Midlife Valentine: A Later in Life Single Mom Romance

I would give anything to see Trey, big and masculine, inside a store that sold little fancy dresses. Of course, every woman in the store would be more than happy to help him find the right outfit for Keri. On the heels of that thought came a surge of jealousy that he hadn’t asked for my help. Why would he when you keep pushing him away? My shoulders fell at that question from my subconscious. “All right girls, thanks for letting me know.”

“You’re going to do something new with your hair, aren’t you Mom?” Bridget’s question implied that of course I would do something different with my hair, and my hand automatically went to my long locks.

“Like what?”

With a groan, Bridget stomped off. “Oh my god, Mom. Seriously?”

I turned to Belle. “What did I say?”

“Don’t ask me, I just let her do her thing because I always look good when she does.” Belle shrugged just as Bridget returned, phone in hand.

“I sent an emergency message to Aunt Pippa. She’ll be here in a few minutes.”

I gasped. “Pippa is nine thousand months pregnant, you can’t just text her to come by for an emergency, Bridge.”

“I know that! I told her it was a hair and makeup emergency. For you.”

Ouch. “Well, that is better, I suppose.” Did I really look so awful that even my daughter thought I needed to change up my look? “What’s so bad about my hair.”

“Nothing, but this is a dance, Mom. Trey is going to be there, don’t you want to look prettier than you do from day to day? That’s the point of a dance.”

She was right. It had been so long since I tried to impress anyone that I guess I’d forgotten. “Right. Well, thank you for the reminder, Bridget.”

“You’re always pretty Mom, that’s why you have to look even hotter for the dance,” Belle added before she grew bored with the conversation and disappeared, probably into her room.

“Yeah,” Bridget agreed.

I stared at the spot my daughters had vacated for a long time, wondering what I could do to make Trey want to give me a second look. And a third. Looking down at the ankle length dress I wore and my colorful ballet flats, my shoulders fell. It was hopeless. Not in a lacking self-confidence kind of way, but just in a generic hopeless kind of way. I looked how I looked, and there wasn’t much to improve on beyond the gorgeous dress I’d already bought for the dance.

“I’ll just have to make it work with what I have.”

When Pippa arrived, she was armed with a small daily makeup bag and a larger hard plastic case that looked as if it belonged to a professional. “I’ve come prepared to work magic, my friend.” Her skin was flushed, but her eyes sparkled. “Ready?”

“No,” I answered honestly. “What if I do all of this and it doesn’t work?”

Pippa rolled her eyes and shot me a sympathetic look. “This part isn’t about Trey, it’s about you.”

I laughed bitterly. “If this was just about me, I’d wear my favorite green dress and comfy shoes.”

“Confidence, babe. That’s what this is about. Looking like a million bucks will give you the confidence you need to say what you have to say, and know that Trey is going to be totally receptive to your words.”

Oh. “But what if he isn’t?”

“Then you were right, and he isn’t the man you think he is.”

He was that man, probably even better than I’d given him credit for, which meant I was out of excuses. I had to shove the fear down, push my shoulders back, and face this dance and this man, head on. “All right, let’s do this. Whatever this is.”

“This is just a little bit of polish,” Pippa insisted. “I’m not climbing those stairs, so go get your dress so we can coordinate everything.”

“Coordinate? You mean my makeup needs to match my dress?” I shook my head so hard it made me a little dizzy. “I was thinking a natural look enhanced just a little for evening.”

Pippa’s eyes widened comically. “Oh no, that’s just not going to cut it, Val. This isn’t just some dance, this is the chance to win the heart of the man you love.”

Her words echoed in my mind and bounced around inside my chest until I was breathless with confusion and aching, even longing. “Who said anything about love?”

Pippa laughed. “Really? That’s how you’re going to play things with me? Your very best friend in the whole entire world?”

I sighed and rolled my eyes, ignoring the small smile teasing the corners of my mouth. “You don’t have to lay it on so thick, Pip.”

“Maybe not,” she answered once her laughter had subsided. “But you my friend are in deep denial, and the only person you’re fooling is yourself. Possibly Trey.” I opened my mouth to tell her that I wasn’t in denial, just a state of uncertainty. “Even your daughters know you’re in love with him.”