This time I looked pointedly at Harley, as I started to swallow the asparagus, in case she missed the loud points I was trying to make with that answer.

Sheryl gave me a small smile, and reached out to clasp my hand. She was completely missing what the subtext this whole exchange had meant to me, and to Harley I think. But Harley was looking at me with a completely unreadable expression, so I had no idea where her mind had gone to, seeing how the script we seemed to have been following ever since we’d locked eyes had completely flipped over the last five minutes or so.

But Sheryl meant well.

“Honey, you’ve been getting over Chris, and her passing, that’s all,” Sheryl said kindly. “You are not a whore. You are a wonderful, kind, and loving human being. And completely devoted to Chris, from what I gathered.”

This was all getting to be too much.

“Chris told me about how happy she was about your relationship, during the last phone call I’d had with her, and so I know just what kind of partner you’d been with her. And can be, again. Once you find the right person,” Sheryl added.

I took another calming breath. I’m not sure I’ll be able to survive this simple dinner. Or the rest of this LA trip, for that matter.

“Which reminds me!” Sheryl exclaimed, playfully thumping her forehead, as she turned to face Harley. “Harley, Aerin here is the person you’ll need to convince about the house.”

You’ve got to be shittin’ me.

“WHA-A-A-TT?” Harley and I exclaimed simultaneously.

Sheryl nodded her head vigorously, and looked at me this time, “Harley’s that wonderful young lady I told you about who’s been renting the house and then had chosen to remain there to help me keep an eye on the whole construction process. She loves that house, and will do everything to keep it in tip-top shape while she gathers the funds she’ll need to pay you for it, if you agree to some kind of rent-to-own arrangement.”

I stood on shaky legs, muttering, “I think I have some salad stuck in my teeth. And I need to go to the bathroom to relieve myself. Drank all that iced tea earlier, and the lemonade …” My voice trailed off as I stood.