A Twist of Date Read Online Free Page A

reverse again. As I spun the wheel the opposite way and rolled backward, my cell phone went off.
    C hirp! Chirp!
    While the car was still rolling, I noted the number, and jerked Betty to a halt. Throwing the gearshift into park, I groaned. “Oh, great. Just what I need right now.”
    I tapped the flashing green button on my cell, then mustered up false enthusiasm for my stepmother. “Hi, Janet!”
    “Melanie, sweetheart, must you shout?” Janet’s voice was laced with disapproval.
    Attempts to please Janet were futile, but I couldn’t seem to give up trying. Quitting was my mom’s thing, not mine.
    “Sorry.” I lowered my voice, then stepped out of the car. “Is this better?”
    “Much.”
    Long pause. Janet likes to make people wait. It’s her thing. That way, everyone knows how important she is. It is not a good idea to speak during these times. It only serves to aggravate Janet, which would be made apparent by a longer pause and then some reference to the fact that she’d been speaking—even if she hadn’t been.
    “Listen, sweetheart.” Short pause. “Your father and I would like to have you over for dinner tonight. Kaitlin has something important she’d like to share with the whole family.”
    The “whole family” consisted of the four of us. Why my stepmom referred to us so formally was beyond me. And what had the magnificent Kaitlin done now? Sneezed? I, on the other hand, could be on my deathbed and would be lucky to get served a TV dinner. But such was life with a can-do-no-wrong stepsister. Fact was, they were family and Janet made Dad happy. “I teach class at six-thirty this evening, but can be at your house by quarter to eight.”
    “Well, we were hoping to have dinner at seven.” Long pause and a sigh.
    Janet knew my work schedule but consistently planned dinners during my classes, making me feel guilty for not being able to arrive on time. I put a hand over my eyes, then peered through the mirrored window at Cherie’s Café to see if I could locate Patti while I waited for Janet to speak. “I just can’t get to your house any earlier,” I finally said. 
    Pause. “All right then. Seven-forty-five it has to be.”
    Knowing Janet expected appreciation for modifying her oh-so-important schedule, I made an attempt to score some points. “Thanks for changing the time for me. I’d really hate to miss Kaitlin’s good news.”
    Silence. No points—not even half a point.
    “Okay,” I said, annoyance leaking into my voice despite my best intentions. “Well, see you tonight.”
    “We’re looking forward to it.” Silence, then, “Bye now.”
    “Bye, Janet.” I ended the call and sighed. At least it had been relatively painless as far as our conversations went.
    Probably not as painful as lunch was going to be with Patti laying down the ground rules of what I could and couldn’t do with my own love life. Knowing my hard-core friend, I’d bet my vintage CD collection there’d be more couldn’ts than coulds. 
    I turned to glance at Betty one last time. She sat along the curb, looking all shiny and blue with her black top up. “Don’t worry, Betty. I’ll never let Patti get her hands on you.” 
    Then I reached for the entrance door and took a deep breath. I could only imagine what Patti had in store for me.
    ****
    I found Patti at a table in the center of the crowded restaurant. Apparently her dating rules didn’t require a private, corner booth—hopefully that was a good sign that they wouldn’t be too harsh.
    “Hey.” I sat down, then reached for my water with lemon to calm my nerves.
    “I ordered the usual for us, so we could get right down to business since I have to be back at work in an hour.” Patti’s smile looked sinister. That, or I’d seen too many horror movies.
    “Okay.” My stomach clenched as I unfolded my napkin, then placed it in my lap. “Lay it on me.”
    She lifted a piece of thick, linen stationery, then cleared her throat. “The Boyfriend