Love On Her Terms. Jennifer Lohmann

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      A car started in the driveway next to his kitchen. His neighbor. No, Mina. She’d gone through all the awkward trouble of coming next door and introducing herself to him. He could at least call her by her name in his head while resisting the temptation to turn around and watch her as she drove off.

      Maybe she really was a university professor. Teaching... He strained his brain to remember what she’d said. Russian and graphic novels.

      Unlike the physical toll that mining took on him, he supposed people didn’t get old prematurely teaching Russian to college students, even in Montana. He didn’t exactly know what a graphic novel was, but he was sure the same applied. Mina Clements would be fresh and young-looking until the day she fell asleep at the ripe old age of ninety-seven and didn’t wake up. And up until that time, she’d be inviting people into her life, whether they wanted to be there or not.

      He skimmed the two horoscopes, only barely paying attention to their meaning. Between learning that it was time for him to open himself up to new experiences and that Kimmie should, if she were alive, let go of the past, the question of what a graphic novel was lingered. His mind had seized on the term graphic, wrapping arms around it and forcing him to face all the graphic things he’d been avoiding contemplating with his pint-size neighbor.

      But women, even women from big cities, didn’t go around introducing themselves to their neighbor and immediately saying they wrote pornographic novels and to check out their website. Missoula might be a more liberal area of Montana, but this was still Montana, and people would be offended.

      Though even the offended would probably do just what Levi was about to do. He folded up the paper and tossed it into the recycling. Then he grabbed his tablet and searched the internet for Mina Clements. One M.

      “Huh,” he said to himself as he scrolled down Mina’s page of books. “She writes comic books.” There didn’t seem to be any capes or superpowers, but his friendly neighbor wrote comic books.

      Levi sat back in his chair and crossed his arms, looking at the image of a nose dressed in clothing standing in front of a large, ornate building. The drawings were black-and-white, with thick lines and harsh angles. Not funny or light or chatty at all. In fact, there was a darkness to the illustrations that he wouldn’t have believed existed in the friendly woman with a strong, firm handshake and unguarded, bright smile that had him wanting to walk outside and greet the day with open arms.

      He could tell she’d felt a little foolish as she’d walked away, though that wasn’t his problem. He hadn’t had anything to say, and he didn’t want to get to know her. He hadn’t invited her over here, didn’t want her young cheer invading the life he’d made for himself. And when he wanted to feel like the world was a brighter place, he’d pick Solstice and her brother, Skylar, up for some soccer drills.

      And, honestly, he had thought Mina had been a little foolish for standing on his front stoop babbling a bit.

      But the woman who drew these pictures wasn’t foolish. Or silly. The woman who drew these pictures understood black humor and pain and isolation. The woman who drew these pictures was the kind of person he wanted to get to know.

      Despite her external chipperness.

      And, if he were being completely honest with himself, because he wanted to know how the woman who drew these pictures was the same woman who’d bounced down his stairs.

      His chair legs squeaked as he scooted back to look out the window next door. What had previously been a plain, slightly barren lawn with more weeds than grass had now been broken up into flower beds. Mums, mostly. There wasn’t much else one could plant in the fall in Montana that would flower, but Mina had added life and interest to her house.

      He looked until he remembered that he wasn’t interested. Then he tipped back in his chair and closed the blinds, dimming the room.

       CHAPTER THREE

      MINA ONLY REALIZED that she had a doorbell when she heard it ring for the first time. She wasn’t that surprised that she had been too distracted to notice a small white button in the white siding next to her door, but she was surprised to see the outline of her cranky neighbor through the frosted glass window.

      “Hello, Levi,” she said as she opened the door. “I didn’t expect to see you standing on my doorstep.”

      Inwardly she flinched at the slight implied by her words, but her neighbor didn’t seem to notice. Or, if he had any reaction, the permanent shadow on his face from his stubble hid all the visible signs.

      “I got some of your mail.” He handed over a stack of envelopes, most of which looked like they would be junk and she’d be throwing them out anyway. “I saw that you were home and thought I’d bring it over, rather than leave it in your mailbox.”

      “That’s nice of you. Thank you.”

      They stood on her porch as she waited for him to say something. The change of venue from his front door to her front door didn’t make him any more loquacious. But he was here, and he’d done a nice thing, so she gave him a smile and took the reins of the conversation. “Does the mailman often put mail in the wrong box?”

      Inane chatter. She could do better, but his silent presence seemed to knock all cleverness out of her. Between this and her babbling on his porch, he was going to think she was an idiot.

      Levi looked relieved rather than dismissive. “No. But this house was empty for two years. He’s probably not used to delivering mail here.”

      “Lucky for him, I doubt I’ll get much.” She held up the roll of advertisements and credit-card solicitations. “This looks like a lot of junk.”

      “There was an ad for Palmer’s Drug in mine. Best drugstore in town. I tossed everything else.”

      “Oh. That’s good to know, actually.” Local pharmacies were often also compounding pharmacies and sometimes she needed the specialized service. Levi’s visit was proving to be more than just an opportunity to appreciate the rough angles of his face and feel like a babbling fool.

      “Any other best-in-town places I should know about?”

      He shrugged, then looked around, probably at the disrepair of her porch. “I always go to Ace Hardware. Good people over there.”

      She laughed. “Will they come over and fix things, too?”

      “Nah, but they give good advice. And this house has good bones. You take care of it, and it will take care of you.”

      Before she could say anything else, Levi nodded once, then turned on his heel and walked off her porch.

      Mina stood in her doorway, watching him until he’d crossed over her lawn and onto his own. His butt looked nice in his jeans, but that wasn’t the only reason she couldn’t take her eyes off him. She also watched him because he was a puzzle of a man. If asked, she would have sworn that he was not a man to take such an ordinary task as returning a neighbor’s mail and make it a personal gesture complete with recommendations. Not when he could have silently stuck it in her mailbox.

      * * *

      A WEEK LATER, Mina stood on her front lawn cursing her lawn mower. It was new and СКАЧАТЬ