Whew. What a week.
Ohio got a lot of the smoke from the Canadian wildfires, and it was kind of
eerie seeing the hazy gray skies for most of the week. Good time to stay inside
due to the high danger air quality alerts.
The weather at
least stayed just under sweltering. My garage cleanout went much smoother since
the temperatures weren't as high as they have been. Going out very late at
night and only staying there for under an hour also helped.
Work projects moved
along. I finished up a few odds and ends and started a new copy edit. I also
touched base on a few back burner projects. I got to review some back cover
copy and book blurbs, which is always a fun change of pace.
Had an okay viewing
week. Didn't quite make it through all of my usual shows but made a decent stab
at them. Between the cleanup and a lengthy run with my own writing, my watching
took a back seat.
Started with another
bonus episode of Foyle's War behind the scenes. An interview about the
details of the final episode with the writer and the show historian. Very much
enjoyed it.
Also finished up Tales
of Irish Castles. Really liked this series and its deep dive into the seriously
large number of castles in Ireland.
Caught an episode
of Silent Witness and made it about halfway through. I'm going to take a
break, I think. This season is kind of dark, which I enjoy most of the time but,
in all honesty, I kind of need something lighter right now.
Watched another
episode of Poirot and really enjoyed it. It's always fun when familiar
people pop up in these movies. And this one was very twisty, which I enjoy.
Elementary ended up being really good. I really like
getting backstory and even though Marcus's is full of strife and pain, it tied
into the current happenings really well. Also loved Sherlock being there for
Marcus at the end.
That's all for the
life update this week. Tonight's post is from Lucky Man, a novella that
brings a couple together after a death of a loved one.
Here's the
miniblurb:
Brent Allison thinks his best friend Peter is a lucky
man. He's got a great life and a beautiful woman, Sonja Waters. When Pete and
Sonja break up, Brent feels bad for his friend but less guilty for being
attracted to Sonja. But when Peter dies in an accident, Brent and Sonja have to
navigate their new situation and try not to let Pete's ghost get in the way.
And a snippety peek…
Sonja came home to an
empty apartment. "Wow … can't say I'll miss that gaming chair in the
middle of the living room." A little sad, she tossed her keys on the
counter and picked up the note Pete left. Hey,
Sonja, whatever's left can go to a donation center. Her lips curved when
she read Brent's scribbled message. Or
you can just burn it. He'd added a big smiley face with a hi next to it.
She laughed out loud.
"Not a bad idea." She headed for the bedroom.
Maybe she'd get started
on rearranging the closet. Or she could move the bed and dressers. Actually,
she didn't want to do anything. Except maybe sit with her status as a single
woman again. Not what she expected, but oddly not as devastating as she thought
it would be.
She'd miss Brent. They
had such a good time talking data analytics. Drove Pete bonkers when she and
Brent got started on the topic. Her biggest regret of the breakup might be not
having Brent's solid presence anymore.
She sat on the edge of
the mattress. "Who gets custody of Brent?" Probably Pete, since
they'd known each other forever. "Which really isn't fair, because he's
part of my life, too." Dammit.
Her phone pinged with
an incoming text from … Brent. "Time for a quick call for a data
Q?"
She grinned and tapped
the phone icon.
Brent answered on the
second ring. "Hey, thanks for calling. Where are you?" He sounded
like he was walking up steps.
Sonia leaned back on
the bed. "I'm at the apartment. Where are you?"
He laughed. "I'm
heading to a meeting at Quality Tech. It's on the tenth floor and I didn't feel
like waiting for the elevator." He wanted a beat. "Kinda regretting
that now."
Sonja chuckled.
"What floor are you on? "She pictured him trudging up the steps with
his backpack and probably an iced coffee.
Brent heaved a sigh.
"Eighth floor. Two more to go."
She snorted. "Eh,
you're almost there. Keep going." She figured she'd give him a few minutes
to get to his destination before talking again.
Brent blurted,
"Pete's an idiot. I told him that right to his face." The echo sound
ended and Brent blew out a breath. "Whew. Made it." He paused a
moment. "And sorry for bringing Pete up. Wanted you to know I think he's
making a huge mistake."
Sonja shrugged even if
Brent couldn't see her. "It's okay. I'm okay. And I'm glad you reached
out." She didn't want him to feel like he got stuck in the middle.
Even if he sort of did.
Brent huffed out a
breath. "Thought it might be awkward. Happy it's not." He went quiet
for a moment. "I'd miss talking to you."
Sonja smiled."
Same." She really liked Brent.
Is it weird to think
that? That I'd miss him.
Brent made her laugh and he totally understood her geek-speak as Pete called
it. As much as she didn't like how things ended with Pete, she had to be
grateful … at least a little. She wouldn't have met Brent without Pete.
Brent cut into her
thoughts. "You might not feel that way after I ask this question."
Sonia laughed again. "Ask
away." At least she'd salvaged this from the fallout of Pete.
She spent the next
fifteen minutes talking weird data sets with Brent.
When they signed off,
Brent posed another question. "Mind if I check in occasionally?"
Sonja didn't hesitate.
"I'd like that. It's great to have a sounding board sometimes."
Brent made a tentative
sound. "You know, I'd love to meet for something aside from geek speak.
Would you have coffee with me?"
Sonja got a jolt of
excitement. "Like a date?" She actually wouldn't mind.
Brent hedged.
"Kind of? I mean, my best friend just treated you like shit so maybe a
date is too much. But I'd like to … I don't know … see what happens."
Sonja bit her lip.
"You know what? I'm kind of curious too. When are you back in town?"
So many things were probably not cool with this idea, but she didn't care.
Brent would be a good
field test to see if she could get back out there. And she really liked him as
a friend who might become more. Brent named the date of his return and
suggested meeting a few days after that.
When the call ended, she got up with a surge
of energy. As much as it sucked to get dumped for someone else, she found she
didn't mind not having Pete as much as she thought she would. And rearranging
the closet seemed like a terrific idea now.
This one is almost finished and came together very quickly,
which makes me so happy.
That's it for this week. Happy reading!
Skylin
