Rewind Reverie

The Summoning of Josephine Scott

"I can't believe that asshat showed his face on-campus."  Sadie slams various spices onto the kitchen counter, theatrically showing off just how angry she is.  I thought I could get away with keeping the event to myself.  But Sadie demanded to know where I was and I sang like a canary.  Whoops.  "He's got some big balls coming to you like that.  Jerks like that always think that they're God's gift to women."

"It's not a gift if it's full of crap," I murmur into my mug of hot tea.  I'm already dressed in my grey lounge hoodie and jogger bottoms, trying to put the day behind me.  "And the man I saw today is exactly that."

"Good thing Ari was around to help you deal with him."  Lauren peeks over her enormous nursing textbook, eyes filled with concern.  That was another reason I didn't want to say anything.  She's such a motherly type, always fretting over her friends.  "At least you didn't have to deal with him alone."

"You can call me if he tries anything!"  Sadie and her tube of oregano point at me with gusto.  "He won't know what hit him.  I can hit him where it hurts while circumventing the law."

"Thanks but I refuse to let anyone get in trouble because of that man.  He's just not worth it."

"Do you think he might try to talk to you again?" Lauren asks.

"Knowing him, probably."  The tea feels warm and soothing down my throat.  It's what I need to stop myself from screaming in frustration.  "But I'll handle it."

"Nice that you finally seen the light!" Sadie plops down right next to me on the couch.  She's allowed herself to have a slight grin on her face.  "It was pathetic seeing you mope over him day in and day out.  No man is worth all that mess, not even a rich one."

"Tell that to my mother."  Just the idea of having to listen to her go on about "looking the other way" and "thinking about my future" pisses me off.  "I wouldn't put it past that snake to get my mom involved.  I expect any day now that she'll want to me to 'come home for dinner'."

"Oh no, that doesn't sound good."  Lauren sets her massive tome on a end table beside her as she gets up from her recliner.  "Maybe if you reason with her, you two can come to an understanding.  Right?"

"If she were a reasonable person, then yeah.  But my mom's a very stubborn woman."

"Your mom can take that stubbornness and shove it.  She's not the one dating him.  You are.  He can kiss off."  I nod as we clink are mugs together.  I can always rely on Sadie to hit me with some home truths.  "We support you one-hundred-and-ten percent!"

"Yeah Finn, you don't need that kind of negativity in your live." Lauren is so adorable when she smiles.  She's like a cherub-like cheeks with the sweetest little dimples.  She were any more adorable, she'd rot my teeth out.  "You've done so well for yourself!  You're rocking it in school and you look good doing it, too!  You can't stop now!"

"Don't worry, I won't!"  Every word is laced with determination.

Eventually I make my way back upstairs to do a bit of studying before dinner.  A steady green light flashes on my phone - there is message waiting for me.  From him.

The message is simple. "It's your fake boyfriend, checking in".  I can't help but giggle at it.   It's kind of adorable that he's taking this charade so seriously.   But I guess, he would.  I won't lie.  It felt good to watch him stand there, chest puffed out, eyes something fierce, declaring proudly to Wesley that we are dating and that he needs to back off.  And when he said that I was no one's woman but my own?  It was poetry in motion.

He's only 22 year old, but Ari seems to know more about treating a lady well than Wesley does.  Never mind that Wesley has ten years on him.

Still, I know I have to be careful. Insecurity nips at me, insisting that I should have let this be a one-time deal.  I'm supposed to be a better friend to him, not engineering a meltdown even worse than the first one.  I wonder if I should just let him down easy and let him move on with his life. I still don't have an answer for his confession.  With the way my head is, I may never have one.  And while my outlook on life has changed, the age gap hasn't.