“Looks like your personal assistant is doing her job, Andy,” Dan said with a laugh.
Anderson glanced at her, remembering that she really didn’t do much for him. Guilt swamped her, and she fell silent as Anderson started to talk to his dad about insurance stuff.
Kim leaned over to her as the men talked and said, “Do you always call him Anderson?”
She looked up at his mom, puzzled. “Yes, it’s his name.”
“I know, but everyone calls him Andy. It seems sweet that you call him Anderson.”
“I guess a lot of people in Landstad call him Anderson. I never even knew that he had a nickname until recently,” Ruth admitted.
“We need to go out there sometime. I mean, it’s not that far,” Kim said, looking at her husband.
“You should. It’s a great town, and you can see where Anderson lives and works,” Ruth replied, knowing that the couple would love the little town—most people did.
“Do you have a house in town, Ruth?” Kim asked her.
“No, Mom, she doesn’t have a house. She actually rents downtown above the office.” Ruth looked over at him. He made it sound like she had no attachments to her place, that he was more stable because he had a house with a yard. Yet she was the one who owned her home, not him.
“At least her commute is short, especially in the winter.” Dan chuckled.
“Is it a nice place, Ruth?” Kim asked.
Anderson jumped in to answer again. “It’s just a little place. Nice, but just a two-bedroom.”
Ruth looked over at him in shock. He said her place was just a little apartment, nothing special. Her place was two apartments made into one before she moved into it. It was actually the largest place in the entire downtown area, she should know. And considering the place across the hallway, she had more square feet than many homes in Landstad; more importantly, more than he himself had. It stung that he thought so little of the place she loved.
“It’s a nice place. I have always liked it,” she mumbled to the couple in front of her.
Before anyone could comment, the front door opened, and someone called out like Anderson had. Ruth’s heart stopped. It was Jonathan, she was sure of it. Though she had only talked to him a few times, his voice was very recognizable.
He came into the kitchen, pushing a petite brunette carrying a baby. Looking over the woman, Ruth realized how different she was from Anderson’s first love. The woman before her was every bit the professional’s wife, and she was beautiful. Her smile captivated the room, and everyone turned to her as she said hello. Ruth suddenly felt old, plain, and frumpy.
She watched as Noel gave Anderson a hug, and with a wispy voice, the brunette said, “Good to see you, Andy.”
Anderson only had eyes for the woman with the baby in her arms. Once she had entered the room, Anderson’s hand on her thigh had dropped. With the new couple in the room, Anderson seemed to have had forgotten that Ruth was even there for all the attention he paid her, and she was right beside him.