One More Time

“That’s what my dad heard,” Margie said, her eyes wide and her lips pursed. “Apparently, something sordid went down between him and his wife. That’s why he left town.”

“I thought his wife died,” Janie said with a frown.

“I think she did,” Margie said with a knowing nod. “But not before whatever happened between them happened.”

“That sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me,” I said boldly.

Margie and Janie both looked at me in surprise. It wasn’t often that I put my foot down about anything, but I couldn’t sit there and listen to Margie spread rumors about Sean. He didn’t deserve that. His kids didn’t deserve tha

t.

“What makes you an expert?” Margie asked, annoyed.

“She knows them,” Janie said quickly. “She nannied for his kids for a couple days.”

“You did?” Margie’s annoyance suddenly vanished. She moved her chair closer to me. “What’s Sean like? How’s their house? Are the kids well behaved? Tell me everything.”

“They’re a perfectly normal family,” I said pointedly. “That’s all you need to know.”

“Oh, come on!” Margie complained. “I just know there’s something dark in Sean’s past. I can tell.”

“Leave that family alone,” I said. “I mean it, Margie.”

“I’m just saying.”

“Well, don’t.”

I glared at her openly, not bothering to hide my anger. Whatever Margie thought she knew about Sean’s past was none of her business. I refused to let her sit around and spread rumors about him, even though he’d been little more than a total jerk to me. Something inside me felt protective of him, as stupid as that sounded in my own head.

Margie raised her eyebrows and glanced at Janie. Janie just stared back at her, not saying a word. Finally, Margie got the hint and stood up to leave us alone. I was too irritated to eat so I just sat back in my chair and closed my eyes tightly.

“You okay?” Janie asked.

“I’m fine.” I sighed. My eyes opened. “She’s just an idiot.”

“Of course, she is,” Janie said. “But that’s never bothered you before.”

“I don’t want her saying things about Sean,” I said defensively. “That’s all.”

“Even though he fired you?”

Her words hit me hard, but I tried to ignore them. Nothing that I was feeling was making much sense right now. Grabbing a slice of pizza, I changed the subject to something less emotional. Talking about Sean was becoming too hard. Just thinking about him was enough to make my stomach fill with butterflies.

After a few minutes, Janie and I had yet another visitor. I didn’t see him coming, but from the look on Janie’s face, I knew who it would be.

“Hey, Emily,” Tanner said, sitting in the chair Margie left behind. “You got a second?”

“No,” Janie said.

Tanner shot her a look.

“I’m sorry about the other night,” he said softly. “I was drunk, but that’s not an excuse. I know I shouldn’t be that pushy.”

“It’s fine,” I said with a wave of my hand. “Don’t worry about it.”

“No,” Janie said again. “You should worry about it.”

“I’m sorry again,” Tanner said to me. “Although, I’m not quite ready to give up on that date yet.”