“Romantic? That doesn’t sound very feminist.”
“Please, Pops, I’m a third-wave feminist. We get what we want, and if we want romance, we get romance. And I know Clover. Under that boring turtleneck and fleece vest combo beats the heart of a true romantic. Now go and make things right. Don’t call me again until she’s the happiest woman on earth.”
“Are you mad at me for dating your boss?”
“I don’t care what you do with my boss. But I do care what you do with my friend. Clover is my friend. And I’m not mad, I promise.”
“You aren’t? You sound mad.”
“I’m not mad at you. I’m just... I’m disappointed.”
That hurt. That stung. He’d rather she be mad at him. Wait a second, he was the parent here. What was happening?
“I don’t want to disappoint you. But this is really none of your—”
“None of my business, I know,” Ruthie said. “Clover is an adult. But, Pops, she’s been wounded. Crappy ex-boyfriends, family who makes her feel like shit. She keeps it all on the inside and lets it eat at her. You have to step up.”
“Step up? What does that mean in any language I can understand?”
“It means Clover gave you a gift.”
“Didn’t you say virginity was a sexist outmoded concept created by men—”
“I’m not talking about virginity. I’m talking about trust. She trusted you. You have to honor the gift of her trust. Honor the gift, Pops. Honor. The. Gift.”
“Honor the gift. Okay. I can do that.”
“You can do that.”
“Now that I’m honoring the gift, we need to discuss your phone bill,” he said.
“I can’t talk about that right now. I’m in too much shock. Call me back when you’ve done right by Clover. I love you, Pops. Even when I yell, even when I’m disappointed, I still love you and I always will.”
With that she hung up and Erick stared at the phone in his hand for a very long time.
He was so glad they’d stopped at one kid. Teenage twerp thought she knew everything about everything. Clover was not disappointed about last night. She enjoyed it. She had an orgasm, a strong one. She was smiling ear to ear after and she fell asleep in his arms, still smiling. And she was smiling this morning when she brought him a cup of coffee out onto the deck. That was not the smile of a disappointed woman. Yeah, maybe it could have been more romantic, but that wasn’t his fault, was it? He didn’t know it was her first time. Then again, even if it hadn’t been her first time, it was still their first time together. Maybe he should have brought flowers. Maybe he should have lit some candles. Maybe he should have honored the nature goddess, whoever that was.
Nature. Clover did like nature. Any woman named Clover would have to like nature. And when they talked about favorite types of sex last night she said something about sex by the lake. Well, it was forty degrees out and raining so that probably couldn’t happen.
Erick narrowed his eyes.
Or could it?
He checked his phone and saw that while the talk with Ruthie had drained his spirit, it hadn’t drained the last of his battery. He scrolled through his phone looking for a number and then dialed it. It rang twice. A woman’s voice answered.
“Hello, Lost Lake Village Rentals, Joey speaking.”
“Hey, is Chris there? It’s Erick Fields and—”
“I know who you are,” she said. “You did the siding on our house.”
“That’s me,” he said. “Hope you like it.”
“Love it. It’s gorgeous. You do fantastic work.”
“Thank you. I needed to hear that.” Glad one woman around here appreciated his handiwork. “Is Chris around?”
“In the shower, but if it’s a billing issue, you can talk to me. I’m the property manager.”