Schuyler Square Day 85 A New Leaf

Veronica Chandler was turning over a new leaf. She was tired of herself and her neurotic, whining ways. After being unceremoniously kicked out of the house she was renting from Schuyler Enterprises, Veronica realized that she had a chance to start over again and she was going to take it and run with it. She wasn't quite fifty years old yet and she had a lot of her life still ahead of her. Did she really want to go through whatever years she had left complaining all the time about what had gone wrong in her youth?

No, she did not. She wanted to be the competent, reliable woman than she knew she could be when she tried. She also wanted to fall in love again, settle down and enjoy her life.

Tom Hartman smiled encouragingly as Veronica described the leaf she was turning over. "I think you're pretty nice just the way you are," he told her.

Veronica made a face. "That's because you're nice," she informed him. Tom was nice. She wished she could fall in love with him but the zing just didn't seem to be there, not like it had with Ron.

Tom shrugged. "I try but I've noticed that a lot of women seem to equate 'nice' with 'boring.' Would you like dessert?" He signaled the waitress.

"Sure," Veronica agreed. Along with becoming a nicer person, she was also giving up counting calories since she suspected that it would be a lot easier to be pleasant if her sweet tooth was always fed and happy. After ordering carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, Veronica returned to Tom's remark. "You're hardly boring," she told him.

Tom raised an eyebrow. "Then will you go away with me for the weekend?"

Oh, my. She hadn't expected that kind of an invitation. Veronica floundered for a response. She didn't want to hurt Tom's feelings but a weekend? That carried all kinds of implications that she wasn't sure if she could handle. "I don't know..."

A cell phone interrupted her, giving her a moment of reprieve. Tom glanced at the caller i.d. To Veronica's surprise, his face suddenly seemed to shut down. "Damn," he muttered. "Excuse me, Veronica, but I really need to take this."

"Sure," Veronica replied, slightly puzzled. She tried not to listen as Tom spoke into his phone but it was next to impossible. His end of the conversation was terse and although he talked for several minutes, Veronica had no idea of who he was talking to. Finally, Tom ended his call.

"Sorry about that," he said.

"No problem," she told him.

"About the weekend," Tom continued. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to take my invitation back. Something's suddenly come up."

"I understand," Veronica told him. But as she dug into her carrot cake it occurred to her that she was a little disappointed that Tom could no longer go away with her. She also couldn't help wonder why he had to change his mind--and his plans--so suddenly. She also couldn't help wondering if his mysterious phone call hadn't been from another woman...