“I can’t believe it. Everything was perfect last night. Then . . . then he asked me to quit my job. That he couldn’t stand the fact I worked for someone so . . . crooked.”
Rosslyn could see both sides. For Sam, it was a constant reminder of how he’d been screwed over. But for Liz, it was her stability. Her independence. Sam had to know that wasn’t easy for Liz to walk away from. But what did Rosslyn know about such things? She’d never been put in that situation. Would she choose a man over it all?
She didn’t need to know how things like that could work out. Her mother had done exactly that. Walked away from a billion-dollar business and inheritance just to be with the man she loved. And from what Rosslyn could tell, her mother never regretted it either. But were they the exception to the rule? Would Liz and Sam survive, or would the struggles be too much for them? That wasn’t anything Rosslyn could advise her on.
“It sounds like you have a lot of thinking to do.”
“Really? You don’t think he’s asking too much?” Liz asked.
“I don’t know. But we do things for people we love that we wouldn’t do for anyone else.”
“True.”
“Did he say you had to answer him immediately?” Because no one liked an ultimatum. That’s what happened to her mother. Her grandfather said, “Never speak to that man again, or never speak to me again.” The rest was history. Her grandfather died and her mother wasn’t even allowed to go to the funeral. It was surprising that Uncle Max still spoke to her. Obviously not in years, though, since Max didn’t know her mother was ill. What a fucked up family. I’m so glad I didn’t grow up around them.
“Sam told me to think about it. But I know he’s not going to budge on this.”
“It sounds like he really cares about you, Liz. So maybe if you make a list of everything you can’t live without, then you’ll know what you want to do.” If Sam was on that list, Liz should tell Max to screw. Of course Max would hire someone else in the blink of an eye. He had loyalty only to one person. Himself.
“Thanks for listening to me, Rosslyn. I needed someone to tell me what I already knew. I can’t make a snap decision. And if he really loves me, he’ll understand that.”
“Exactly, Liz. Are you okay now?”
“Yup. I’ll see you Monday. Bright and early.”
Oh yay.“Have a good weekend.”
She ended the call and headed back to the kitchen. Rosslyn couldn’t believe what she saw. Sweet Miss Snuggles had taken all the sliced meat and was eating it. Even the cheese was on the floor. Not only did she make a huge mess, but she ruined the only stuff Rosslyn had to make sandwiches.
She grabbed the meat from the cat, not sure how good that was going to be on her digestive system, and threw it all in the trash.
“You have no idea what you have done, do you? What is Charles going to think when we have nothing to eat?” If things weren’t bad enough, she now was talking to a cat. Miss Snuggles didn’t seemed troubled by Rosslyn’s predicament in the least as she purred and rubbed against her legs.
Once the floor was clean, Rosslyn started looking through the refrigerator for an alternative. There was raspberry jelly. Then she grabbed the jar of peanut butter in the cupboard. I can’t believe this. She promised him lunch. Good thing she wasn’t specific, because PB&J and bottled water was it.
Her phone rang again and she turned to Miss Snuggles and said, “Don’t you dare touch that bag.” Then she went into the other room and answered. “Hi Charles, are you almost here?”
“I’ll be there in five minutes.”
“Great. See you then.”
Slipping the phone in the back pocket of her jeans, she grabbed her keys and went to check on the bag. Miss Snuggles hadn’t moved and everything seemed as she’d left it. Giving her a quick pat, she headed out the door.
It wasn’t long before they were on their way for what seemed like one of the most unique dates she’d been on in a long time. Being with Charles made it special, at least for her. It didn’t matter what they did, she enjoyed being with him. From what she could tell, he felt the same.
She pulled out the sandwiches and said, “Hope you don’t have a peanut allergy.”
“No allergies at all. Why?”
“I prepared gourmet raspberry jam, with creamy peanuts.” Winking, she explained, “Peanut butter and jelly.”
Charles took a bite. “Oh God. I haven’t had one of these in years.”
“There might be a good reason for that.”
“I forgot how good they are. I hope you made me more than one.”
“Okay, you can quit teasing me now.”