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heard from you and wanted to make sure you were all right. Give me a call, OK? Bye.”
    Deep breath. I wondered when he'd call me back. I also wondered if he was screening my call and would never, ever return it. I turned to my officemate, Andrew. “Andrew?”
    Andrew looked up from his desk. “Yeah?”
    “How can I tell if a guy is screening my calls?” Andrew's sweet smile and playfulness around the office made him very popular with the female paralegals and probably girls in general; I figured he'd screened many calls in his time.
    Grinning, Andrew said, “Wanna catch your man in the act, huh?”
    I nodded, “I guess.”
    “Have you been calling him from your cell?”
    Waving my phone at him, I said, “Uh huh.”
    “Does he know where you work or your number here?”
    We hadn't talked much about work. “No.”
    “Call him from your work phone and see if he picks up.”
    My hands shaking, I started dialing his number when Andrew stopped me.
    “Wait,” he said. “I have a better idea. Let's call from my phone just in case. I'll put it on speaker.”
    “OK.” I gave Andrew the number and held my breath as he dialed and we waited for the ring.
    After one ring, he picked up. “Randall here.”
    Andrew looked at me waiting for my response. I didn't say anything and so he gave me bug-eyes and mouthed, “Well?”
    I whispered, “Hang up. Hang up!”
    Andrew hung up and shrugged. “There's your answer, I guess.”
    Feeling sick to my stomach, I logged out, grabbed my pocketbook and waved goodbye to Andrew. I was going home, and Lainie and her date would just have to deal with it. “Thanks for your help. See you tomorrow.”
    As I exited our office and turned left toward the elevator bank, I heard Andrew call out, “He's a fool, Jane. Chin up.”

    *   *   *

    Marissa didn't have cable so she came over every Sunday and watched True Blood with Lainie. I wasn't into it but I had made enough lasagna to feed all three of us and our future grandchildren, so I sat with them anyway.
    Lainie insisted on talking about Randall the Rat.
    “I'm so sorry, Jane,” Marissa said. “He seemed so charming.”
    “The biggest scumbags always put on the best show. That's how they operate,” Lainie said. “Mind if I take more lasagna?”
    I shook my head and returned the recliner to the upright position. “It's OK, guys. Not a big deal at all. I suppose I was due a bad egg after dating the same great guy for nine years.”
    “Yeah, Jane. I still don't get how you possibly thought you'd do better than Bob. Not that I've met him, but he seemed perfect boyfriend material. Being in a committed relationship seems to be your goal in life and you were in one. Kind of blew it if you ask me!” Lainie said, before walking into the kitchen.
    “It wasn't about wanting someone better than Bob. We just fell out of love, that's all. It was too convenient. Too easy, you know?” I looked towards Marissa hoping for her support.
    Laughing she said, “Dating in New York is neither convenient nor easy so maybe you'll like it!”
    Lainie sat back down with the plate of lasagna on her lap. “Yes, it's most inconvenient and difficult to say the least,” she said before taking a bite.
    Bored with the conversation, I got up and headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed. I had a wine tasting event through Meetup the next night and hadn't picked out an outfit.
    “Randall wasn't the one, girls. No biggie. The search continues. I'll call you soon, Ris. Night Lainie. See you tomorrow.”
    As I changed into my pajamas, I heard them whispering about how great my attitude was until they finally shut up and watched the show.
    In bed, I played back my time with Randall. Maybe I had freaked him out when I said I had just gotten out of a long relationship andwanted to take things slow. He probably really liked me but assumed I was looking for something serious. I was looking for something serious, so it was probably a good thing I found out he wasn't