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

eyes, his face revealed that he wasn’t affected by it in the least. That stuck with her. If someone had calmly mentioned that a trait of hers was sexy back in California, she would have immediately been offended. Unless they were this handsome, then she would have probably allowed herself to be a little flattered as well. But she would have mulled and stewed over that comment for weeks. Andre didn’t even blink when she said it. He only nodded in agreement to what she was ultimately saying.
    “I know what you mean, I actually do feel very confident. And I was confident in our marriage, as well. Which is why it broke me so much when she said she needed a break. I mean, it tore me in two, I didn’t even see it coming.” He took a big drink of his wine and rested his hand on the stem of the glass while he thought.
    “I know that feeling, my friend,” she laughed. It was a sad sort of laugh, and they both sat laughing together for quite some time in silence. It was the sort of silent laugh that gets swallowed up by the universe except for the two people sharing it. Two souls, sitting together in beautiful Mexico, quietly laughing about broken hearts and being taken aback by the people they thought would love them for their whole lives. Marsha couldn’t get over the oddity that was herself, sitting here with this beautiful young man, and she marveled at the small chance she had to do something different with her life from this point on. It was an actual treasure that she was here, and she would be hard-pressed to find another chance like this in her lifetime.
    “So if we aren’t to sit around and feel sorry for each other, what are we to do?” Marsha asked, cutting into her salmon.
    Andre smiled again, and wiped a tear from his eye. “We drink.”
    They raised their glasses and clinked them together and immediately they both relaxed in their seats. Marsha enjoyed her meal, at last, and Andre ate the rest of his slowly out of respect, which did not go unnoticed. Afterward, they strolled along the beach together, walking close enough together that their arms brushed together once in a while. Marsha recognized that it didn’t seem to bother him, and she grew more comfortable with someone else being in the space around her body. This one realization, the awareness of her own body and its comfort level, was very calming to her.
    Her shoulders dropped, and her hips swayed a bit as they strolled. The sounds rolling off the water were soothing, a slow whoosh of tiny waves that lapped up close to their feet. Andre had taken off his shoes and was carrying them over his shoulder. Marsha kept watching their feet as they walked, and loved how the soft sand crept between his tanned feet. She wasn’t sure how someone’s feet could be attractive, but his were, and it made her smile. For the rest of her life, she would remember what that sand looked like clinging to the sides of his strong feet, and she paused during a moment of silence.
    Andre didn’t say a word as she perched herself on a nearby boulder, he only watched her as she began undoing her sandals, and when Marsha looked up at him to see if he was irritated that she’d stopped, she noticed him smiling contently. Like he was just existing, and happy to be doing so in her company. She finished by stringing the sandals onto her wrist and gathering up her skirt. Andre followed her lead as she left to walk closer to the waves.
    She walked on the wet sand that had just seen a small wave wash over it, and loved the way the water felt on her bare feet. It was a completely different feeling, walking through the moist sand, fully dressed. She felt like a child, and it warmed her core. Andre fell in stride beside her and the two of them walked slowly down the shore, letting the water wash over the arches of their feet.
    “So can you tell me a bit more about Layla? I understand if you don’t want to talk about it, I was just curious.”
    “Yeah, sure,” he answered, no threat