Lots of Love and the Little Black Book

Lots of Love and the Little Black Book

“Well, this is as good as it’s going to get, for now,” Jill Martin sighed. She fluffed her platinum blonde pixie cut one more time and smirked at her reflection in the mirror. In all her forty-three years, this was the first time she could ever remember having short hair. Thanks to the chemotherapy and radiation over the last eighteen months, everything had changed. But at least her hair had grown back. Maybe it was short, but at least she had hair.

Jill took one last look in the mirror and adjusted her prosthesis, then smoothed her pink silk blouse. She had to admit it didn’t look like she’d endured a double mastectomy. She looked just like she always had. She certainly didn’t feel the same, but everything looked the same, at least from outward appearances.

She grabbed the last of her makeup essentials from the master bath and hurriedly put them in her suitcase on the bed. She double-checked everything once more, then zipped the suitcase shut.

Jill went down the hall to Noah’s room. It was hard believe her only son had “flown the nest” to live his dream just two days after his high school graduation. He’d graduated on a Thursday, and she and her husband, Brad, had said a tearful good-bye to him less than forty-eight hours later. With a flurry of hugs, he’d set off for Europe to play soccer for Borussia Dortmund. Noah had only been gone for two weeks, but it felt like an eternity.

Now, Jill’s time as a stay-at-home mom was done. She’d been wandering around their cozy home in a modest Dallas suburb ever since Noah had left, wondering what to do next. Her career as an interior designer was happily put on the back burner to raise Noah, and now she felt at loose ends with everything.

Jill’s “wondering and wandering” had gotten her into trouble, she mused sadly as she picked up the small metal box. It had been tucked into the back of Noah’s closet, and she’d found it when she was tidying up after he’d moved out. Upon opening it, Jill had been stunned to find a little black book. That book contained a comprehensive list of all their female friends, along with monetary amounts. The money listed added up to $20.000, which was a fortune for the Martins. There was also the name of a bank, along with account information, and it was definitly not the bank the Martins used. Brad had always been a hard worker, owning his own Plumbing Business, but they had just never been rolling in cash. Not that Jill cared. Brad had always been the ideal husband and father, which was why she’d been so shocked to discover that horrid black book.

Brad had been incredibly busy and distracted ever since Noah left. Then, Brad had suddenly announced he had to go out of town for business just three days ago. The very next day, Jill had found the box and little black book. She’d fretted over it and practically memorized everything in it. None of the possibilities made her feel good. If she had found the little black book before Brad had left town, there was no way she would have let him go.

Jill picked up the little black book again. After glancing at the beside clock, she realized she had about half an hour before she needed to leave for the airport. She sat down on the bed and thumbed through the book yet again. She held it so tightly, it felt like her fingers were burning.

After the list of friends and money, there was an address in Florida, heavily circled with red ink. Florida. Her favorite place on the planet. The place they had honeymooned. And now, Brad was doing something she was definitely not a part of, and it made her head ache. After twenty years of marriage, years she thought were happy, raising a wonderful son, surviving her cancer battle, had it all really come down to this?

Jill angrily wiped a stray tear, sniffed, and purposely strode out of Noah’s old room. She gathered her suitcase and purse, and walked to the garage with her head held high. The sun was shining brightly – too brightly - for such a stressful time. Jill had expected dark storm clouds, with lots of thunder and lighting, to match her mood, but everything was perfectly calm, at least weather-wise.

Jill made her way to the airport, checked in, and went through security in record time. All she had to do now was wait. She put her hand in the purse and rubbed the little black book. She hated it, and all its contents, but needed it near her at the same time. It was like living in the twilight zone.

The flight from Dallas to Jacksonville, Florida, was smooth and uneventful. Usually outgoing, Jill had sat quietly, with her hand in her purse, and kept a death grip on that little black book for almost the entire flight. She didn’t speak to a single soul the entire flight.

Once she’d retrieved her bag, Jill made arrangements for a rental car. She ended up with a cute little red convertible. “If I’m going to catch him doing something bad, I might as well arrive in style,” she said quietly, with a sad smile. All around her, people were laughing and talking and going about their lives, as she felt like hers was about to implode.

The drive from the airport to to Pine Beach took half an hour. Jill’s palms were damp as she gripped the steering wheel. Twice she almost lost her grip on the wheel, and really had to focus on the drive so she didn’t end up in a ditch.

Jill had memorized the address, so she didn’t need to look at it again. She was amazed as she pulled into the beach side neighborhood. It had been everything she could have wanted in a home. It was right on the Atlantic Ocean. Thick pine trees greeted her as she rolled through the neighborhood. White picket fences reminded Jill that the “American dream” was still alive and thriving. Lush green lawns served as a backdrop to anchor lots of waving palm trees and brilliantly colored flowers.

Finally, Jill located the address from the little black book. It was right on the beach. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked at the house. It was a grand home. It was a two-story Mediterranean style with lots of huge windows and flowers and several palm trees in the front yard. The beach was the back yard.

Tears blurred Jill’s vision as she parked the car and walked to the front door. She took a few steadying breaths, then rang the doorbell. She heard Brad’s familiar laughter – a sound she had always loved – and then footsteps coming to the front door.

“Well, well, well. It’s about time your got here, Darlin’!” Brad said with a huge laugh.

Jill stood there with her mouth hanging open. As hard as she tried, no words would come.

Brad moved forward and grabbed Jill into a huge bear hug. “I was getting awful lonely without you,” he said. He gave her a kiss and said, “Aren’t you going to say something?”

“Where is she?” Jill demanded, with her hands on her hips.

“Who?” Brand inquired.

“The lady you’re living in the house with, that’s who!” Jill huffed, stamping her foot.

Brad laughed again. “Oh, she’s here.”

“Where is she? I’m going to kick her rear end right now!”

“You can’t do that,” Brad soothed.

“Oh, yes, I can!” Jill said emphatically.

“No, really, you can’t,” Brad soothed.

“Listen, if this is because you think I’m still weak from the chemo and radiation, you -”

Brad took Jill’s hand and led her into the living room, and urged her to sit down. He ran a hand through his sandy blonde hair and sat down beside her.

“Brad, I can’t believe you’d cheat on me, after all we’ve been through!” Jill wiped the tears from her face.

“Honey, I would never cheat on you. Not in a million years, not for anything.”

Then, just WHAT is this all about?” Jill demanded.

“You. It’s all about you.”

“Me?” Jill squeaked.

“Yes, you.”

“Explain, please, before I lose my mind. That little black book I found changed everything,” Jill said, confused.

“Yes, it did. And, I intended for you to find it. I know how you operate,” Brad said with a chuckle. “I just didn’t think it would upset you. I had hoped this would be an adventure.”

“This is so not funny,” Jill complained.

Brad did his best to hide his amusement. “Honey, let me explain. You’ve been an amazing wife and mom all these years. You fought so hard to beat that darn cancer, and you never stopped trying to take care of everyone else the whole time. So, I wanted to do something for you. I took on odd jobs for our neighbors, who love you almost as much as Noah and I do, when I had time. That amounted to $20,000, and I put that with some other money I’d managed to squirrel away, and that helped me get this house for us.”

“For me? For us?” Jill croaked.

“Yes, silly. For you, for us. I know you love Dallas, but the weather just isn’t good for you. We both love Florida, and now that Noah has left our nest, this is our time.”

Tears flowed freely down Jill’s cheeks. “Thank you, Brad. I love you!”

“And I sure love you, too,” Brad said. He grinned when Jill wiped her eyes and playfully swatted his arm. “Now, come on and let’s take a look at our new home.”

“That sounds like a fine idea to me,” Jill said, sighing with relief. As they slowly walked through their new home, arm-in-arm, Jill asked, “Honey, what about the ‘other money’ you squirreled away? I know we had a lot of extra expenses our insurance didn’t cover with my treatments. How did you find the money to pay for everything?”

“Well…”

“Did you sell the Rolls Royce?” Jill asked, stunned.

Brad smiled. “It was a lovely car. It was nice of my brother to leave it to me in his will, but he loved you and our family. He knew that is was just a car, after all. He would’ve been happy with me selling it to round out paying for this house. That, plus the odd jobs our neighbors paid for, and some other money I’ve set aside for a few years, and this house is now officially all ours. And we can either keep the house in Dallas, for when we visit our friends, or sell it. I’ll leave that up to you.”

“I love you, Brad.”

And you know I love you, too,” Brad replied. “So I guess my little black book surprise worked?”

“I’ll say it sure did!” Jill laughed and hugged her mischievous husband.