Falling For My Cowboy (Cowboys of Sunnydale)

Chapter 1-2

I WAS EXHAUSTED AFTER all the driving. I angled my car into a parking spot in front of the apartment building that Delilah lived in. The red brick building blocked the sun as I looked for her apartment number to ring her doorbell.

“Coming!” Her chipper voice sounded through the intercom.

In a few seconds, my best friend opened the door for me. Relief sang through me as I embraced her. “Oh my, what happened to you? You look awful.”

“Thanks, can we go in before I start bawling in the entryway.” I tightened my grip on Benny’s leash and blinked back the tears.

“Let’s order pizza and drink some wine,” she said as she ushered me into her living room. My stomach gave a loud rumble in agreement; it had been hours since I last ate and the hunger pains were back. After the pizza was delivered, she opened a bottle of wine and split it into two glasses.

“So, Mel, what’s going on? We’ve been friends for years and this is the first time you’ve ever come to visit me; like, drove countless hours from New York City to see me.” She curled up across from me on her plushy sofa and sipped her wine. Her brown soulful eyes stared at me waiting for answers.

“Well, a lot actually.” I bit into my favorite pizza, pepperoni with extra cheese. The deliciousness caressed my taste buds, and I closed my eyes to enjoy every bit of the cheesy goodness before responding. “Do you remember when I told you about how Mary Lou’s Boutique was sold to a corporation last month?”

Delilah nodded as she reached for another piece of pizza.

“Well, my position with them was eliminated, not needed, terminated, or whatever you want to call it.” Tears started to fill my eyes. “I’ve worked there since college! All I got was a very, very small severance package and ‘Thanks for all the hard work’.” Anger grew within me; a large lump developed in my throat making it hard to swallow. The pizza had lost its taste, so I set the rest of my piece on the table. Benny jumped up and snatched the crust. “No, Benny!” I lunged after him, but it was too late. He swallowed it in one bite. His tongue lashed out catching any crumbs left behind.

“Can’t you get another position as a seamstress somewhere else? There must be a lot of companies that need your skills in New York and you’re good at it. You must be in high demand.”

“I don’t know. I haven’t looked yet. I’m not sure how to feel about it all.” I dabbed at the tears that leaked from my eyes. “It gets worse. I came home to find Vance in bed with the neighbor girl.” By now the tears were rolling down my face, I tried to catch them before they fell into my wine, but little dabbing wasn’t stopping the flow.

Delilah stopped chewing. “What! No way!” She coughed. “I thought you two were going to get married.”

“Not anymore,” I snorted. “I threw my ring at him and left.” I tried to keep the tears at bay but a sob broke out. “How could he do this to me? How did I not know? Was I blind to all the signs?”

“Were there signs?” She asked gently as she wrapped me into a hug.

I nodded as I thought about the last several months of living with him.

“Well, he’s been working late every night. He’s been distracted.” The last several incidents played in my mind. “Did I tell you that he changed the passwords to his phone and our computer? It was hard to pay the electric bill because I couldn’t log in.” A hiccup escaped at the ridiculousness of it all. “I’m so blind. We haven’t, you know, in months.” What world had I been living in? How did I not see the signs?

Delilah leaned over and topped off my glass. “Men and all the problems that they bring.” She clinked her glass with mine and downed it all in one gulp. “Come on, let’s get tipsy tonight.” I looked at my glass. It was going to be a lot. I toasted her and drank it all. We spent the rest of the night eating pizza, drinking wine, and watching our favorite movie.

As the woman ran into her lover’s arms at the end, I turned to a tearful Delilah. “Why aren’t more men like that?”

She picked up her purple throw pillow and chucked it at me. “Why, silly, movies aren’t real.” We dissolved into fits of laughter as the alcohol took away the pain, at least until morning.