Not quite.
On the career/occupation front, I’m painting my heart out and loving it. Ted was crazy for the portrait I did of Alyssa, which in turn spawned more work. I’d never intended to go into portraiture, but that’s what’s happened, so I’m just going with the flow. Strangely enough, however, I’m still at Alsworth’s, too. Apparently there are two “mes,” and one of them still wants to do interior design. So I’m one busy little bee.
Nonna moved out to Brooklyn to live with Sonya in October, only to call right before Christmas, begging to come back right before Christmas. Living with another “old bitty,” as she put it, drove her pazzo. So we’re all still together, although we’ve hired one of Benita Ortiz’s younger sisters to help with the housework and child care when both Nedra and I have to be away.
And in other news…Terrie finally broke it off with Davis, which wasn’t exactly a surprise, but I was still bummed. I’m really sorry she didn’t have the guts to give it a chance. But we all have to figure out these things on our own, and I still love her.
As for Bill Munson and my mother, well, Nedra’s right. They’d never make it as a couple, even though he was present at Hillary’s birth, and is crazy about his daughter. But you want to hear the kicker to all this? I don’t know the whole story, since Bill seemed a little vague on the details himself, but apparently Phyllis Munson finally realized she was tired of sacrificing herself for her husband and his career, so she walked out. Bill says she says I inspired her. I’m still reeling from that one. And last I heard, Greg’s apparently dating a local newscaster, a sweet blond thing with a finely honed killer instinct. So much for ethnic diversity. It will be interesting to see whether he actually does run for office.
But of course, what you really want to know is what happened between me and Nick, right? Well…consider it a work in progress. There’s been no one else for either of us since last summer, and we call each other every day, and he and Nonna and Nedra all get on like gangbusters…but he’s got his hands full with his new daughter, and I’ve got my hands full making up for lost time in the Unearth the Real Ginger department. Gotta find my own soul first, then I’ll worry about the soul mate.
Except, you know, it’s like Nedra said: the right man can really help in that department. And Nick has certainly been more than ready and willing to give me a kick in the pants whenever I’ve been tempted to slip back into old, pointless habits. And then he just happened to mention the other day that the building next to his was on the market, and he was thinking of buying it, and that there was plenty of room for, well, everybody.
And then he did that grinning thing.
I’ve got to think about this. I mean, combine our families? Raise his daughter and my sister together?
Marry a cop? A pushy cop?
Live in Brooklyn?
Criminy. I’d never be by myself again.
Which, come to think of it, doesn’t sound like such a bad deal, huh?
LOOSE SCREWS
A Red Dress Ink novel
ISBN: 978-1-4592-4856-4
© 2002 Karen Templeton-Berger.
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