After Happily Ever After

Award-winning novel!

AFTER HAPPILY EVER AFTER

By

Leslie A. Rasmussen

I zipped my jacket up to the top of my neck, which still didn't keep the frigid air from whipping through my body. The sun hadn't come out in two weeks, and I was beginning to wonder if we'd ever see it again. As I cursed myself for parking so far away from the bank, a handsome man wearing a New York Yankees baseball cap was walking toward me. His face was lit up by a smile. A smile so warm, that it looked as if it rested on his face even if no one was around. As he got closer, the sun suddenly peeked out from behind a cloud. Was the universe trying to tell me something? Could this be the man for me? Would this be the day that something exciting finally happened? My heart began to race, and I saw my brand-new life in front of me. This man and I would spend all our time together, laughing, antique shopping, and having amazing sex. It would've all been perfect...

If I wasn't already married.

CHAPTER 1

At 5:55, I rolled out of bed and caught my reflection in the mirror above my dresser. That mirror was my enemy. It pointed out all the new wrinkles that had been born on my face while I slept. I was not taking to the idea of aging gracefully... gracefully.

The room was lit only by the glow of the clock. Jim was happily snoring and was no closer to waking up than our Bassett hound, Theo. I had five minutes before I had to get Gia up for school. She was going to be just as happy to hear my voice as I was to hear my mother's twenty-three ago. My feet jumped as I touched the cold hard wood. Where the heck did I put my slippers? I walked through the dark room, feeling my way along the furniture. I made it past the footboard on the bed, and just when I thought I was safe, I stubbed my toe on the dresser. Damn those slippers. I bet they were laughing at me.

"Gia, it's time to get up," I called through the pain. I didn't feel bad yelling when Jim was still asleep, he could sleep through anything. Hopefully, no one would ever break into the house and try to stab me in our bed.

After a moment, teenage mumbling echoed down the hall as sleep escaped her seventeen-year-old body. I shed my pajamas, and wondered how the heck did thirteen-year-old me morph into the body of a forty-year-old woman? Like most women, I resigned myself to the fact that it was out of my control. Or was it? If I started going to the gym again, I could tone up my floppy belly, my sagging under arms and my ass that was creasing below my thighs. As I got in the shower, I decided to either give it a great deal of thought or push it out of my mind. I stood under the warm spray letting it soothe me, and care for me. I would happily stay here forever.

"Mom." Gia called as she charged into the bathroom as if she'd been left out of something. Forever was not living up to its reputation. I turned off the water, grabbed my robe off the floor, then wrapped my wet hair in a terry cloth turban. Her five-feet-six-inch lanky frame dwarfed my five-foot two compact self.

"What's the weather like today?" She was wearing a silk shirt that barely hid the fact that she hadn't put pants on.

"We live in Connecticut and its winter, what do you think the weather's like?" I asked.

"It's winter right now, but at some point, it'll be spring."

"You'll get a warning, spring doesn't really 'spring'."

"Mom you're so funny."

"You need to finish getting dressed. The last time I checked your school required pants." I said. She rolled her eyes. Eyes I would've killed for. She had lush lashes that curled upwards, except for a few in the corner that curled down. At my age, my lashes were either falling out or turning gray. Long eyelashes were wasted on the young.