Two Days Of A Dream Read Free Page A

I just couldn't do it." Kelly leapt up again and paced the dark tan carpet to the window and looked out.
    Aunt Shirley sighed. "I understand, sweetie. It’s just that I had hoped you would be happy with Mark."
    "I had hoped so, too She peered out the heavy damask drapes. There was nothing to see in the dark but the street lamps, so she returned to the couch.
    "You're running out of time if you want number fours. Your birthday is in four months."
    Aunt Shirley would remind her as though her biological clock hadn't been getting louder with each birthday since she turned twenty-seven.
    "I thought that was babies." Kelly plopped down and hugged a pillow to her chest.
    "All right, babies. Do you want babies?"
    Oh how she wanted babies Without a doubt, no one she knew could imagine that Kelly, the big career woman, would give it all away for a little soft bundle with a poohed diaper. She must be crazy.
    "Yes, I do want babies. I just don't know where to find a strong man who will treat me well and that I can respect."
    "Kelly dear, there are a lot of men out there that aren't like your father. But you have to give them a chance."
    "I'm willing to give them a chance, but there aren't any out there that want me."
    "That’s only because they don't know you."
    She always thinks the best of me whether I deserve it or not. A sigh seeped out. "I wish." She felt it was more likely they knew her too well.
    "Maybe Mark and Lucy won't make it, and you'll have another chance at him."
    Kelly gasped. "What an awful thing to say!" Aunt Shirley giggled and Kelly realized the older woman was kidding. "'Sides, they're expecting their first number four in a few months. The way he smiles all the time, I doubt there's any marital discord. I guess having Lois there didn't hamper their love life any."
    "You'll find someone." Aunt Shirley's voice was confident.
    "I should have taken him up on his offer, because it will probably be my only one." Kelly detested pouting but found her bottom lip sticking out. She sucked it back in.
    "Don't say that, Kelly, there's a man out there for you."
    "Yeah, sure, whatever you say." Kelly swallowed a lump.
    "Ah sweetie, I didn't mean to call and get you all down."
    "That's okay Auntie ... I'm fine. I always enjoy talking to you." Even when the conversation becomes excruciating, Kelly would never pass up a chance to talk to her wonderful aunt.
    "I love talking to you, too. You do know you're my favorite niece, right?"
    "Yes, and you know you're my favorite aunt, right?"
    "And so glad that I am." They laughed together but Kelly didn't feel it.
    They said their good-byes. Kelly closed her cell phone and held it to her heart for a few moments. She hurt so badly inside she didn't know how to express it.
    Her conversation with her aunt nagged at her, picking at the sore in her heart. Oh, why did Aunt Shirley have to bring this up? She used to date. In college, she dated a lot. When starting with this company, she dated plenty. However, back then, the only thing the men in her company wanted involved warming their beds. She wouldn't have any of that, as she had better things planned for her life. Let them buy an electric blanket.
    She felt glad that she hadn’t let them use her, even if that meant being alone.
    Kelly didn’t notice when her phone quit ringing, too focused to notice the subtle social change around her. Now the only thing the men in her company wanted her for was to bulldoze their projects or to have someone to blame if they fall flat. They didn't want a strong woman as a partner for their life and Kelly didn't want a weak man for hers. But here she stood eight years later. Where had she gone wrong?
    Meanwhile, most of the women around her had married and moved on. She pondered how the time slipped away as she rushed to be the best. Few in her original crowd, weren’t already hooked up with someone, leaving her fewer men to choose from. Kelly found that she was a fifth wheel wherever she went.
    Other than