Between Boyfriends (Book 1 in the Between Boyfriends Series)

Chapter 21

After getting a scary dose of alternative reality from Nichole, Jan found the strength to refrain from buying a new outfit for the night's event. She tried on most of the clothes in her "pretty pile" and finally selected something she thought was dressy enough for downtown while still being comfortable enough to dance in. One way or another, someone would make her dance. She was counting on it.

The rejected clothes were picked up from off the floor and hung up before Jan put on the lucky skirt and top that had made the final cut. She purred as the soft satiny material of the pink tank top slid over her head. A tight, pink and black beaded skirt, which wasn't nearly as tight as it used to be, completed the main portion of the ensemble. Jan selected some almost-flat black sandals that would allow her to dance in relative comfort, and put a silver charm bracelet around her ankle to add some glitz.

I'll ask Becki to paint my toenails. Jan never seemed to be able to do them herself without getting polish everywhere except her toenails. She often thought that she had somehow been born without the gene that allowed females, and some gay males, to do hair and nails. She was an expert with makeup, but she couldn't do much more with her hair than brush it.

As she reached up to retrieve her jewelry box from a shelf in her walk-in closet, she decided that if she was missing a gene, it was her mother's fault. Her mother never wore nail polish, skirts, makeup, or did anything with her hair.

Jan opened the solid cherry-wood box and pawed through it until she found her diamond heart necklace and dangly rose quartz earrings. The earrings would become a pain when she started dancing, but they were worth the effect when combined with the pink strands in her hair. She added her silver belt and found a Louis Vuitton handbag that she thought was as ugly as the majority of Lisa's clothes but knew was considered fashionable. She walked into the bedroom to check herself out in the free-standing floor length mirror that had previously been covered by discarded clothes and pronounced herself acceptable, with just one minor change. She ditched the Vuitton and grabbed her older, but much prettier, Kate Spade bag.

Now, Jan thought and fluffed her hair, I'm ready for my close-up.

As Jan was staring at herself in the mirror, wondering when her friends would arrive, she heard the ever-welcome sound of her Godsmack ringtone announcing that someone wanted to speak with her. She took the phone out of her purse and flipped it open to answer the call, her eyes never leaving her stunning image.

"Jan?" a commanding voice asked before she could even say hello.

"Yes," she responded, not quite placing the voice.

"I think I found your grandfather."

Jan recognized Miguel's voice. She watched her expression change as she realized what he had said. She looked like a slack-jawed hick. It ruined her outfit.

Jan closed her mouth and prepared a response worthy of the sensational news. "Huh?"

"Your grandfather? In Australia? Remember?"

Jan remembered. She just didn't remember how to get the words in her brain to come out through her mouth. "Uh."

"There is a Bradley Weston, Jr. residing in Sydney, Australia with his wife Maurine. He's a retired CEO. Plays a lot of golf. The man is wealthy, very wealthy. The only reason I found him at all on so little information is because of his numerous financial contributions to politicians and museums. He tends to be in the news quite a bit, considering he's a foreigner."

The mention of wealth got Jan's head working properly. "Are you sure it's my grandfather?"

"Chica, nothing short of a DNA test will prove he's your abuelito, but I have his address and phone number if you want to ask him yourself."