Self Esteem Issues

Romance often follows a bumpy path, especially in Schuyler Square. Peter Van Husen, a local police officer, had an affair with the small town's top socialite, Mavis Schuyler, last spring. After breaking it off with Mavis, he returned to his pregnant wife. Unfortunately, Peter's marriage didn't last and his wife left him, taking their baby with her, to run away with her hairdresser. Peter's now at loose ends and a little too vulnerable to women like Sandi Cooper.

"I swear I heard someone sneaking under my window," Sandi Cooper told Peter Van Husen as she clutched a not too large towel around her ample figure. "Did you see anyone out there?"

Doing his best not to gawk at her falling down towel and what was behind it, Peter averted his glance and stared instead at a framed Thomas Kinkade painting on the wall. "Not a soul," he replied. "Is this your apartment, Ms. Cooper?"

"I'm sharing it with my mother," Sandi explained. "We sublet it since we thought we'd be in Schuyler Square for a month or so--you know, planning my sister's wedding." She sighed. "I suppose I should say that I was sharing it with my mother. Now that Mindy's wedding is a wash, Mom took off for a Peter Noone concert in Saskatchewan."

"Peter Who?"

"Peter Noone. Apparently he was a big hit back in the Dark Ages." Sandi twirled a finger next to her ear. "My mom is nuts. Certifiable. All she does is chase down her teen idols and try to get them to take her out for a date. Next on her agenda is Donny Osmond and then David Cassidy." She fluttered her eyelashes at him. "But just because my mother is nuts doesn't mean I inherited it. I assure you that I'm quite sane."

Peter considered making a run for it but only for a moment. Why not get to know Sandi better? It wasn't like he had his wife and child waiting for him at him. He was foot loose, fancy free and incredibly lonely. "Well, I don't think you need to worry about prowlers. I didn't see anything in the yard. Of course, if you want me to I could wait around for a while."

"That would be great," Sandi said. She sat down on the couch and patted the cushion next to her, still holding her towel against her chest. "Sit down and we can get to know each other. I've never met an actual police officer before. Only when I've gotten speeding tickets and that time I landed in jail for the weekend but that was a long time ago."

Peter sat down, feeling a little less nervous. Breaking up with Mavis and getting dumped by his wife had done a number on his self-esteem but maybe a babe like Sandi could help him recuperate. "So why are you sticking around?" he asked. "I heard your sister broke up with Bernard Morton. As a matter of fact, I was there when it happened."

"I don't really have any place else to go," Sandi said as she examined her nails. They were painted dark blue and had tiny sparkles on them. "Plus I just got a job here on the newspaper."

"Isn't that where your sister works?"

"Yes but she didn't get me my job. Everything I've ever gotten I've earned on my own." Sandi raised her eyes and met Peter's gaze. "I don't believe in nepotism. Do you?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure what it is."

Sandi laughed. "That's okay. When you're as good looking as you are, Officer Van Husen, you don't need nepotism." With that she lunged forward and kissed him, her towel dropping to the floor.

Once again Peter thought about leaving and once again he decided against it. It was a slow night in Schuyler Square anyway and Sandi Cooper was doing more for his self esteem than anyone else had in months...