Brent
“I have to see Jane,” I think to myself. My office seems dim without her around. It’s lifeless. Grays are grayer and my lunch is bland, no matter how much hot sauce I pour on it. I need a hit of the curvy girl’s energy.
I text her for a date tomorrow and wait. And wait. My foot taps impatiently. I know she’s a phone addict like many girls of her generation, so why is it taking so long? Then, my cell pings. I read her message. She’s in. My body relaxes and I can breathe again.
This is not good. I’m so in love with Jane, and yet we haven’t figured things out. My daughter still doesn’t know. Her parents have no idea, and would probably freak out if they found out she was dating a man nearing fifty. Even my ex-wife suspects. Yet being with Jane is exactly what I want. She’s someone I can’t stop thinking about. Someone I can obsess over in a healthy way. Someone I could have more children with, and who would be an excellent mother to our kids.
I want to talk to her about it all, but what will she say? Is the curvy girl ready to settle down? Or is she still young and wants to play the field? Only Jane would know the answers to these questions.
In the morning, we meet at a coffeeshop near the Cube. The curvy girl walks in wearing boots, jeans, and a flannel, and I swear to God, I’m getting hard already. What the hell? I look her over and she smiles.
“What?”
“I know we need to behave ourselves here, but you are a sexy lumberjack.”
She giggles and I know I am successful in my goal of keeping her happy. “Come on, I need a peppermint mocha,” she says.
“Not a pumpkin spice latte?”
She shakes her head.
“I’m not a basic bitch, so no.”
We get to the counter and she orders. Then the barista asks, “And for you, sir?”
“Pumpkin spice latte.”
Jane looks up at me and blushes.
“Oh my god, really Brent? I didn’t even know that guys got that drink.”
I quirk an eyebrow at her.
“Didn’t you know you’re dating a basic bitch?”
She giggles again. “Nope.”
“Well, now you know,” I wink. We get our drinks and load into my luxury SUV for our date. I’m taking her on a trip, and she’s going to love it.
“Buckle up because it’s a bit of a drive to Bear Woods.”
She sighs, leaning back in the seat with satisfaction.
“I know. I’m so happy because I haven’t been out to Bear Woods since Girl Scouts with Harlow.”
“Oh, right, that week-long trip, right?”
She nods.
“It’s beautiful out there. I hope when I have kids, they get to have the same experience.”
I smile, desperate to keep my mouth shut on the matter, but it’s a challenge. Things just seem to be getting more and more urgent, and it’s increasingly hard to keep using protection when I want to fill her up with my babies. I try to take my mind off of it.
“Put on whatever music you like, sweetheart.”
She arches an eyebrow.
“What if you hate my music?”
Dammit, she sees it coming. I smile.
“I’ll love it. Come on, honey, put some tunes on.”
She grins and fiddles with the satellite radio. Jane settles on Mercury, my favorite 90’s grunge channel and bops her head to Nirvana. I find myself nodding along with her. At the drum break in Smells Like Teen Spirit, she plays air drums and gets into it.
She’s hysterical, emotive, and so sexy too as she pretends to clash the cymbals really hard. I am in her thrall. I can’t help myself, and I have to ask, “How do you know this music? Isn’t this before your time?”
She throws me an innocent look.
“The 90’s were a golden age when it comes to music, Brent.”
“Yes, I know that, but how do you know that?”
She laughs. “I told you, I listen to a little bit of everything. I try to give it all a shot. You never know what you might like until you give it a try, so I like sampling new things when I can. Or, in this case, old things.”
I throw her a wry look.
“Is there any subtext to your statement?”
“Maybe,” she grins and gets back to air guitaring.
We ride along and jam to my generation’s angst for a while until we pull up to the park. It’s beautiful day. The sun is shining, the bright blue sky is cloudless, and the grass is still green, despite the impending fall. September in Denver is perfect for Bear Woods, and not for offices. Then again, I feel no guilt for taking the day off. Kombuchaid is making money hand over fist, and they won’t miss me at all.
We start hiking, and the sun beats on our backs. Pretty soon, we stop for a rest break at a craggy outlook overlooking the valley below.
“Do you miss the office?” Harlow asks while taking a swig of water.
I almost choke.
“No. Gray’s there today, so I know I can count on him to pick up the slack. That is, if anyone even notices my absence.”
She smiles.
“I’m sure they notice your nonappearance. You’re the Co-CEO!”
I shrug and take a swig of my water too.
“Yes, but Gray’s really been hitting it hard, and in a shorter amount of time too. With Harlow and the kids, he’s someone else now. He’s a machine who’s three times as efficient.”
“You don’t sound happy about it.”
I pause for a moment.
“No, I am. I’m happy for my business partner, and I’m happy for my daughter too because he’s a good guy. But the truth is that it took a while before I approved their relationship.”
She stares at me a bit.
“Really? Harlow never talks about it. She mentioned a little something, but never got into the details.”
I laugh.
“That’s not exactly a surprise because it’s a pretty scandalous story. Let’s just say there’s video tape of them going at it in Kombuchaid’s basement bathroom. And I saw it
Jane belly laughs and says, “God, no! Are you kidding me?”
“No,” I shake my head, “During her summer internship.”
“Oh, wow!”
“I know, right?” I laugh at the memory. “It’s something no father wants to see, and I admit that I lost it. Completely lost all control and screamed at them.”
Jane nods.
“Of course, because any father would. But things are good with you guys now, so I guess it’s all blown over? Still, little miss thing has nothing to judge me for then, given her history.”
I smile.
“I don’t think she would anyway, Jane. She loves you.”
“And I love her. I just…well, I always thought that Harlow was very innocent when it comes to these things. But wow, boy was I wrong. Naïve little Harlow, public sex, and on videotape too! No wonder she never speaks about it. Damn.”
I grin wryly.
“Yep. Thankfully, there isn’t any more footage of them. I don’t know what I’d do if there is.”
Jane laughs and says, “You know what? I bet there is. These things aren’t usually one-time events.”
I drop my head into my hands in mock horror.
“Oh fuck. Well, at least they’re married now. Hopefully, I’ll never see it.”
Jane laughs.
“Parents always seem like they know when you’re going wrong. If you sense that everything’s okay, then it probably is.”
I chuckle, “I suppose it seems that way. Anyways, I hope you know I am 100% behind my daughter and her husband now.”
“Of course, Brent,” she smiles gently. “You’re a fantastic grandfather.”
I pause for a moment.
“It’s weird to hear that word describing me,” I admit. “But I also sort of love it, you know? Fannie and Freddie are wonderful kids, and very smart. They have huge hearts, too. Did I ever tell you about when Freddie dropped his ice cream?”
“No,” she smiles as we start hiking again.
“Fannie gave hers to him, straight away. She doesn’t even ask for a replacement, she just gives him hers, like she hasn’t been looking forward to her own cone. I couldn’t have better grandchildren, if I say so myself.” Then, I notice the look on Jane’s face. “What? What’s wrong?”
She smiles.
“You get so happy when you talk about them. It’s really sweet.”
I smile ruefully again.
“I never saw myself as a grandfather, but Fannie and Freddie make it worth the title. And Gray and Harlow clearly love each other, and are excellent parents. He doesn’t stray and he treats his family well.”
Jane laughs.
“Your daughter is head over heels in love with her husband.”
I laugh. “Oh?”
She nods.
“Oh my god, every time I see Harlow now, it’s Gray this, and Gray that. I mean, I get it, they’re married, but my god, he’s just a man.”
“Jealous some?” I interrupt playfully.
“Completely,” she laughs. “Am I that transparent?”
“Methinks she doth protest too much.”
Jane’s quiet for a moment, but then she nods.
“Yeah, maybe. It’s just, their life is soooo perfect, like it’s out of a magazine. It’s kind of annoying, don’t you think?”
I nod and we walk quietly for a while. The late summer breeze has a hint of coolness and I can’t wait for autumn to come. When it does, I want to take Jane to Baja for some sightseeing. But maybe that’s premature. I don’t even know what she wants from me, and suddenly, I’m compelled to ask.
“Do you think your life could be perfect like Harlow’s and Gray’s?”
She smiles and coyly says, “Maybe. I don’t know. Magazine-ready doesn’t sound good to me. I don’t want to hold myself up as a paragon of perfection when we both know I’m not.”
I smile at that, and kiss her gently on her forehead. We hike silently for a bit longer before she says, “Brent?”
“Yes, sweetheart?”
Tentatively, she bites her lip and then asks, “Do you want more kids?”
I think about how to answer her question because I’m not sure what she wants to hear. But then again, there’s no sense in dodging the query. I’ve already made my feelings clear, and I’ll re-state them if need me.
“Yes, honey, I do. I want more children.”
She smiles radiantly. Her sweet brown eyes are radiant, and her lips look like the best dessert I could imagine.
“You don’t think it would be weird if you had grandchildren older than your own children?”
I think a bit on the question and answer in a roundabout way.
“I had a terrible marriage, as you know,” I explain as we hike. “After my divorce fifteen years ago, I was burned out. I thought that more kids were not in my future. It would just be Harlow, and as much as I hate her being an only child, I knew she’d be fine. So I focused on my business. I dated, sure, but it wasn’t anything serious. The women I met were absolutely not maternal, and I was fine with that.”
I pause for a moment before continuing.
“But now, yeah. I want to have more kids. Maybe it’s because of Fannie and Freddie. I don’t know, but something’s changed and I’d love to hear the pitter-patter of small feet again, as cheesy as that sounds.”
Jane’s gone silent, and in fact, she’s not even standing next to me anymore. I turn, and she’s motionless in the woods, a smile on her face.
“Sweetheart, what’s wrong? Is everything okay?”
“I know this sounds weird, but I’m dying to start a family,” she confesses. Her voice cracks with emotion, and she admits, “I feel like being a mother is my purpose in life.”
I shake my head and take one small hand in my own, even as my heart leaps.
“You’re twenty-five, you have your whole life ahead of you, and you haven’t even really started your career yet.”
She shakes her head.
“Brent,” she says firmly. “I am a receptionist at an insurance company. I’ve spent the last few years trying to figure out next steps, and nothing ever really comes to me. I’ve finally realized the reason. It’s because I want to be a mother. That’s my purpose in life. I want a family. I want kids and a husband, and I want the white picket fence. I know this traditional stuff probably sounds weird to say, especially since I’m a college graduate, but it’s true. I don’t want to be some powerful CEO, or to run my own company. I want a family.”
My heart soars and I take her in my arms. Her honesty is refreshing because there’s no scheming, and no games in those soft brown eyes. This woman wants what I want, and our goals are aligned.
I kiss Jane passionately and my voice is soft when I say, “That’s what I want too, sweetheart. Someone who wants to come to Bear Woods for a day, someone with real values, and someone who will raise my children. I want a partner in life whom I adore with lush curves and curly brown hair.” I kiss her again, and this time, we have a meeting of our minds as well as our hearts.