Page 44 of Maxwell

“Dad’s prized new doctor? Does he still not know about the two of you?” Maura retwisted her hair on top of her head to keep loose strands from falling into her face.

“Of course not, and I don’t plan to tell him. It’ll make things weird at work.”

Her father did not know and would never know. Ironically, everything he had said about Maxwell was accurate. In a short time, she’d seen how well he worked with his young patients and how easily he won over their parents. But he also fit neatly into her idea of the type of man she thought he was too. Charming, confident, practiced. Exactly the kind of man she didn’t want. A player.

“Oh, this is delicious,” Maura said, rubbing her hands together. “So, you went out with him on Valentine’s Day.”

“Because I had nothing else to do. Nicholas was out of town.”

Her sister shot her a knowing look. “You could have stayed home.”

Maura knew her too well and was absolutely right. She could have stayed home, but she hadn’t wanted to. Not when the opportunity to spend more time with Maxwell presented itself.

She stopped walking, stepping out of the way of other pedestrians and resting her hands on her hips. “When he dropped me off, he wanted to come upstairs, but I didn’t let him. He’s absolutely wrong for me. He’s too much like Leon, and I don’t want to fall for another man who’s slick and running around with a bunch of women. We’re supposed to learn from our mistakes, not repeat them.”

“Jay, you broke up with Leon almost six years ago and started working for Dad. You haven’t seen the man in all this time. Are you still hung up on him?”

“No, I’m not still hung up on him, but he hurt me. I was stupid. I ignored the signs of his dishonesty because I enjoyed his company and enjoyed him. I want a nice man who cares about other people and their feelings. Like Dad. Do these types of men exist in our generation, or do I need to marry a boomer?”

Maura threw up her hands. “Slow down. Look, Dad was the right man for Mom, and even they had a period of time when they were going to end their marriage.”

“That wasn’t Dad’s fault, though. He didn’t sleep around and lie about it.”

Leon didn’t just sleep around. He slept with other women at their workplace, and when the truth came out, Jasmine was humiliated. She seemed to be the only one who didn’t know.

“Some women you tell the truth, some you don’t. A discerning man knows the difference,” Leon had said, as if he was dropping profound knowledge on her. Maybe he was.

After she healed from her heartbreak, she had decided to be like the men she encountered: Out for self, only interested in a good time. The difference was, she explicitly stated her expectations. She never wanted to lead a man on, and they appreciated her honesty. Why couldn’t they be honest in return?

“True,” Maura conceded, “but my point is, in relationships, there’s no guarantee you won’t be hurt.”

“Then why bother? I might as well stay by myself and keep dating the way I am now. No commitment. No getting my feelings tangled up in a man.”

“I can’t speak for you or anyone else because there are people who are happy alone. But for me, sharing my life with someone else is very fulfilling. Lord knows Brick gets on my nerves some days, but then I see him with our kids, or he does something really sweet, like buy my favorite cup of coffee on Saturday morning when he gets back from the hardware store. Little acts of thoughtfulness make me want to climb him.”

“Let’s be honest. You were lucky when you found Brick. He’s a good one.”

“It has nothing to do with luck, Jay. Do you think you’re the only one who’s been hurt?”

“Of course not. People get hurt every day.”

“Right. I got crushed before too. You were probably too young to understand what was going on, but I fell for a player myself once. He was a straight up womanizer.”

Jasmine stared in shock at her sister. “When? Who?”

“Freshman year of college. I met an exchange student from Ghana who ran track. He was a junior. Lord, I loved that man. Loved him so much I was pinning recipes of fufu and jollof rice to a secret Pinterest board I had created so I could learn to cook the foods he liked from his country.”

“Noooo.”

“I kid you not,” Maura said with a laugh. “My plan was to marry him so he could stay in the country, or I was moving to Africa with him when he graduated.”

Jasmine doubled over laughing. “Did Mom and Dad know about your plans to abandon your education?”

“No. Gina did, though,” Maura said, referring to their eldest sister.

“I hope she talked some sense into you.”

“She tried, but I was too far gone.”