Chapter Eight

Howie spent ten minutes trying to parallel park his car in a tiny spot in front of the real estate office. Finally he gave up and parked two blocks away in a public lot. He walked back to the office and pushed open the door, looking for John.

“Howie!” John yelled, coming towards him. “Where the hell have you been?!”

“What kind of greeting is that?”

“I’ve been calling you and calling you. I must have left six or seven messages on your machine!”

Howie stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets and grinned. “Oh, well, I got a puppy. She erased a bunch of ‘em.”

“You got a dog?”

“Uh huh. A cute little black lab. But she has a terrible gas problem.”

John cracked a smile.

“So what did you want to talk to me about? It sounded pretty urgent over the phone. Are you having problems or something?”

“No, nothing like that.” John smiled and guided him over to the couch to sit down. “But I’ve got the answer to your problems.”

“All right, now I’m confused. What problems do I have?”

"Women.”

Howie’s eyes narrowed. “If you’re gonna try to set me up on another blind date, forget it. Remember Helen?”

“Hey! I didn’t know she was married, okay?”

Howie snorted and rolled his eyes.

“Anyway,” John said. “This is different. You know her!”

“I don’t care. I’m tired of getting set up. From now on, I’m doing the dating thing my way.”

“But-”

“No but’s about it. I don’t want to hear anything about her.”

“Not even-”

“No!” Howie cried, standing up. “Is that what you called me for? A woman?”

“Not just any woman. Howie, will you listen!”

He shook his head and started for the door.

“I’ve got tons of unpacking left to do. If you’re okay here. . .”

John pursed his lips and crossed his arms. “Yeah, things are great here. We just leased out another condo yesterday.”

“That’s good. Business is good then.”

“Sure is. In fact, she’s coming in tomorrow to pick up the keys.”

Howie threw his hands in the air. “Will you give it up? Please? I can find my own woman!”

Liar! his mind screamed. You can’t even find the one you really want!

“So you absolutely, positively don’t want to hear about her? Not even her name?” John pushed, wiggling his eyebrows.

“No. I mean it, no.”

“All right. But don’t come and kick my ass when you realize you’ve made a big mistake. Say hi to the guys for me.” Then he turned and walked away, whistling.

Howie fought the urge to ask about the woman. Instead, he hurried out of the building.

Unless that woman is Lori Haberlan, I don’t want anything to do with her! he thought angrily, walking back to his car.

He jammed the key into the lock, opened the door and hopped inside. For a full minute, he sat completely still, thinking about Lori. Frustrated, he pounded the steering wheel with his fists. He was never going to find her if he didn’t look for her. But where the hell was he supposed to look?!

He leaned against the wheel, taking a deep breath and forcing himself to concentrate. He suddenly realized why Lori hadn’t contacted him over the years.

“Omigod,” he groaned. “Of course she hasn’t found me, she doesn’t know my real name!”