Beautiful Mistakes

"Aw, poor baby," he joked.

"He’s so boring," she complained. “You don’t understand.”

Now it was Matt's turn to chuckle. "I'm just teasing you. So, when are you going to watch this movie?"

"I don't know, that will depend," she said, not really wanting to talk about Jack.

He seemed to understand. "Well, as interesting as you've made this sound, I do have a big screen TV and nothing to do once Anna goes to bed. If you want to stick around…"

"Really?" she asked, brightening at the prospect of actually having someone to watch the movie with.

"Yeah. I mean, unless of course you don't want to. I'm a big boy, I'm sure I can find something to entertain myself with, I just thought—"

"No," she interrupted. "Yeah, that sounds great. I'd rather do that anyway. Fair warning, it might be boring. But hey, I guess this way if it is really boring I have you to talk to."

"Aw, I'm second only to a Dutch recluse. That's sweet, Julie, I had no idea you felt that way about me."

She found herself laughing again, but Anna was starting to yank at the cell phone. "Well, your angelic little daughter is starting to object to this cell phone on my ear, so…"

"I will let you go and see you when I get home. Want me to bring some pizza?"

"Amazing idea," she stated.

"I'm full of them tonight. Talk to you later," he said.

"Okay, bye," she said, smiling even though he couldn't see her.

That night came quickly and Julie didn't hear from Jack. She wasn't very worried about it though, because Matt brought pizza and they popped in the movie as soon as Anna was in bed. Jack wasn’t on her mind at all.

When the movie first started Julie thought it was going to be boring, because it started without a very interesting plot. As the movie progressed, however, she got a little more plot than she bargained for.

Scarlett Johansson's character, Griet, became a maid in Johannes (Jan) Vermeer's household. The wife was a bit shrewish, didn't seem to care for Griet, and as the story moved along Griet and Jan developed a sort of relationship.

It may have been a little more comfortable to watch a movie about a young girl who went to work for a wealthier family than hers and falling in love with the husband/father along the way…if Julie herself wasn’t a nanny sitting on the couch watching a movie with her own male head of the house while his beautiful but shrewish wife was off in New York.

She thought maybe it was only in her mind that the situation seemed a bit parallel, but then close to the end of the movie Matt looked over at her, eyebrows raised, and said curiously, "I thought you said this was about a painting."

Julie felt her face flush, and she was glad the lights were out so he might not see. "I… I swear, I did not know—I didn't even read the back, I just kind of took my professor's word for it, and… does the back even say…?" She trailed off, picking up the case and quickly scanning the back of the movie case. "Oh… Yes, it does."

In the scene that had just ended Jan and Griet shared quite an intimate moment together while he was putting her earring in for the painting. Griet was currently in a new scene, running desperately through the village to find her distraction-guy.

A few seconds later Julie was shifting uncomfortably yet again as desperate Griet and distraction-guy had a steamy love scene.

"So, let me just say I do not support that," Julie stated to break the silence.

"Sex?" he questioned.

"Distraction sex," she corrected. "She'll totally end up regretting that, too, maybe as much as she would have regretted…the other."

He snorted. "The other? You mean sex with the married guy she actually wants to have sex with?"

"Yes. At least she really wants that. Butcher boy is just her trying to distract herself from the married one—a noble intention, yes, but a bad life decision, especially for her first time."

"True enough, but Johannes is already married and she's a maid, so at least in that day there was no possible way she could have been more than a roll in the hay. It makes more sense to put out for the one who can actually be with you afterward."

"Not if you want someone else more," she stated. "I mean, sensibly, yes, probably, but… ultimately I think she shouldn't have slept with butcher boy, especially not for her first time."

"Eh, she was too timid and terrified of everyone," he said. "She probably wouldn't have received anymore offers. What does Scarlett have, 5 lines in the whole movie?"