Page 7

“Cooking tonight?”
“For Andrew. He’s coming in tonight.”
“That man,” she grinned. “He’s so handsome.”
“And about twenty years too young for you,” I reminded her.
“Hey, I could still get a man like him. I have everything a real man wants. My figure is still trim. I have an ass that won’t quit, and I’m too old to have kids. No condoms necessary.”
I cringed internally at the thought of Edith having sex. Then again, I hoped I was having sex like her when I was older. “What about Rex?”
“Oh, he’s in the past,” she waved her hand at me. “Rex moved too slow for me. I need a real man, one that I can run my hands over and feel the power in his arms.”
“That’s…” I really didn’t know what to say to that. You’d think I’d be used to her. After all, she was my mother’s oldest friend. Edith practically raised me after my mother died. When I was fifteen, she had the talk with me, and went into way more detail than any teenager needed. I knew more about orgasms by the time I had sex than any other girl in town. My friends went to her for advice about men instead of their own mothers.
Edith was more than a little promiscuous, but lived her life exactly how she wanted. She’d been married four times and divorced twice. The other two times, the man died. I tried not to bring it up. I wasn’t entirely sure she was upset the men passed on.
“So, how long is Andrew staying this time?”
“Only a month.”
“That’s too bad. Still, a month is enough time for you to show him exactly how much you want him.”
“Edith, I don’t want Andrew. He’s like a brother to me.”
“I don’t look at my siblings the way he looks at you,” she grinned. “And why is he coming to spend the night with you before seeing any of his family?”
I rolled my eyes at her. “We all live in the same town. It’s not like he flew here specially to see me.”
“Darling, how many times do I have to tell you to go for it? That man is head over heels in love with you.”
“That man is only my friend and that’s the way it’s going to stay. Besides, the last thing I want is a man who’s only home every four months. He’s happy with his job, and I’m happy right here.”
“Yes, in the middle of Kansas,” she sighed. “I was actually thinking of spreading my wings and soaring.”
I didn’t like where this was going. “Where to this time?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Someplace exotic. I need a change of pace.”
“Maybe you should go to Italy.”
“Ooh, that does sound exciting. Imagine me, being wined and dined by an Italian stallion.”
I could imagine it now. She’d fall in love with him and then eventually break his heart when she got bored. It’s what happened with every man she was with.
“Well, I’m sure you’ll figure it out. I have to get ready, though.”
“Right, for your date,” she winked at me.
“No, I have to shower and get dinner ready.”
“Honey, when you’re cooking steak for a man, it’s not just friendship.”
I ushered her to the door before she could give me another lecture on my dating life. “Well, this time it is.”
“If you don’t find someone on your own, I’m going to sign you up for one of those dating sites.”
“No thank you. That sounds absolutely horrible.”