Between Boyfriends (Book 1 in the Between Boyfriends Series)

Chapter 26

The mail was delivered every day by 3 PM. Every day at three, or as soon thereafter as Jan's schedule allowed, she made a trip to her mailbox. She did this religiously, except, ironically, on Sundays.

And every day, she found bills, junk mail, and credit card offers, but no letters. It didn't take Lisa long to notice Jan's new obsession. She made it a habit of putting Reminder in the bathroom and leaving her door open around the time Jan tended to return from her mail trip. And each day, Jan walked by, shook her head, and went into her apartment to sulk.

Jan reminded herself that it was the middle of April and she had more important things to worry about than corresponding with long-lost relatives. Finals were fast approaching and Jan couldn't afford to fall behind in her studies. She had three weeks to finish her final projects and prepare for her practical exams. With all the massage experience she was getting at Alma's office, Jan wasn't too worried about the hands-on testing. It was the written tests she was worried about.

Yet every day as soon as she got off work, or if she had the day off then exactly at three, Jan dashed to check her mail.

One day, a Saturday, Jan got something she didn't expect. She'd been praying for a letter from Australia. Unfortunately, she forgot about her second mantra: be careful what you wish for. She hadn't been specific enough with her prayers.

That day, she opened her mailbox and took out a letter. She studied it for a moment, wiped her eyes, and headed back up to her apartment. Lisa's doorway framed a shell-shocked Jan shuffling her feet into her apartment.

"Jan?" Lisa called. "Hey, Jan! What's wrong?"

Jan lifted her eyes like a wounded puppy to glance at Lisa before returning her gaze to the ground. She walked the rest of the way into her apartment. Lisa ran after her, closing her own door behind her.

When Lisa walked in, Jan was lying dejectedly on her couch clutching a letter to her chest.

Lisa sat down on the edge of the couch. "Did you get a letter from your grandparents?"

Jan glanced up at Lisa like she'd just noticed she was there. Her eyes moved to the letter in her hand and back to her friend, not quite looking her in the eye. Jan held out the hand that clutched the letter.

Lisa leaned over and took it from her. She looked at the front, then flipped it over, studied it, and looked at the front again. "I don't understand. This says 'return to sender'. Was this all you got?"

Jan sighed. She had thought her friend was smarter than that. The entire situation was obvious to her. Her reputation as being unlovable had preceded her all the way across the Pacific Ocean. Her grandparents had taken one look at the return address on the letter Jan had written, wrinkled their noses, and stamped "return to sender" without a second thought.

"They didn't even read it," Jan whispered.

Lisa checked the letter again. It appeared to be unopened. Jan knew that already. It was the first thing she had noticed.

"They didn't even open it," Lisa echoed Jan's thought. "That's pretty cold. Do you have any idea why?"

"Why?" Jan asked. "Why? Because they hate me. They don't even know me, but they hate me. EVERYONE HATES ME!" Jan jumped off her couch and started pacing.

Lisa tried calling her name a few times, hoping to calm her down. Jan ignored her and continued to pace, ranting about how nobody loved her. Lisa got up and tried to stop her. She got behind Jan and grabbed one of Jan's forearms to get her attention. Lisa found herself instantly bent over with her own wrist twisted behind her back. Just as suddenly, she was released.