Free My Dream Man by Marie Solka Page A

it ring again and I got up and went to the door.
    “Hey,” Tabby said. “Hope you don’t mind I stopped by. I just want to see as much of you as possible before going to college.”
    I yawned. “That’s cool. Come on in.”
    Tabby came in and took off her jacket.
    “So what’s new?” I asked.
    “You won’t believe it, well, maybe you will. I found out Jack got arrested for shoplifting. He spent the night in jail before his mom bailed him out.”
    “Yeah, not all that surprised, Tabby. Sorry.” I thought about making a joke about prison being the perfect place to enjoy anal sex. But I could tell my sister wasn’t in a joking mood. “Still, that’s gotta suck.”
    She sat down. “I know. What an idiot. And to think I’d been feeling sad over our break up.” She looked up at me. I raised an eyebrow. “Of course I don’t want to get back together with him, but I stopped by his house before coming here, just to see if he was okay.”
    “That doesn’t surprise me either. I know you still care for the idiot.” She opened her mouth to argue. “Sorry again. Geez, I should just shut up and let you talk.” I slid down onto the couch next to her.
    “He looked pretty shaken. I think whatever stunt he thought he was going to pull backfired and now he knows that shit’s not cool.”
    “Let’s hope so. I’d hate to see him waste his life.” Admittedly, I didn’t hold out a lot of hope for Jack, but maybe he could change. Maybe.
    Tabby sighed. She looked pretty worried. I was thankful she was going a couple hours away to school, that way there was little chance she could do something stupid like get back together with him.
    “Jack said something I thought was strange. He was out to breakfast with his parents and saw Dad there sitting across from some lady who wasn’t Mom. He must have been mistaken. Could have been a work breakfast, I suppose. Or maybe Jack was stoned and just thought the guy looked like Dad.”

Chapter 14
    The next day my thoughts were focused on what Tabby had said. I walked around the block a few times after work, trying to burn off the fatty meal I’d just consumed, and tried to clear my mind. It was usually filled with daydreams of Greg. Today it brimmed with worry.
    I pulled out my cell phone and dialed my mom. “Hey Mom. How’s it going?”
    “Hey honey. It’s going good. How are things with you?”
    “Fine. I’m just wondering if you talked to Dad?”
    There was a long silence. Was he around? Was it a bad time?
    “Yeah, we talked,” she finally said. I heard a door close. “He says she’s just a friend.” She paused. “I have to take his word for it Sam. He is my husband after all. And unless I can prove something happened I can’t crucify the guy.”
    I felt uncomfortable having this conversation with her. I didn’t know how to respond.
    “I do have one good piece of news though. Your father’s boss took him to breakfast the other day. She was really pleased with his performance last year, and she gave him a raise.”
    His boss. The breakfast. All at once I felt my muscles relax. I’d forgotten my dad’s boss was a woman.
    “That’s great news. You guys should go out and celebrate.”
    “We are. Tomorrow night,” she said.
    She sounded happy. That was what I liked to hear. After chatting for a little while longer, I hung up, satisfied that all was right with the world again. At least in my parents’ world. Mine was still a big fat question mark. Luckily I’d be seeing Mr. Varo again tomorrow.
    Or maybe not so lucky, because when I showed up, Greg wasn’t there. Nor was he the week after that. When I inquired about how he was doing, Mr. Varo would just repeat he was working late, that he was obsessed with some big project.
    So much for my being “destined” to be there the day he was home sick.
    I met Val and Genevieve at a dance club on Saturday night. Val’s plan for pulling me out of my apparently obvious depression. The place was classy, she said, so