Chapter 1-4: Eyes Wide Open

                Instead of heading home, Rebecca wandered around town aimlessly, feeling ashamed of starting a relationship with someone who was clearly involved. As she wandered past some homes near the far side of town, she passed a man taking out the trash. He politely waved so she felt obligated to greet him.

“Hi, are you new to town? I don’t remember seeing you around before,” he greeted her with a smile.

             “Yes, I haven’t been here long. My name is Rebecca. Rebecca Avendale.”

             “Avendale…Avendale. Oh! You wrote that book. I actually found it to be quite amusing.”

             “Wow, someone has actually read it,” she chuckled.

They continued their conversation for a while. She learned that his name was Justin, that he had grown up in Twinbrook and that he was a stylist but really had a passion for tinkering and hoped to invent the next big gadget someday.

                She finally had a chance to expand on her house. She had a real bathroom now, with a door. Also a sink, fridge and a double bed helped add to the feeling that this was a real house now. She separated the ‘bedroom’ with a decorative divider. Maybe after more royalties or another promotion, she would be able to afford a stove and could start learning to cook.

                She spent most of Saturday sleeping in and gardening. Later in the evening, after she had enjoyed a bowl of canned soup from her own kitchen, she decided to work on her science fiction novel. Around midnight, she was finally ready to call it a night. Much to her dismay, a few hours later, a burglar came!  She was able to call the cops who arrived just in time to capture the degenerate.

                Sunday afternoon, she and Justin decided to catch a matinee. First date? It seemed too early to tell and though Justin seemed single, she wasn’t so sure she was ready to trust him yet.

Afterwards, they got a late lunch/early dinner at the nearby bistro.

Then, they dressed up and headed over to the Old Ebbitt Lounge for some drinks and dancing. They had a fantastic time and even became good friends throughout the day.

Maybe, even though she wasn’t initially interested in romance, someone like Justin, who she had fun with and could actually do things in town with, would be a good choice for love.

                After work on Monday, Rebecca finally developed enough courage to confront Goodwin and ask if they could just go back to being friends. He did not take it well.

After a few minutes though, he realized it was for the best and they discovered they were both hopeless romantics. It seems that after Jenni had the baby, she no longer was interested in Goodwin. Though no excuse, he at least discovered that looking for love elsewhere wouldn’t make him happy. So back to friends it was and Rebecca felt relieved to close that chapter of her life.

                The next day, at the water cooler, Rebecca heard that Justin was involved with a woman named Kat. Although she had never told him how she was feeling, she was rather devastated. She decided to go to Carl’s that night to get her mind off things. After 1 drink and some writing, she called Justin to invite him out, just as friends. He told her that he was busy. “Not this again,” she groaned silently. She had a couple more drinks and then found herself wobbling over to Justin’s house.

                Once she was there she chatted with him, trying to build up some more courage, since the liquid kind didn’t seem to be enough. She asked him his sign and found out they were compatible and finally confessed her feelings. He seemed to feel the same way though he did admit to being with Kat. He invited her to stay over. In the middle of the night, somehow, they ended up cuddling.

When she awoke, she ran straight to work. “Oh, no! Not again, what am I going to do” she moaned to herself!

                She resolved that she would not allow the situation to continue as it had with Goodwin. She invited Justin over that night and asked him to break up with Kat.

“It’s only fair,” she reasoned, “especially knowing you have feelings for me”.

He agreed, called Kat up and broke it off and immediately asked Rebecca to go steady. They shared their first kiss that night and he stayed over, although, once again, it was just cuddling.

Maybe this relationship would have a happier ending.

Chapter 1-3                                                                                                                                             Chapter 1-5