Juliette and the Monday ManDates

by Becky Doughty

  "Oh my goodness, Juju! You let that man sweet talk you in the middle of the night, didn't you? Please tell me you didn't do anything stupid." Sharon was appalled.

  "Besides telling him he was manly three times? No."

  "Juliette Gustafson! You didn't!"

  "Don't worry. He was very polite about it all. He didn't even mention it the first time. The second time he teased me a little, and the third time I was so embarrassed, he just left."

  Now Sharon looked confused. "He didn't take advantage of you?"

  "Sharon! No!" Juliette burst out laughing. "Take advantage of me? Woo-hoo! You should have seen me all dolled up in my pink fluffy robe and woolly socks, and crabby as a housecat in the bathtub! I'm surprised he didn't run screaming!"

  "I'm surprised, that's all. It just sounds like something he'd totally use to his advantage. And I wouldn't think he'd care what you were wearing, especially showing up at one in the morning like that. What was he expecting? A ball gown?"

  Juliette eyed her friend. "Wow. That was pretty harsh, don't you think? I was under the impression you liked the guy."

  "What? What on earth gave you that idea?" Sharon's voice rose sharply and she stood. "I haven't cared a lick for Mike in a very long time, Juju."

  "Mike?" Juliette's sluggish mind was unable to comprehend the abrupt shift in the direction of their conversation. "My Mike? What are you talking about?"

  They stared at each other for several seconds before Sharon cocked her head and asked, "Juju-bee, who came to your house at one o'clock in the morning?"

  "Officer Jarrett."

  "Oh, my sweet pile of jellybeans!" Sharon collapsed back into her chair. "You freaked me out! I thought Mike came over last night, and I thought Tootles fell in love with Mike, and I thought you called Mike manly three times—" Sharon paused in the middle of her tirade and narrowed her eyes. "Wait a minute. So you're saying that Victor Jarrett came to your house in the middle of the night, won the heart of your dog, and you called him manly, not once, but three times?" She pushed back from her desk and rose, coffee cup in hand, and came around to sit in the chair just across from Juliette, relief turning to delight on her face. "Oh, this is good. Do tell."

  Juliette crossed her arms over her chest and stared at Sharon, understanding finally sinking in. "I can't believe you thought I was talking about Mike!"

  Sharon waved a hand of dismissal in the air. "I don't care about stupid old Mike. I want to know what happened last night!"

  "No. Just for thinking the worst of me, I'm going to let you wonder for a while."

  "Well, it does sound like something he might pull, doesn't it? Did you ever change your locks or does he still have a spare key?"

  Juliette didn't answer right away.

  "See? So I have a very valid excuse for thinking you were talking about Mike. Besides, you said you were mad."

  "Well, I was! I was mad at Bob for not letting me sleep, I was mad at Manly-Man for never calling me, I was mad at Mrs. Cork for calling the cops again, and I was mad at myself for not owning one of those silky robes that doesn't make me look like I raided my grandmother's pajama drawer."

  By the time Juliette had filled her friend in on the events of the night, she was feeling a little better. It helped that Sharon kept plying her with coffee.

  "So he still wants to take you out."

  "He didn't say that."

  "Yes, he did."

  "He said, 'Maybe I'll see you in church."

  "I know what words he used. But he meant he wanted to see you." Sharon rubbed her hands together gleefully. Then she paused, her lips pursed. "I wonder why he's not married yet. I hope he's not a weirdo."

  "Oh, don't say that! I'm running out of nicknames for weirdo men. Although I did call him Officer Meanie Man Jerkett."

  "You called him what?" Sharon gasped, choking on her coffee.

  "I know. I'm an idiot." She shrugged. "But I don't think he's a weirdo." Juliette swept her hands across her keyboard, the gentle clatter of the keys comforting her with its familiarity. "I think he's probably just super careful. I get the feeling he knows what he wants and won't settle for anything less. Like me. He's so far out of my league, Sharon. He's got his whole life in order; a career he loves, a great circle of friends, a church. Not weird. Perfect. And I don't do so well living up to perfect. Just ask Mike."

  "Stop talking, Juliette. You're starting to tick me off." Sharon set her cup down on Juliette's desk and leaned forward so she was looking her friend in the eye. "You listen to me. Mike is not the measure of a man. Nor is he something to measure other men by. He is a fool, do you hear me? Why can't you get this?" She stood up and started pacing the room, then stopped, her back to the office door, both hands on her hips.

  "Just because Mike treated you like dirt, doesn't make you dirt. Just because Mike didn't respect you, doesn't mean you don't deserve respect. Just because Mike didn't lift you up, does not mean you have to lie down and get walked on by everyone else. And just because Mike couldn't see the real you, doesn't mean you're not royalty. You're a princess, Juliette Gustafson, and you deserve to be treated like one. That's the way God sees you so why should you or anyone else see you any differently? You are not out of anyone's league, do you hear me? Stop settling for less!" She took a deep breath then let it all out in a whoosh of air. "Now I need to go to the little girl's room."

  "Oldest escape route in the world," Juliette muttered under her breath. She turned toward her window overlooking the manicured campus lawns. She knew her friend wasn't trying to get away from her. So why did her bolstering words feel more like flying fists today?

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  SHORTLY AFTER JULIETTE arrived home from work, Mrs. Cork was knocking on her door, a covered dish in hand. Juliette had to force her jaw not to drop—Mr. Bobo was on a leash! Tootles-Bob launched himself out the front door between Juliette's legs, and he and Mr. Bobo did their meet-and-greet dance all over again.

  "I brought you a casserole," Mrs. Cork said, stepping adroitly over the leash as Mr. Bobo ducked between her legs. "I hope you like chicken and broccoli."

  "Mrs. Cork, oh my!" Juliette was at a complete loss.

  "Well, I thought it was the least I could do to help. I know how difficult a new dog can be, and I wasn't very understanding last night. I'd like to try to make amends, and food often opens closed doors."

  Juliette could hardly believe her ears as she held open the door for her neighbor and her food. And the dogs. Unsure what the protocol was for this awkward, albeit hopeful situation, she said, "Well, the thought of cooking was giving me a headache. In fact, I was just getting ready to call Mr. Chen Yu over at The Green Dragon." She paused for just a heartbeat. "Would you like to join me for dinner?"

  "That's all right. We've already eaten. But thank you just the same."

  "Oh. Okay. Um, would you like a drink? I just put on some tea water."

  "That's all right," she said again. "We're going to call it an early night ourselves, aren't we, Mr. Bobo?" The little dog was nowhere to be seen, having followed Tootles-Bob into the kitchen, and the muscles around Juliette's heart squeezed a little over the thought of how lonely the woman must be. Was Mr. Bobo her only friend?

  "Well, maybe another time, then." An idea popped into her head, and before she could reconsider, she said, "Mrs. Cork, would you like to go to church with me this coming Saturday night?"

  The light that came on in the woman's eyes was something to behold. "Oh. Well. I haven't been to church in a long time. I—I think I'd like that."

  "Then it's a date," Juliette smiled weakly. "Church is at seven so if you come a little early, we can get there in time to choose our seats. And of course, Mr. Bobo is welcome to stay here with Tootles. Bob. Will that work?"

  "Yes. I think that will be just fine. Thank you." Mrs. Cork turned toward the sound of scuffling dogs in the kitchen and called for Mr. Bobo. The fur-ball came bounding in, panting and happy, and she scooped him up in her arms. "We'll see you Saturday t
hen, if not sooner. Bye-bye, Bob." And she headed out the door without looking back.

  "Well!" said Juliette to herself. Tootles-Bob licked her foot supportively. Neither one of them knew quite what to think of Mrs. Cork's and Mr. Bobo's visit, but Juliette was glad it had been brief. All she wanted to do was eat, and shower, and go to bed. Or, rather, to couch.

  BY THE TIME SHE CLOCKED out on Friday, Juliette was ready for some down time. Between the nights spent sleeping on her lumpy sofa, and a last-minute induction into a planning committee for a new exchange student program, Juliette wanted nothing more than to lose herself in a chick-flick and chocolate marathon. She didn't really want to spend it alone, but she knew Sharon and Chris had a busy weekend planned. Phoebe hated chick-flicks unless they were foreign films with or without subtitles, and Ren hadn't been an option since her wedding night. But perhaps Gia would be game.

  Her little sister was thrilled and suggested they start early, making it an all-nighter. "I brought my Eden Rising movies!" Gia held up the box set as she walked in the front door. Since Juliette hadn't seen any of them, they watched them, one right after the other, with only a dinner run to The Green Dragon in between the first and second movie. They also made a quick stop on the way back at Mona's, to stock up on sticky buns for breakfast, and a few chocolate essentials to keep their energy up throughout the night.

  Tootles-Bob was in heaven with the attention of not one, but two Gustafson girls, and he rewarded them by being on his best behavior. By the time the credits rolled on the last of the series, all three of them were burrowed down into Movie Night Pillowland, a mass of pillows and blankets on the floor in front of the television. Juliette woke up just enough to hit the power button on the remote.

  Saturday morning started out with a face-wash, courtesy of Tootles-Bob, and Juliette sat up and hollered, "Agh! I've been kissed by a dog!"

  "Good morning to you, Lucy," Gia chortled from under the blanket she'd pulled up over her own face to protect it from Tootles-Bob's lavish adoration. "I'll make the coffee if you want."

  Juliette shoved Tootles-Bob off her blanket. "Since when do you drink coffee?"

  "I started a new job a few weeks ago. At Café Rico," Gia said proudly, standing and stretching.

  "I didn't even know you were looking. Congratulations!" Juliette hugged her warmly, a bit surprised at how grown up her little sister felt in her arms. She stepped back and looked at her, pushing a red corkscrew curl away from her eyes. "So what happened to Katie Girl?" Gia had been working part time after school at a children's clothing boutique for nearly two years, and Juliette thought she liked the job.

  "I'm still working there. I needed more hours but my boss couldn't give me any, so I took the job at the coffee shop, too. According to Rico, I can make a mean cup of java."

  "Is that a good thing?" Juliette teased, placing Mona's sticky buns in a glass casserole dish and sliding them into the toaster oven. She opened the slider to let Tootles-Bob out back.

  "I don't know," Gia admitted. "All coffee tastes mean to me. I just paid attention to what people said they liked the first several times I made the coffee, then tried to brew it the same way the next time."

  "Clever girl, Clarice."

  "Ugh. I hate it when you quote that movie." Gia shivered, scrunching up her face.

  "Habit. Sorry. I don't know why I used to like it so much. How about this one? 'If you brew it, they will come.'"

  "Clever girl, Clarice."

  "Touché, Gia." Juliette turned away quickly, not wanting her little sister to see her blush as she remembered Victor saying the same thing to her.

  Soon the whole house smelled like French roast and cinnamon, and the girls salivated as they straightened the living room. They decided to eat out on the back patio so Tootles-Bob could run around and sniff Mr. Bobo through the fence while they enjoyed the crisp fall morning. Still in their pajamas, they bundled up in blankets, foregoing the formality of robes, and headed out with their morning victuals.

  "Is it all right if I thank God for Mona's buns?" Gia smirked, but bowed her head in agreement while Juliette said a simple prayer. "Lord, thank You for this time You've given me with Gia. Thank you for Mona and her delicious baked goods, and thanks retroactively for Mr. Chen Yu at the Green Dragon since I forgot to pray before dinner last night. He really knows how to cook a noodle." She dropped her voice to nearly a whisper and added, "And help things to go well with Mrs. Cork tonight. Amen."

  When Juliette raised her head, Gia whispered discreetly back, "Your neighbor?" But her face was filled with curious questions.

  Juliette nodded and broke off a dripping chunk of cinnamon roll. "I'll tell you about it when we go back inside," she mumbled, then shoved the piece into her mouth. When she finally managed to swallow the bite, her voice was filled with awe. "I don't know how Mona does it."

  After breakfast, they gathered up their dishes to head back inside. "Tootles! Bob!" Juliette called, and Gia eyed her curiously. "That's part of the story. Inside." They quickly and companionably washed up after breakfast, and Juliette fixed herself another cup of coffee. "Barista Gia, Rico is right. This coffee is sans imperfection; perfect."

  Gia poured herself a glass of milk. "Do you want to see how I drink coffee?" Then she added a splash of coffee to the top of her glass, and a heaping spoonful of sugar, and stirred. Taking a sip, she nodded, and said, "Sans imperfection; perfect." They settled into either end of the sofa and Gia prompted her for information. "So? Mrs. Cork?"

  Juliette squinted against the morning sun pouring through the front window. It warmed the room, so instead of closing the blinds, she turned more fully toward Gia. "Believe it or not, she and Mr. Bobo—her dog—brought me dinner Wednesday night, so I invited her to come to church with me tonight."

  "Okay. Wow. What happened?" Gia's eyes were wide, a glass blue made brighter framed by all her copper curls. "I mean, the last time I was over here you weren't even speaking to her and now you two are hanging out and you know her dog by name!"

  Juliette smiled as she told Gia about her midnight mediator. "And now you also know how Tootles became Tootles-Bob."

  "So this is the guy you were telling us about at the last G-FOURce?"

  "It is." Juliette grinned. "Anyway, so now Mrs. Cork and I are being nice to each other because Mr. Bobo and Tootles-Bob want to be friends."

  "You might as well just call him Bob, Jules. Tootles is a cute name, but it seems to me that Bob likes Bob, not Tootles."

  Juliette sighed resignedly. "I know. I think I'm just resisting because of some weird control issue. My dog; I should get to name him, right?"

  "I can totally see that." Gia was nodding her head, a strange look on her face.

  "What?" Juliette asked, nudging her with her socked foot.

  "You're just different somehow, Jules. I mean, you bring home a dog, you hardly ever talk about Mike anymore, you go to church, you speak up for yourself, but it's not in a mean way, you know? And now you're making friendly with the neighbor you've hated for eternity. And you even called me to come over here and hang out with you for no reason except to...to...hang out. You used to just do stuff alone. Or just with Sharon. It's like you're freer or something. Not so careful and worried all the time."

  "Really? Actually, I do feel more ... more awake, I guess."

  "See? You're still the old you, but it's like you're all wrapped up in a new version of you." Gia cocked her head and looked sideways at her sister. "I loved the old you, don't get me wrong. But whatever is going on with you is pretty cool."

  "And I have you to thank for it."

  "Me?" Gia pressed a hand to her sternum. "What did I do?"

  "You put Trevor on the Monday ManDate list."

  "Who?"

  "Trevor. Taz."

  "Oh, yeah. I always forget his real name is Trevor." Gia reached over and flipped Bob's ears back, turning them inside out. Bob just shook them back into place and licked her toes.

  "He helped me see Jesus in a way I'd nev
er seen Him before and I'm telling you what, Gia. It's changed the way I see almost everything. And everyone." Suddenly she heard Sharon's rant from earlier that week echoing in her mind. That's the way God sees you, so why should you or anyone else see you any differently? "Except for the way I see myself," she frowned, the words rocketing through her as she said them. "Ow. That kinda hurts."

  "What's wrong?" Gia looked concerned.

  "I'm fine," Juliette whispered. "I'm just a little overwhelmed. By grace. By God." She wasn't quite sure how to explain it to Gia.

  But to her surprise, the girl nodded, her own eyes glistening in sympathy. "I know what you mean. Sometimes, out of nowhere, I'll think about something God's done for me, and I'll just start crying like a baby."

  Juliette stared at Gia, stunned by her words. "What? You're a Christian, too?"

  Gia shrugged, and dropped her gaze to her lap where she was picking at her cuticles. "Yeah."

  "Why didn't you say anything when I told everyone about me at our last G-FOURce?"

  "I kinda didn't want Phoebe to feel too awkward, you know? She'd be the only one not."

  Juliette shook her head, amazed at what she was hearing. She'd learned so much about her sisters these last few weeks, things she should have known long ago had she been paying attention to anyone but herself. And the fact that Gia tried to be so sensitive to Phoebe said a lot about the youngest Gustafson girl. Juliette reached over and squeezed her hands.

  "You're something else, little girl."

  The girl rubbed her foot down Bob's side. "That's what Grandpa always says."

  "He's right. You are." Juliette had an idea. "Hey. Do you want to go to church with me and Mrs. Cork? Officer Jarrett is supposed to be there, too. If he is, I'll introduce you."

  Gia's eyes lit up almost as much as Mrs. Cork's had. "Are you serious? I can meet Officer Hot on Your Tail? That's what Ren calls him," she explained quickly.

  "If he's there, and we run into him, yes. I'd love to get your opinion about him."