One of my ex-wives

One of my ex-wives, Wendy, phoned the other day. I’d emailed her a link to the Siren-BookStrand “coming soon” page. Wendy had reviewed an early draft of Venture and had given me some useful feedback.

“Bill, it’s me.”

I recognized her straightaway. She has a voice that sounds like Princess Diana. “Oh, hi, you got my email then?”

“Yes. Who’s that on the cover?”

“Don’t know. The publisher supplied the photo.”

“I thought it was Heather at first. Blonde, blue eyes, same cheekbones and nose, and intelligent looking.”

Heather was one of Wendy’s classmates at high school. I’d dated her briefly then at one of her parties I met Wendy. “Well, if you recall, the heroine in Venture has a very high IQ. More like you, in fact.”

“Still as good with the flattery. I seem to remember that’s how you snared me in the first place.”

“Snared? You make it sound like I kidnapped you.”

“I was only twenty.”

"So what? And anyway you are super smart. You’re an investment banker, for heaven’s sake."

“So your heroine, Lydia, isn’t based on Heather, then?”

Ah, that’s why she called, I thought. I decided to give her the answer she wanted. “No. As I said, she has a lot of you in her.”

“I have green eyes.”

Aargh! In spite of what she said about flattery she wanted me to spell it out. “Smart, I meant.”

“Yes, you mentioned that already. Is that all?”

“Lydia is good in bed, and has your slender figure and sexy demeanor.”

“Don’t get carried away. That’s all you men think about.”

I made a conscious effort not to react to the truism. “Plus, she has your terrific sense of humor.” This was not flattery, either. I had ascribed to my heroine quips and putdowns that Wendy could just as easily have made, and probably did.

“I must go now,” she said. I could hear her teenaged kids screaming at each other in the background.

“Don’t forget to recommend Venture to your friends and colleagues. And don't forget to tell them the heroine is based on you."

“I will indeed.”