Man of the House: An Older Man Younger Woman Romance

by Sarah Rowling

  Where was he now, though? She couldn’t remember him waking her up to tell her he was leaving. She couldn’t remember anything after falling asleep, which meant that she slept mostly uninterrupted.

  James had just left last night without saying a word. Was that all she was to him? She had been right to doubt him after all. He had just had sex with her and left, the way he had done with every other woman he ever desired.

  Diana got up from her bed, feeling somewhat miserable. She felt stupid for having felt so much for him, for thinking that he felt the same way. It was clear that he had just wanted sex from the get-go, it was Diana who forced him into this self-imposed mold where he could be the kind of man she wanted him to be.

  He was who he was, there was no shame in that. She couldn’t blame him, especially when he was so open about his personality.

  Diana suddenly thought to check her phone. Perhaps James had left her a message. However, when she looked at her phone, she found out that the only person who had contacted her last night was Robert.

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake, Robert,” Diana murmured to herself. “I can’t deal with this right now. What a fucking child.”

  Diana deleted the messages without looking at them and went to take a shower. She wondered what James was doing right now, what had made him leave last night without even trying to say goodbye, without even leaving her a message.

  Diana then pushed these thoughts out of her mind. There was simply no use thinking this way. What was done was done. She and James had had amazing sex, but it was over now. To be fair, Diana had gotten what she had wanted just like James had. She had wanted to have sex with him, and even though she would have liked something beyond sex, too, it was unfair of her to demand that of him. They were both adults, they would move on.

  As Diana was getting dressed, her phone rang. For a moment, she thought James had finally decided to call her, but it turned out to be Robert.

  Diana was annoyed but she calmed herself and answered the call. “Yes, Robert?” she said, polite but curt. “You’ll need to be quick, I’m getting ready for work.”

  “Hey,” said Robert. “I’m calling to tell you that my fiancée and I broke up.”

  “Oh, really?” said Diana sardonically. “You mean the way you guys broke up before?”

  She felt that this time was different though. The sarcasm was instinctive, it was a way for her to emotionally shield herself, but judging from the tone of Robert’s voice, this seemed to be a completely different situation. He seemed morose, repentant, but he also seemed hopeful, and Diana found that to be unbearably annoying.

  “No,” said Robert. “This time, it’s for real. She found out about us. About what I did. She left me.”

  Diana sat down. In spite of her annoyance, she felt sorry for the poor guy. He was a sweet guy, if misguided. She wished she could help in some way, but she was dealing with so much of her own shit that doing so would drain her of what strength she still had.

  “I’m really sorry, sweetie,” said Diana. “That’s sad. But I can’t do anything about it now, what’s done is done. I admit that it was my fault for having invited you over that night, but you were the one who kissed me before I even knew you were engaged. You were the one who lied to me when I became uncertain about having sex with you, when I started feeling guilty about the fact that you had committed yourself to someone else.”

  “We can give it a shot now,” said Robert. “We can try to do better. We have a spark, a connection. The main thing keeping you distant from me was my fiancée, wasn’t it? Well, she’s gone now. You don’t have to worry about her anymore.”

  Diana sighed. He was so sad right now. She could hear it in his voice. What frustration and anger towards him she had left drained out of her. Now she was just empty, except for a little bit of sadness that James had left.

  “It won’t work out,” said Diana. “We both used each other. What we had was brief. Enjoyable, but brief, and it’s over now.”

  Robert was silent. “Goodbye, Robert,” said Diana, and she cut the call.

  She then got herself dressed as fast as she could. She was late today. It was excusable, because she had worked so late last night, but there was some guilt she still felt for what had happened between her and James. Additionally, she felt like she would have to work extra hard to cover up for how late she was today.

  Deciding to grab breakfast on the way to work, Diana grabbed her car keys and left.

  Chapter Two

  When Diana got to work, she found out that James had yet to come in. She was surprised at this. She could understand him leaving last night, but she didn’t think that he would miss work. Eventually, Diana remembered the reason he was late for work the last time.

  She suddenly got worried. What if something had happened to Richard? What if James had left last night because his father had gotten sick again? Diana started to panic, then calmed herself. There was no reason to jump to conclusions. If she felt that Richard was in trouble, she should call.

  However, when she tried both Richard and James, neither of them answered the call. Frustrated, uncertain, and worried out of her mind, Diana decided that the best thing to do now was immerse herself in work. There were a dozen different things that had piled up because of the fact that she was late for work, so she started tackling her tasks one by one.

  Eventually, it was time for lunch and her and Bess walked to the restaurant where they always had lunch. Diana had a feeling her best friend was going to love today’s gossip session.

  “So,” said Bess with a smile. “You and James worked late last night, didn’t you?”

  “Yeah...” said Diana. “What you think happened is what happened, Bess.”

  “No way,” said Bess excitedly. “You guys actually did it? But... if you did it, then why are you so sad?”

  Diana smiled sadly and said, “I was right. He just wanted sex, not a relationship. This morning when I woke up, he wasn’t there. He didn’t stay for breakfast, didn’t wake me up to say goodbye, didn’t even call me or leave me a message. Nothing. Then I realized when he didn’t come in for work that he might be looking after his father and I got worried, but neither James nor Richard answered when I called. Now I’m just worried out of my mind.”

  Bess reached out and touched her best friend’s hand comfortingly, saying, “Oh, babe, I’m sorry. I wish it didn’t work out the way it did. I’m sure there is a reasonable explanation though. You and James have a connection, no matter what he might do or you might think. I think that when you see James again, he will explain himself and even if you two don’t end up together, at least you will be able to reconcile what you guys feel for each other.”

  “Yeah,” said Diana. “I hope so.”

  “What else is new?” said Bess, chowing down on her food.

  Diana made a face and said, “Robert. He called me yesterday to tell me he was no longer interested in buying the house. Was hoping that we would get together now that he was no longer my client.”

  “What an asshole!” said Bess. “As if him being your client had anything to do with it. I mean, did he even apologize?”

  “Nope,” said Diana. “Not even. He actually thought that our professional relationship was more of a problem than the fact that he was engaged and lied about it.”

  “Was?” asked Beth.

  “Oh,” said Diana, suddenly remembering this morning’s call after forgetting it in the incessant worry about James and his father. “Yeah,” she continued. “I had completely forgotten in all of the worry about Richard. He called me this morning to tell me that his fiancée had left him. Apparently, she found out about us. He was hoping that now that his fiancée was no longer in the picture, that he would no longer be cheating, and we could be together. He was actually talking about it, and it couldn’t have been more than half a day since his fiancée had left him.”

  “What is up with this guy?” said Bess, fuming now. “I can’t believe I told you to actually hear him out. I gue
ss I thought too much of him. I thought he’d have the most basic decency, that he at the very least would not ask you out again. I mean, that’s just the lowest of the low, you know? I guess I assumed he’d be able to act like an adult. I guess some men just don’t know how to take a hint, they want what they want and assume they have a right to get it without having to suffer the consequences of their actions.”

  Diana was silent for a moment before saying, “I guess I agree. But you were right, too, he’s just a human being. He’s obviously very sad, unhappy with his life. I guess I represented a moment of excitement for him, and he wanted to prolong it. He just wants happiness just like the rest of us, it’s not his fault. I don’t exactly forgive him, but I do understand.”

  “Wow, Diana,” said Bess. “Super mature of you. I’m proud!”

  Diana smiled at her friend. With so much going on, she was glad that she had Bess remain a constant, an anchor as it were. Her feelings about James were tumultuous, Richard’s future was a mystery, Robert just kept disappointing her, but Bess remained strong and wise and Diana was utterly grateful to have her as a friend.

  Eventually, the two friends finished their lunches but decided to extend their lunch break a little. Diana had been working incredibly hard, and the company was only running smoothly because of her hard work. She deserved a little break.

  After about half an hour more of gossip, where Bess told Diana about her new boyfriend and how excited she was about him, the two friends headed back to the office. Diana was a little sad that her friend was finding happiness but she was not resentful. Her friend deserved as much happiness as she could get.

  When Diana reached her office, she had a surprise waiting for her. It was not James as she had been hoping. Standing there in the waiting area outside her office was Robert.

  Chapter Thee

  For a moment, Diana simply gaped at Robert, unable to fully comprehend that he was here at her place of work. She looked at him up and down, saw that he was holding flowers.

  Diana was furious, but he looked so hopeful. He looked like a puppy that had brought a stick, hoping to be petted. She couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

  “Hey, Diana,” said Robert with as much cheerfulness as he seemed to be able to muster. “I thought we’d go have lunch.”

  “I just had lunch,” said Diana, frozen in place.

  “Yeah, I figured,” said Robert with a laugh. “I’ve been waiting here for about an hour.”

  “Why?” said Diana. “Why did you even come here?”

  Robert looked uncertain now, and he was holding the bouquet in his hands as if it were the rope that was keeping him from plummeting into oblivion.

  Diana sighed and said, “Come into my office.”

  Robert followed her in, and both of them sat down on the three seater sofa Richard had brought in when he decided he would start seeing big clients in there and wanted them to be comfortable.

  Robert smiled at her, trying to seem nonchalant. Diana couldn’t take it anymore.

  “Robert,” said Diana. “I understand. I understand that you want a change in your life. Maybe you just want a woman who seems exciting to you, maybe the affair made you feel like you were involved in something that seemed more real. I don’t know. The point is that I am not interested in you anymore.”

  “Diana,” said Robert. “I left my fiancée for you. What more do you want?”

  “You left her?” said Diana, raising an eyebrow. “I thought you said she left you.”

  “We had a fight,” said Robert. “She had found out about you and wanted to know why I had done what I had done. I didn’t have an answer. She asked he if I had ever even loved her. I told her the truth. I told her that I had always loved her, that I had just... I just didn’t know why I had cheated on her. She started crying, I didn’t know what to do. I just wanted to get out of there. Eventually, she said that she wanted to work things out if I was willing. I... I told her that I didn’t want to be with her anymore.”

  “That’s awful, Robert,” said Diana. “If she was willing to work things out, why didn’t you agree to it?”

  Robert let out a frustrated sigh and said, “Because I don’t want to be with her. We had known each other ever since we were kids. Everyone thought that we were going to end up together. Everyone just assumed that because we had known each other for so long that we were meant to be together, that we were perfect for each other. We weren’t, we weren’t even close to being perfect for each other.”

  “What makes you say that?” Diana asked.

  “We have nothing in common,” said Robert. “She likes reality shows, for God’s sake. I read Shakespeare. Any night that we don’t have plans, we just end up watching Die Hard because that’s what she wants to watch. She never wants to watch anything I want to watch. She never even considering becoming a vegetarian, even though knows how important my vegetarianism is to me. She never thinks about what I would want, she just thinks that now that we are getting married, everything is just going to happen according to what she wants.”

  “Well then what makes you say you loved her?” asked Diana. “You were so upset with the way she treated you, I’m having a hard time believing that you were ever really in love with her.”

  “I mean...” Robert started. “I guess that... she was nice once, you know. She was... pleasant.”

  “Come on, Robert,” said Diana with a laugh. “You can’t fall in love with someone because you think that they’re ‘pleasant’. What does that even mean? Did you think she was beautiful? Were there things she did that you couldn’t get enough of? Was there anything annoying about her that you found endearing?”

  “Well...” said Robert. “No, there wasn’t anything like that.”

  “Then you weren’t in love,” said Diana. “You probably just believed you were because that’s what everyone expected of you. Being with someone for a very long time can give you the impression that you love them, but in reality, you’re just used to them, you know? Besides, if you had really been in love with her, you would have never cheated. No matter how attracted to me you were, you just wouldn’t have been able to bring yourself to have sex with me because you would have just thought of her the whole time.”

  “I guess you’re right,” said Robert. “All I wanted was to be away from her, to find some kind of escape where I wouldn’t have to think about her.”

  “I think I am,” said Diana. “We can’t be together because I honestly just can’t see you that way anymore. Not to mention the fact that I am sort of head over heels for someone else. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t talk. We don’t have to be together, you know? We can just be friends.”

  “Are you sure?” said Robert. “Even though I have behaved this way with you?”

  “Even though you’ve behaved this way with me, and even though I behaved terribly with you, too,” said Diana with a smile.

  Robert smiled at her, then averted his gaze, saying, “I’m sorry, Diana. I’m so sorry I used you to cheat on my fiancée. And I’m really sorry that I kept hounding you like this, I don’t know what came over me.”

  Robert looked at her and said it once more, “I’m sorry. I really am.”

  Diana kept smiling. “It’s alright, Robert,” she said, placing a hand on his. “It’s alright.”

  Chapter Four

  Robert left after that. They parted on good terms. Diana was happy that she had been able to handle the situation so well. It gave her the feeling that if she approached all of her problems this way, there was nothing she wouldn’t be able to overcome.

  However, a surprise was waiting for her in the form of a call from James. When the phone rang, Diana did not hope it was James for the first time that day. However, when she picked up her phone, there James’ name was.

  Diana answered the call. She did not say a word.

  “Hello?” said James uncertainly.

  “Hey,” said Diana.

  “Hey!” said James. “I’m so sorry, I’ve
been wanting to call but it’s just been so crazy here. My dad had started feeling sick so he called me. I was in such a hurry to leave, I ended up dropping my phone so bad that it broke completely. I didn’t even think to say goodbye because I was so worried about my dad.”

  “Oh,” said Diana. “I had a feeling that something had gone wrong with your dad. I tried calling both him and you but neither of you picked up.”

  “Yeah, I saw the calls on dad’s phone just now,” said James. “I just got myself a new phone, thought I’d call.”

  “It’s alright,” said Diana, relieved. She was glad that this confusion had been cleared up, she didn’t want to stay upset all day. The talk she had had with Robert had left her feeling great, but this talk now with James was leaving her feeling absolutely fantastic.

  “Can you come over?” asked James. “Dad kind of wants to talk to you, he has something important that he wants to tell you.”

  “What does he want to tell me?” asked Diana. “Can’t he do it over the phone?”

  “I don’t know,” said James. “He’s not telling me. And he’s adamant that you come over, wants to tell you this face to face apparently. I honestly have no clue what he wants to talk to you about.”

  “Alright,” said Diana. “Give me about an hour, an hour and a half, and I’ll be there.”

  “See you then,” said James. She could hear his grin in his voice. “Can’t wait!” he said and cut the call.

  Diana finished up as much work as she could before heading out to her car and driving to Richard’s condo. She wondered the whole way what Richard wanted to talk to her about. She also wondered what James was going to say to her. She wondered if he was going to discuss what had happened last night. He had seemed nonchalant, but then again, he always seemed that way.