Robin Alexander - Pitifully Ugly

face, waiting for her eyebrows to rise over the glasses, but they

didn’t. “Anyway, I was put off by her directness. I just didn’t

think where she was steering the conversation was appropriate

for having just met in person. And then I noticed that her left ring

finger had a definite dent in it.”

“Did you talk to her a while online before you met?” she

asked coolly.

“No, and that was a mistake because if I had, I wouldn’t have

wasted a morning going to meet her. I know it’s silly, but I felt

deceived. I thought she had potential until she got nasty.”

Hailey’s brows did rise then. “Nasty how? Mean?”

“No, not mean, just extremely forward.”

Hailey looked away from me and took another sip of her

coffee. “Deception is a bitch, isn’t it?”

It wasn’t what she said but how she said it with such disgust.

“I take it you’ve been deceived.” She didn’t answer for a minute,

and I was afraid I’d ventured into a topic that was taboo. She took

her glasses off and looked at me. Her eyes revealed pain.

“I was the deceiver. I cheated on my husband.”

I was thrown by her admission and a bit disappointed. I liked

her company and had been kind of hoping that she was gay, too,

even though I suspected otherwise.

“I’ve been cheated on before, but I have to say that being the

cheater is infinitely more painful.” Her voice took on a raspy tone.

“When you’re cheated on, it’s devastating, but friends and family

rally around until you get back on your feet. But when you cheat,

you realize that you’ve inflicted that kind of pain on someone

else, and you’re stuck with that remorse for the rest of your life.

No amount of support or forgiveness can take that away.”

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Robin Alexander

“Did your husband forgive you?”

“Surprisingly, yes, and he’s been a good friend to me.” She

looked away and bowed her head. “It would’ve been easier, I

think, if he would have hated me.”

“Sounds to me like you haven’t forgiven yourself.”

Hailey shook her head. “No, I haven’t, and I doubt I ever wil .”

“If he’s forgiven you, is there a chance for reconciliation?”

“I love him, but I can’t be a wife.”

She looked as though she were about to cry, so I let the

subject drop. “So now you share your life with a dog that likes

musicals.”

I watched her tension evaporate. The wrinkles left her brow

and her shoulders relaxed. “Yeah, the unconditional love is great.

Although I do wish she would play tennis. I really miss that.”

“Tennis, huh?”

“Yeah, do you play?” Hailey asked.

“I’m a mean badminton player. The concept is the same, isn’t

it?” I loved the way she wrinkled her nose in response.

“It’s similar.”

“I have a membership to a health club that I never use. They

have tennis courts, and I could really use the exercise,” I said,

hoping that she’d be interested.

She looked at me and smiled. “You look like you’re in pretty

decent shape.”

I patted my stomach. “That’s because I’m hiding my fluff in

this hoodie. This could be a good thing. You can teach me to play

tennis properly, and I can work off my pudge. It’s a win-win, at

least for me.”

“I’d love to,” she said with a smile.

“Okay, that’s settled. Now that we’re talking about exercise,

I’m hungry.”

She really perked up then. “I found a sandwich shop a couple

of blocks over. They have all kinds of sprouts and healthy stuff.

Wanna try it?”

I was thinking Mexican with lots of gooey cheese, but when

she jumped up and pulled me to my feet, I was helpless but to

follow.

4

Pitifully Ugly

Healthy food sucks. I sat looking down at a gluten-free wrap

filled with something that looked like grass and a cheese that

was anything but gooey. The first bite nearly gagged me, but I

swallowed it down with green tea that made it tolerable.

“You like?” Hailey asked when she put her half-eaten wrap

down and took a sip of tea with the leaves floating in the bottom

of her glass.

I should’ve been truthful and told her it tasted like shit, not that

I’d ever tasted that, but the flavor had to be close. “It’s great.”

The conversation had fallen into a lull. I was at a loss for

anything to say because my taste buds were screaming in

rebellion.

“It’s a shame about the girl you met. I’m sorry that you were

so disappointed,” she said suddenly.

I smiled at the way her lips twitched. “My sister tried to warn

me away from online dating, but I didn’t take her advice.”

“Why did you join?” she asked before polishing off the

grotesque wrap. I had no idea how she could maintain such a

pleasant expression as she chewed.

“I’m terrible at meeting people.”

“You met me.”

I pushed my wrap away. “I guess I wasn’t as hungry as I

thought. I’ll save this for dinner. As for meeting you, I guess

that’s different. You’re easy to talk to, and since we live in the

same building, that gives us something in common right off the

bat.”She smiled. “You did seem kind of nervous the first few times

we talked.”

“Magnify that a hundred times, and that’s me on a first

date.”

“I find you charming,” she said, meeting my eyes. “If you

allow someone to see this side of you, you’d have plenty of

prospects.”

“And therein lies the problem. When I met Stacy this morning,

4

Robin Alexander

I was so nervous, I thought I was going to be sick a couple of times.

Then when she started talking about…butt sex, I flipped.”

Hailey laughed so loud that a couple of patrons looked our

way. She covered her mouth until she was composed. “What’s the

name of this dating site you’re on—booty buddies?”

“No, the Rainbow Room, it’s for lesbians.”

Hailey’s lips did that odd little twitch again before she took a

sip of her tea.

“Does it make you uneasy that I’m a lesbian?”

“Not at all,” she said seriously. “You are who you are, and you

seem to be comfortable with that. I think it’s great.”

“I don’t think anyone has ever used that word to describe

me,” I said with a pleased smile.

“Comfortable?”

“Yes.”

“Want me to tell you what else I see in you?” Hailey asked

with a daring smile. “I’ve been told that I’m supremely accurate

with my first impressions.”

I leaned back in my chair, unsure if I wanted to hear what she

had to say. “Is it bad?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“Okay then, be honest but gentle.”

“It’s blatantly obvious that you’re shy,” Hailey began. “As you

said, you’re uncomfortable with small talk. You’re very warm

and kind, though, and I suspect quick to forgive. I figure that

your apartment is immaculately clean, and you’re meticulously

organized when it comes to work. And I think,” Hailey said with

a broad smile, “when you do meet that special someone, you’re

going to make her very happy.”

“I’d already told you about the shy part, but how did you come

to the conclusions on the rest?”

“That’s easy,” Hailey said with a wave of her hand.

“Accountants are meticulous and organized because they have to

be, or they wouldn’t be in business for long. Your clothes, even the