Free Gift With Purchase

by Jackie Pilossoph

  Denny and I kissed for so long that my lips were actually getting chapped. I had no interest in ceasing this very fun activity, though, one because it felt great, but mostly because I knew I was with a good, good man. Was I sure he was my soul mate? No, but I liked him, and that was all I cared about right now.

  Denny and I didn’t just kiss all night. We talked too. He seemed very interested in me and my life, and asked a lot of questions about Isabelle and Solo Chicka’s Salsa. I was more than proud to tell him about both my daughter, and the fact that I might be selling my business to Winchester Foods.

  At 4:00 a.m., we both realized it was probably a good idea for Denny to go home. We had kissed a year’s worth of kisses, all while managing to keep our clothes on, except for a brief moment where Denny lifted up my shirt a little bit to get a glimpse of my belly button.

  “Why do you want to see it?” I asked him.

  “I just want to check it out. Is that cool?”

  “Okay.”

  When Denny saw my belly button, he didn’t say anything. He just sort of studied it, while tracing it with his finger. Now I was getting nervous. “Is there something wrong with my belly button?” I asked him.

  He continued to examine it and still didn’t utter a word.

  “If you don’t say something I’m going to assume it’s weird looking.”

  “It’s cute,” he said with a smile.

  The next day, as I was walking out of one of my client’s stores, I received a text. “I had a great time with you and your cute belly button.”

  My smile was so big I almost had to hide it. What a cutie. I texted back, “I had fun too Den0507. Thanks for exceeding my expectations. U r adorable in real life.”

  My second date with Denny turned out to be that night! Around 7:00, still exhausted from the night before and the four hours of sleep I’d gotten, I got a call.

  “I know this sounds crazy,” he said, “but I don’t have my kids tonight, and if you can get your sister to babysit, I was thinking, without sounding completely perverted, maybe you could come over and I could play with your belly button for a little while.”

  “Hmm…” I said playfully, “I guess we could do that. As long as you know my belly button is the only thing you’ll be playing with.”

  “Oh, then that’s okay. I think I’ll pass.”

  “Denny!” I shouted with a giggle.

  “Just kidding,” he said, “Come over. How do you like your pizza?”

  “Let me put Isabelle to sleep first and then I’ll be over,” I told him, “Cheese, pepperoni and mushroom.”

  The second I hung up, I heard, “Let me guess. You’re going out with Mr. Belly Button again?”

  “Is that wrong?” I asked Laura.

  “No,” she smiled, “It’s great!”

  I put Izzie to bed around 8:30, and then made a mad dash to fix myself up for my new guy. I put on light make-up, old jeans and a tight pink Juicy t-shirt that accented the belly button of which I was now very proud.

  When Denny answered his door, he didn’t say hello. Instead, he grabbed me and kissed me. We must have kissed in the doorway for fifteen minutes before I even walked fully into the house.

  Then the two of us sat at his little kitchen table, eating pizza out of the box and gulping down water out of huge water bottles. While we ate, Denny told me about why he got divorced. He explained that he and his wife had problems, “like everyone else,” but that he thought it was pretty normal and that they would work through them. “When she told me she wanted to separate, it was like someone pulled the rug out. I was completely shocked. And devastated, obviously.”

  “I’m so sorry,” I sympathized.

  Denny asked me about Sam, and I told him what happened. I didn’t get into details, and I didn’t tell him about the fight we had on the night of Sam’s death, but I was honest about the fact that Sam and I weren’t getting along in the days prior to his death.

  “Wow, I’m so sorry,” Denny replied, “That must be really hard.”

  “Yes, it is,” I said, “It was very confusing for a long time, but I’m learning to accept things.”

  “You sound like you have a really good therapist.”

  I smiled. “Their names are Helene, Laura, and Alice.” I left out Luke.

  Denny took my hand and led me into his family room and onto his couch. The first thing he did was pick up my t-shirt and touch my belly button.

  “Do not sleep with him, Emma!” I told myself, “You don’t know him!”

  “I don’t know you!” I exclaimed, quickly sitting up and pushing his hand off of my innie umbilicus. “Did you know that your belly button is technically the scar left from separating from your mother at birth?”

  “So?”

  “So,” I said as I pulled down my tight tee, “You don’t even know my mother, and here you are with your hands all over my belly button that was once attached to her.”

  “What are you trying to say?”

  I stood up. “I’m trying to tell you that I’m not ready for this. I’m not ready for sex and lust and naked bodies.”

  “Okay,” Denny said softly. He sat me back down and put his arm around me. “I’m sorry.”

  “I’m really sorry, Denny. I just want to kiss. I don’t want to get into a physical thing yet.”

  “Don’t worry,” he said softly, “I’ll wait.”

  I looked into his eyes, this seemingly good, decent man, whose divorce was an enigma to me. “How could a woman leave a guy like this?” I asked myself. I couldn’t imagine Denny Fitzpatrick doing anything that was so bad that it warranted a permanent separation. I wondered if I would ever find out for myself.

  Denny took me in his arms and kissed me for a long time, and I realized right then how much the human body, just like it needs food and water, needs strong arms to cover it every now and again. And it was strange. I felt Luke begin to drift away from me. Maybe it was because I had just made a conscious decision to let him go, or maybe I was really connecting with someone else. I wasn’t sure, but at this moment, I decided to give in, let Luke live his life with his family, and allow myself to focus on someone who was unattached, someone who was mentally available, and someone who really seemed to want a relationship with me. Maybe in life, timing was much more powerful than love.

  .

  Chapter 31

  The next morning, Izzie went to school, Laura went to work, and the second the house was empty, I picked up the phone and called Philip Warren (who I’d been playing phone tag with for almost a week) to discuss the potential sale of Solo Chicka’s Salsa.

  Surprisingly, he answered his phone and we ended up having a long conversation. At times, my mind drifted to one of Phillip’s co-workers. I wondered how old Phil would react if I told him about my steamy relationship with a certain information systems guy over there. Yes, there were ten thousand Winchester employees working in Phil’s branch alone, but still, there was a chance he knew Preston. Unlikely, but possible.

  It was difficult not to think about Preston while talking to someone from his company, but when Phil began throwing out numbers in regards to what he thought Solo Chicka’s Salsa was worth, I quickly stopped obsessing over the womanizer who had dropped off the face of the earth.

  “How did you come across my company?” I asked Phil.

  He explained that one of the executives from Winchester had noticed my salsa in a store and had told Phil about the opportunity.

  “After several hours of research,” Phil said, “I came to the conclusion that it makes financial sense and could increase profitability of Winchester’s Mexican snack division.”

  Phil and I set up a meeting for two weeks from the following day, and the second I hung up, Denny called.

  “I miss you,” he said.

  “You just saw me twelve hours ago.”

  “I still miss you,” he repeated.

  “Me too,” I said with a smile. What an endearing person he was, open and honest, and unafraid t
o admit his feelings. “This is so easy,” I told myself. “No complications, no guessing games, and most importantly, no ex-wives coming back into the picture.”

  Denny and I began seeing each other over the next couple of weeks, every chance we got. Quick lunches, dinner dates when Laura or my parents could babysit, phone conversations that lasted for hours, and the ultimate, a late-night visit from my guy, simply for a good night kiss and nothing else.

  It was a Tuesday night around 10:30, and I was just finishing up a batch of my latest concoction, Blueberry Patch salsa, when I got a text from Denny. “I’m stopping by for two minutes. Is that okay?”

  “Sure,” I responded.

  My sister, who was helping me with the dishes was ecstatic. A few minutes later, we heard a light knock on the door. I opened it.

  “Hi,” said Denny with a huge grin, “I came to kiss you good-night.”

  “Uh…this is my sister,” I said quickly, in an effort to show him we were not alone.

  Denny extended a handshake as he made his way into the house. “Nice to meet you. Can I kiss you goodnight, too?” he joked.

  Laura grinned, “Want to sit down and have some chips and salsa?”

  Denny accepted the offer and the three of us ended up chatting for an hour or so, until Laura said she was going to bed.

  Denny left shortly after. “Sleep well, sweet girl,” he said, after a long goodnight kiss in the doorway. I stood there smiling while I watched him walk to his car.

  I think it was at that moment that I decided I was ready to give myself to Denny, this adorable guy who had just made a special trip to my house to kiss my lips without any agenda or other motives attached. I didn’t mean just physically giving myself to him, although that was part of it. But I wanted to give Denny all I could emotionally, as well. It was time. Time to take a chance again.

  Once in bed, I texted Denny, “I’d like to make dinner for you on Saturday night. What do you think?”

  “Love the idea. Mmmwwwaaahhh…” he responded.

  So that was my plan. Isabelle and Laura would stay at my parent’s house, and I would make my kind-hearted new boyfriend an amazing dinner. And for dessert, he would have me.

  I was even beginning to think I would introduce Izzie to Denny fairly soon. And that was a big deal because I had it in my mind that I didn’t want my child to be exposed to a long line of dates and boyfriends. Any man I would potentially introduce her to would probably be a man who would be in my life for a very long time, perhaps for forever.

  Obviously none of the Matts fit that description, and introducing Preston to Izzie had never been seriously considered, except for the brief period when I thought I may be giving birth to his child. Strangely enough, my gut had always told me that Luke would be the first man in my life to meet my daughter. It was time, however, to tell my gut to go shove it, and move on with my life. Yes, Denny Fitzpatrick would meet Isabelle. And although it would probably be difficult for her to see her mother with someone else, she would like Denny. I was sure of it. Who wouldn’t?

  By the time Saturday came around, I was feeling nervous, but good about turning up the volume a notch on the Denny relationship. This was a big step for me, but I felt ready. I began marinating my flank steak at 8:30 in the morning, and while the meat was successfully soaking I took Izzie to an indoor swimming pool and water park in the area. While she slid down the tube slide for the hundredth time, I couldn’t stop thinking about how it was going to feel to make love with Denny.

  We had certainly waited long enough. Lots of dates, lunches, dinners, visits to each other’s houses, and all we had done was kiss. Taking things to a new level physically was probably going to change everything, and would hopefully draw us even closer than we were. These thoughts were both joyous and scary.

  I got a text from Alice. “Good luck tonight! Just have fun and enjoy yourself.” Then I got a text from Laura. “Stop by Walgreens and buy condoms. That was from Mom too.”

  I dropped off Izzie at my parent’s house, and then I went home to tend to my meat. When I pulled into the driveway, I noticed a bag sitting outside my front door. I went into the house through the garage and immediately ran to the door to see what it was. Inside the bag was a big white box with a pink bow around it. There was no writing and no card on the box.

  I took it inside and put it on the kitchen table, and then I opened it. Immediately, I began to giggle. Inside the box, wrapped in tissue paper was a big huge box of Tootsie Pop lollipops. I realized instantly, there was only one person who would send these to me. I was equally elated and angry at the same time. Only Luke would have this kind of timing. Only Luke would send me a gift on the exact day I had a major milestone occurring. Just like he showed up to rescue me at the jogging path just hours before my first date with Preston, Luke was showing up now, only this time in the form of hard candy. Why was he always putting himself inside my heart just when I felt I was on the brink of true happiness with someone else? It was outrageously disturbing. And exciting.

  A card was taped to the box. “Emma,” it read, “If you’re up for it, I’d like to start taking some licks. Luke.”

  I stood there with my jaw on the ground, shocked for a second at the notion that Luke was pursuing me. I realized that things with his wife must be over, and this was his way of telling me that. His timing, however, couldn’t have been worse.

  What about Denny? What about the man who had made our relationship from day one effortless, fun and worry-free? Wasn’t he the obvious choice? I found myself furious. How dare Luke confuse me! Just because he and his wife decided to call it quits (again), I was supposed to drop everything?

  I put the lollipop box down and then I took a seat at the kitchen table and I sat there for a moment, angry and wanting to cry. Why was I so upset? Was it relief that Luke had finally come around? Or maybe I was frustrated. Deep down though, I knew exactly what was making me so upset. Guilt. I felt like a criminal who just did something majorly illegal. Why? Because sitting here staring at the box of Tootsie Pops in front of me, I was wishing it was Luke coming to my house tonight for flank steak.

  “What’s wrong with dating both of them?” Laura asked me. I had called over at my parents and requested she stop over. She was sitting at my kitchen table sucking on a cherry Tootsie Pop.

  “I’m not really the kind of person who can do that,” I responded, “You know…multiple dates with different guys. I’m a one guy at a time kind of girl.”

  “I wish I could tell you what to do,” she said, “What does your heart say?”

  “Luke, Luke, Luke! But the practical side is calling Denny.”

  “Well don’t make any decisions tonight. I mean, just enjoy your dinner with Denny and see how things go.”

  At that moment I got a text. I looked at it in disbelief. It was from Preston. “I miss you,” it read, “Will you be my Tootsie Pop? How many licks does it take to get to your center?”

  Laura told me she would never have believed the coincidence of the Tootsie Pop analogy had I not shown her the actual text message on my phone. I agreed wholeheartedly. What were the odds that two men I knew would both compare me (on the same day, mind you) to a household name in lollipops?

  “How do you feel?” Laura asked.

  “Angry!” I exclaimed, “I never thought I’d hear from Preston again. I was hoping the next time I saw him would be in the hallway at Winchester, right after I make my million dollar deal! What gives him the right, after all this time, to sext me?”

  “It seems like it’s just his style. I’m sure he misses you.”

  I knew she was right, but I was infuriated by his fun, casual message. Didn’t Preston owe me an apology for staying away for so long? Did he expect me to jump right back into bed with him after everything that happened?

  Between Denny and Luke and Preston, my mind was racing. Three completely different guys. Three very different relationships. Each one unique. Three guys, each who meant such different things to me. To sa
y I was confused was an understatement.

  .

  Chapter 32

  Five minutes before Denny got to my house, my cell phone rang. I saw it was Luke calling, therefore there was no chance I was taking the call. I couldn’t handle it right now, so I continued cutting up vegetables for the salad while I waited for him to leave a message. Two minutes later, I listened to it.

  “Hi, Emma, it’s Luke. Just calling to see if you got my gift.” He chuckled at this point. Luke seemed nervous and it was kind of funny. “I wanted to see if you’d like to get together and go out and talk. Give me a call and let me know. Thanks. Have a great night.”

  Luke’s message was so hard to hear. I wanted to call him back and tell him he had the worst timing in the world! I had felt so sure about Denny, and now, just because Luke dropped a hundred lollipops off at my door, I had doubt. Add to the mix the crazy text I’d gotten from Preston, and it was a recipe for mayhem.

  I wasn’t considering getting together with the sexter, but I did have the desire to call him and let him know how inappropriate his message was, how disappointed I was that he had so easily dismissed me after the miscarriage, and how he had no right to pop (no pun intended) back into my life and ask if he could lick me.

  By the time Denny rang my doorbell, I was a bundle of nerves. When I answered the door, my dinner date attacked me with kisses. Had this been yesterday, or any time before I received the Costco size box of Tootsie Pops, I’d have kissed him back, perhaps for hours. Who knew? Maybe we would have skipped dinner and gone right upstairs to officially turn our relationship into a love affair. But things were different now. Luke had complicated things. And I hated him for that. And loved him for the same reason.

  Denny sensed my hesitation immediately. “What’s wrong?” he asked me, “You seem jittery. Are you nervous I may not like your cooking?”

  “No,” I lied, “I’m fine. How about some wine?”

  “Sure.”

  From that moment on, the entire night seemed forced. It was awkward, strange, and so completely different than the other ten times we’d been together. All our conversations dragged. Being with him was uncomfortable and weird. But I was taking credit for all of it. It was my issue.