The Face In The Mirror by Barbara Stewart Page B

evening, Mitchell ran out and grabbed
dinner from Taco Bell. Later, he scanned the movie channel.
    “How about an inside date?”
“What?”
“Is there any popcorn in the pantry?” he asked.
“You wanna watch a movie?” I asked.
“If there’s popcorn,” he chuckled.
I scrounged through the pantry. I thought I’d seen a package of the
    microwave kind when I was cleaning in there, and found it. “Got it.”
“Ever seen Salmon Fishing in the Yemen ?” he inquired.
“Never even heard of it,” I said, and flopped down on the sofa beside him.
“I’ve seen it, but it’s good enough to see again,” he said.
    Two hours flew by. The movie captivated me and I’d lost track of the time.
“Mitchell, I had no idea what to expect. I had no preconceptions about
what this movie would be and I am pleasantly surprised. It’s one of the most
ridiculous story lines ever. I mean, creating a place for salmon fishing in the
Middle East? But the stories within the story were thought provoking and witty.
I loved the unexpected love between Harriet and Dr. Jones. I kept hoping that
they would find their way to each other, and they did. Oh, it was one of the
best movies I’ve ever seen!”
    I realized I was babbling, and looked over at Mitchell who was watching
me with a satisfied grin. “What? I loved it! It surprised me!”
“I love that you loved it,” he said. “Renie, I love your passion and
excitement over things like this. I knew you’d love it, because I know you.”
    I wanted to scream, MITCHELL DONOVAN, DON’T EVER LEAVE
ME! But I couldn’t even speak those words yet, much less shout them. My
fears over my stupid choices in our past paralyzed me, so I just curled into his
arms and hoped that my kiss would let him know that I was glad he was with
me.
n
    On Sunday afternoon, we loaded the truck and headed home around 4:30.
The ride home was quiet. I was thinking about work - I did not want to go
back. I was thinking about Mitchell - I absolutely did not want him to leave me,
but I wasn’t sure how to tell him. I was thinking about my dad and brother - I
knew, without question, that I wasn’t ready to encounter either of them
anytime soon. And I was thinking about Convenient Cuisine – I wanted to
make it happen.
“OK,” Mitchell said after a bit. “I can’t stand it any longer. Where the hell
are you, and what are you thinking?” he asked.
“Want the answers in that order?”
“Sure,” he said looking my way with a smile.
“Work. I dread going there every day. There is so much more to life than
paperwork. I never work with people. Oh, sure, there are the other girls I work
with in the office, but I mean interaction with people! I ask myself how much
longer I can stand it.”
“And?”
“I take the fifth on the next thought until I have more time to think about
it.”
He looked my way, raised one eyebrow, and gave me a sexy grin. The grin
made the dimple appear. “OK, I’ll wait.”
“My dad, and Derek,” I said, and paused.
“I can imagine the emotions you’re going through.”
“Betrayal, hurt, anger, hate. Mitchell, I can’t see past the hate, and then I
feel guilty for the way I feel.”
“It’s OK, Renie, really. I get it. Someone else may not, but I do. We grow
up idolizing our parents, and sometimes we find that they aren’t perfect.
Sometimes they aren’t even likable. I believe that sometimes we need to just
leave the hurt and betrayal behind, and move on without them.”
“Spoken like someone who knows. Do you ever hear from your dad?”
“Nope. I quit taking his calls a while back. He finally got it and quit trying.
When he first left, I longed for that phone call that never came. Then, so many
years later when he was lonely and did call, I was beyond giving a shit about
him.”
“I don’t think I ever looked up to my dad. He was never around, and when
he was, he was far more interested in whatever Derek was doing. And Derek
had his head so far up