Mid-Life Crisis Diaries by Geraldine Solon Read Free Book Online Page A

No need of extreme sports.”
    He patted her back. “I guess I was right, I’m not very good with people.”
    Shaking her head, Marsha said. “I’m sorry for lashing out at you like that. It’s not your fault. In fact, I don’t even know why I’m here.”
    Andre entered the car and started the engine. “You know what, let’s have a quiet dinner tonight so you can have your glass of wine. We don’t have to pretend to impress each other. Let’s just be ourselves. How does that sound?”
    Marsha nodded but she wasn’t sure she could continue as planned. Dr. Lee was wrong, there’s no way a trip to Puerto Vallarta would cure a broken heart. What was she thinking?
    ***
    Marsha was on her way out the door, when Dr. Lee called. “How’s everything going?”
    “It’s going.”
    “You don’t sound too happy,” Dr. Lee seemed to sense from Marsha’s tone.
    “Frankly, I don’t know why I’m here. It’s like I’m forcing the issue. Yesterday, I went zip lining and the other day snorkeling. I don’t need to do this stuff to make my life worthwhile.”
    “Wow, Marsha! What a change from San Francisco. Aren’t you glad you tried it?”
    Marsha knew if she told her she preferred to go home, Dr. Lee would insist, so instead she cut the conversation short. “Listen, I gotta go, Andre’s waiting outside.”
    “Make sure you tell me all the juicy details.”
    ***
    At the restaurant, Marsha twirled her pasta, looking into space.
    “Are you okay? You haven’t touched your food.”
    “Sorry...”
    “It helps to talk about it.”
    Tears trickled down her cheek. She hesitated for a moment then narrated what happened to Blake and her and how Dr. Lee convinced her to spend a month in Puerto Vallarta with Andre.
    He reached for her hand and she kept still. “You’ve been through a lot. I don’t blame you for being angry and frustrated.”
    “Tell me something, Andre, why did you agree to do this?”
    Andre pulled his hand away and leaned his body against the chair.
    The waiter poured more red wine then excused himself.
    “Sorry, I thought since I told you everything about my life, you would be able to share a piece of you with me,” Marsha said. “I mean, why would someone like you want to spend a month with an older woman like me?”
    He faced her. “Because I was married to an older woman .”
    Air escaped her lungs. “You were?”
    “Yes...” His voice trailed off. “My ex-wife, Layla, is experiencing the same thing your husband is going through, which is why I perfectly understand your pain.”
    All Marsha could say was, “Oh.” But deep inside, she knew Andre was a keeper. She blushed at the thought. Not a keeper for you, Marsha, she thought to herself. For someone else.
    Andre swallowed hard and adjusted the neck of his shirt before raising his hand delicately in the air to signal for more wine. He cleared his throat and looked back at Marsha, who was staring at him like she was looking at a lost puppy.
    “Oh no,” he laughed, flashing his wide smile. “Don’t you go feeling sorry for me. I’m just trying to let you know we aren’t really so different, you and I. It’s just that our ages are reversed a bit. And who cares about that anyway. I married Layla because I thought she was mature. And you know, I’m really not trying to boast, but I’ve always thought of myself as an old soul. A little above my age group maturity-wise, if you know what I mean.”
    “Yeah, I sensed that about you right away,” Marsha nodded, mindlessly slipping a bit of buttered bread in her mouth. “I mean, from the moment I opened the door, you just looked so sure of yourself. And to be honest, that’s something I struggle with, so it was really a sexy character trait, if I may be so bold.” She regretted using the word sexy as soon as she said it, especially to someone so much younger than her that she’d just met. She wasn’t sure how he’d take it, but she meant it as a compliment.
    When she met his