Chapter 25
Pity Date
Mike was surprised how quickly Celia could fall asleep. Thankfully, she’d drifted off just after his comment about her being the only bossy woman in his life. He’d meant it to be a joke, but wasn’t sure how it sounded. He finished eating his pizza and drank most of his soda.
He rose, covered her food and slipped into the bathroom to wash his hands. He was just stepping out when his phone vibrated. He walked over to his chair and sat down. It was a text from Martin. He read it and responded.
“Fish all day. You know where the key is.”
“Thanks. We may end up switching houses for a while.”
“We? Randi, I guess?”
“Yes. She wanted to go fishing.”
“Have fun.”
Mike was putting his phone away when he spoke in a low tone, “You better not catch old Ol’ Henry. He’s mine.”
“Who’s Henry?” Celia asked, getting a piece of pizza out and taking a bite.”
“He’s a very large catfish that’s in a pond at my place. I almost caught him today but he broke my line. He’s becoming a legend. No one can catch him.”
“I’m not sure I understand why people enjoy fishing. I could see it if you liked the taste of fish, but just for the fun.”
“Have you ever tried? If you’ve never pulled and pulled trying to bring in a fish, you’re not going to ever understand.”
“I’ll have to take your word for it,” she said, taking a bite.
“You’ll have to fish with me sometime. You might have beginners luck and catch Ol’ Henry.”
“I thought you said someone was going to catch him today.” She stifled a yawn and took another bite. “Let me take a guess. Is it Martin?”
Mike hesitated, and when he did, she nodded. “I suppose Martin has her with him. He should be happy. That’s what he always wanted . . . someone to fish and hunt with.”
“Yes. It’s Martin, and Randi is there, too. Some women like that sort of thing. To be honest, I can’t imagine a person not wanting to be outside. Did you ever go with Martin? Just because you go doesn’t mean you have to fish. You could take your reading device, a laptop, or you could work on your tan.”
“I suppose I could have. I don’t know why I never went. Maybe I felt like Martin was trying to put me in some kind of a mold. I don’t ever recall him asking like he really meant it. He would always tell me what he was going to do. I don’t remember him inviting me to go more than a few times.”
“He seemed to have an idea that you didn’t like fishing.”
“Really?” she asked, trying to come awake. “Did you all talk about me? I didn’t know men did that sort of thing.”
“We don’t do it as much as women, but now and then he’d ask my opinion. I’m not sure why. I don’t date. I’ve never had a long lasting relationship. I suppose I was his only male friend. I’m not sure that’s a good reason though.”
“I guess when we first started dating I may have turned him down a few times. I don’t know, maybe he was right. Maybe we just didn’t care for each other enough. He was never interested in the things I wanted to do and vice versa.”
Mike put his phone away. “What did you want to do?”
Celia raised her bed, grimaced at the pain and spoke, “I like to go to auctions. I like concerts. I wanted to take a pottery class.”
“You? Pottery? I can’t imagine you wanting to get your hands dirty.”
“See. Martin had no clue what I’m about. I don’t mind getting my hands dirty. He thought because I didn’t want to hunt or dig for worms that I was some kind of snob.”
The anger Celia was feeling seemed to be bringing her fully awake. She sat her bed up and looked at him. “I would have loved to have a greenhouse and grow roses but the only thing he wanted to grow was food. Most men care less about roses and ivy.”
“True, but they should care enough about the woman in their life to work at it.”
“Right. Like you would go to a pottery class or an exercise class?”
Mike laughed. “You might be right, but I’ll go to a pottery class if you’ll go fishing and try to catch Ol’ Henry.”
She looked at him as if he was crazy or just pulling her leg. “Don’t do something just because you feel sorry for me. I don’t like pity dates.”
“Who said anything about pity? I’m hoping you’ll pull Ol’ Henry out and we can weigh him and see how much he’s grown. I’m not kidding about beginners luck. People who have never fished seem to have all the luck when it comes to pulling out the big ones.”
“I can’t fish in a wheelchair.”
“Sure you can. We’ll lock you down so Ol’ Henry can’t pull you in. Besides, you’re not going to be in that wheelchair for the rest of your life. You can sign me up for a couple of pottery classes and after we’ve made a bowl or something, we’ll go fishing.”
“I may take you up on that offer, but first I want to take you up on the job offer. I’ll be honest, I don’t know a thing about it but I’m tired of being dependant on someone else.”
“Sure. Selling is all about knowing cars and the people who want to buy them. You have the perfect time to study while you’re stuck here in this bed. By the time you’re ready to start, you’ll know what you’re doing.”
Celia shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never even bought a car much less tried to tell someone else what they might or might not like.”
“You can learn any and all of that. You’ve got a great smile. The men will pick you over the salesmen because you’re attractive, and the women will want your opinion because you’re a woman.”
“I remember you saying that. I’m game if you are.”
“Good. If you don’t have an iPod, I have an old one at the house you can use. You can get started reading and learning and leave the rest to me.”