?" Well, he could drive a car now, but Becky would probably just politely laugh at the thought of going out with a guy...a kid...his age—car or no car.

______________________________________________________________________

"Mom! Are you blind? I saw the way he was looking at you. He thinks you're hot!" Laura told her.

"Well, in a few more years I'll be having hot flashes so he'll be partially right, at least."

"So what could it hurt to have coffee with him or let him show you a few houses by yourself?"

Becky sighed and said, "Honey? I love you very much, and I know you're only doing what you think is best for me. You talked me into moving up here and that's fine. But don't press your luck by trying to play matchmaker, okay? I'll start dating again when I'm ready, not when you're ready for me to start. Deal?"

"Okay, but I know how lonely you are, Mom. I can tell. I can see it in your eyes. I hate seeing you like this because you were always so happy before—when you were married."

"Laura, you saw what you wanted to see. Yes, I was happy when you were living at home or whenever you came to visit. I was thrilled when you brought my grandchild to see us for the first time. But your father...he never really loved me. At least not in any way I ever wanted to be loved. He only knew how to try to buy my love. He gave me things instead of his time and I made a kind of deal with the devil, as it were. I gave up any chance of real love for comfort and security and ended up with none of them."

Laura's mouth was wide open. "I had no idea. All these years...you were unhappy with Daddy?"

"No, not...unhappy. More like...comfortably existing. Every day was like living in some kind of familiar but deadly haze. It was indeed comfortable, and other than romantic love, I never lacked for anything. We had a beautiful home, new cars, nice clothes, invites to all the best parties." She turned and looked out the front window before saying, "We slept in separate rooms the last ten years."

"I know. Daddy snored, right?"

She turned back around and said, "No, not really. It was just a convenient excuse we thought you'd buy and evidently, it looks like you did. I'm sorry, honey. It was a lie, but it was a white lie meant to keep you from knowing things weren't all that great at home."

"Wow. I had no idea, Mom. Okay, I'll back off. But you're right. I was just trying to look out for you."

Becky walked over and hugged her daughter and said, "I know, sweetheart. Thank you. I do want to find someone again. I want to be in love. There's nothing like that feeling. But a young man like Nick is going to want someone—your age—not mine. He is very nice looking, but I'm afraid that's just not realistic. But thank you for caring. That means a lot to me. I really do love you and appreciate all your concern. But I have you and Hannah and for now at least, that's enough. Okay?"

____________________________________________________________________

Two days later Nick got a call from Laura who said, "So, listen. My mom and I wanted to take another look at three of the properties you showed us. Can we meet you around one o'clock at your office?" He told her that sounded great and printed out some additional information on the three listings she referenced.

He was still in his office when Becky arrived promptly at one. Nick stood up and greeted her and offered her a seat. He did his best not to stare at her long, shapely legs or her soft, full breasts as he made small talk about the weather. She told him how Seattle was a little colder but it was a nice tradeoff because the wind didn't blow like it did in Portland. Becky was in the middle of a sentence when her phone rang and she asked Nick to excuse her. "Oh, it's Laura. She must be running a little late."

Nick listened to Becky's end of the conversation. "Oh, I see. Well no, of course you couldn't have predicted that. Oh, sure I believe you. Why wouldn't I? It's not like you'd go ahead and play matchmaker even though I asked you not to. Uh-uh. Okay, sure. You too, dear. Bye."

"Well, I guess it'll just be the two of us today," she said as she dropped her phone in her purse.

"Everything okay?" Nick asked.

"Oh, yes. Everything's just fine. My daughter seems to think there's...chemistry...or something between us, so she made up this last-minute something-or-other she has just has to do. And of course, it can only be done right now. She can be so transparent even when she thinks she's being clever."

"Chemistry? Wow. That's interesting," he said as he picked up the paper file into which he'd dropped his printed material.

Becky stood up to follow him out and said, "I'm sorry, Nick. She just has this unquenchable need to play matchmaker even when there's no possibility of a match."

They were well down the hall before he could reply. Just as he was about to Heidi called out as they walked by. "Nick! Hold on. I gotta show you this one pic really fast. It'll just take a sec, okay?"

He turned to Becky and said quietly, "I've got my own matchmaker to contend with so believe me, I know what you're dealing with."

Becky laughed as Nick walked over to the desk and said, "Heidi. I'm with a customer. Can you cool it with the matchmaking?"

She saw Becky smiling at her and carried on undaunted as she handed him her phone. "So this is Amy. She's 24 and she's really cute. What do you think?"

Nick took a quick look and said, "Yeah, she looks great. Thanks."

He turned to leave as Heidi said, "So can I tell her you're interested?"

Nick saw Becky trying not to laugh and slightly shrugged his shoulders as he told Heidi, "Um...no thanks. The truth is, I am actually kind of interested in someone right now, but thanks for thinking about me."

He and Becky started walking out as Heidi called out, "Is it anyone I know? Can I set something up for you?"

The building's door closed behind them and Becky said, "Wow. I thought my daughter was relentless. You poor man!"

He opened her door for her then got in himself and started the car. "Yeah. She means well, but it's just so...unwanted. I'm kind of particular when it comes to women and as much as Heidi means to be helpful, she really has no clue what I like or what I'm looking for."

"So are you looking?" Becky asked.

"Well, kind of—I guess. My divorce has only been final for a little while. I've been on a couple of fixer-upper dates, and they were pretty much disasters. But as I told Heidi, there is this one woman I'm interested in. Other than that, it's pretty much been a bust. So the long answer to your short question isn't really 'kind of'. It's...yes. I would very much like to find someone nice and eventually get married again. I'm one of those hopeless romantics and I loved being married." He glanced over at Becky and asked, "How about you? Are you looking to meet someone or maybe even get married again someday?"

"Um, well, kind of," she said using his words. "I really don't know anyone up here and it's just so hard to meet someone nice. Even with a built-in matchmaker." Both of them laughed as Becky continued. "I dated a few times in Portland. They were guys I'd known forever who'd been interested in me and when they found out about the affair and the separation, they asked me out. But no real dates to speak of. This time, I want to find a man who really, truly shares my values and my beliefs about what love is. Looking back I honestly my husband felt the same way I did, but now I can see I was basically a trophy wife when I married him. I'm not sure he ever really loved me—at least not in any way I ever wanted to be loved, so if I'm fortunate enough to have a 'next time' I want it to be with the right guy and for life."

She sat quietly for a moment then looked over at Nick and said, "I hope this doesn't sound as awful as it seems like it's going to sound so I'm just going to go ahead and say it. I never really noticed before, but as I went out with guys my own age those few times it hit me pretty hard. Most men my age look really...old." She turned to him and made a kind of face as she said, "So...how terrible did that sound?"

He smiled at her and told her, "Not terrible at all. In fact, it sounds to me like you know what you're looking for so why should you settle for something you don't want? Wouldn't it be better to be single than with someone who wasn't right for you?"

"Oh, definitely. Trust me, I don't plan to settle. I just don't know how I'll ever meet this Mr. Right if such a person even exists. I mean, if men my age look...like that...to me, I can only imagine what I must look like to them."

Nick took another quick glance her way and said, "Are you fishing for a compliment or something?"

"I beg your pardon?" she asked feeling thoroughly confused.

"Becky, you are without doubt the most beautiful woman I've seen in...well, many years. You not only don't 'look your age', whatever that means, you look...well, you look like you're your daughter's age. You can't possibly not know that. Right?" he said as he turned a corner.

"Hah! That might just be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. Thank you, Nick. You just made my day!"

"Well, I'm not buttering you up to make a sale. It's just the God's-honest truth."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Becky smile. She looked back over at him and said to him, "Laura told me you were very handsome, but she didn't tell me you were so charming."

Nick laughed politely and asked, "When you said you're looking for someone who believes like you do regarding what love is, do you mind me asking you what love means to you?" He was making another turn and unable to look over at her to see her expression so he added, "If that's not being too personal, of course."

"Um, no. Not at all. Actually, I'm kind of surprised to hear you ask. I know I'm stereotyping here and maybe I've gotten a little bitter after my husband traded me in for a 25-year old, but my experience has been that most men don't care about such things."

"All I can say is it matters to me, Becky. In fact, it matters a lot. My wife...sorry...ex-wife...ran off with her aerobics instructor. Talk about sounding cliché, right? She wanted 'more' out of life, and all I ever wanted was a family. So before I could ever get involved with anyone again, I'd need to know she felt the same way about love and family and commitment as I do."

"Wow. That's amazing, Nick. I couldn't agree more. To me, love isn't a passive thing, you know? It isn't just a feeling. It's...a verb. It's an action word. When you love someone, you show it. Saying it is nice, but you prove you mean it by showing it. My husband's...well, my soon-to-be ex-husband's...way of showing his love was to buy me a new car or an expensive piece of jewelry but there was no feeling to it. I'd trade all of that...stuff...for someone who showed me he loved me by giving his most valuable possession—his time. I'd take a thoughtful, handwritten love note over a tennis bracelet anytime."

It got quiet for a few moments and Becky said, "I'm really sorry. We're out looking at houses and here I am sharing my deepest secrets with someone I don't really even know. I apologize if I'm boring you to tears, Nick."

He was pulling into the first driveway as he replied. "You're not boring me at all, Becky. In fact, I asked and honestly? I find your take on this fascinating. I'd actually like to hear more about it. Maybe you could share a little more while we're on the road between houses or whatever."

"Well, if that's the case, then I'll be happy to keep sharing. It's been a very long time since I had a really nice, really interesting and...a really good-looking man to talk to. Just let me know when you've had too much, okay?" she replied.

As they looked through the first house on the list again, Becky said at one point, "You know, even this house is his way of buying me off."

"How so?" Nick asked.

"He comes from money and his family insisted on a pre-nup when we got married. He was 25 and I was just 18—right out of high school. So I'm legally entitled to very little as most of what we have we had before we got married. So...he's 'graciously offered' to buy me a home and pay the property taxes for the first five years. Anything up to 1.25 million is okay or so his attorney told me in a very sterile letter. I guess it's his way of soothing his conscience for being such a prick." She put her hand on Nick's forearm and said, "I don't normally talk that way. Please forgive me."