Episode 29

Lately, John Donati had the unaccustomed feeling of being the odd man out--every time he drove past the house of a woman he was interested in, he'd find some other guy lurking around. It didn't help that there were only two women he found interesting: Claire Monroe and his former wife, April.

Claire was a sweetheart, but he'd seen the way she and Matt Wilson looked at each other. John didn't approve, what with Matt being married, but his opinion wasn't going to change the way Claire felt, which was a damn shame.

April was another story. He'd been a fool to let her walk out the door, and it was totally his fault. He had put his job before his home life. She'd called him on it, but he figured she was bluffing when she gave him an ultimatum. Biggest mistake of his life, he thought as he walked up to her front door and rang the bell.

"John-D," she answered the door using the nickname he'd had since second grade when there had been four Johns in their class. "What's up? You're not in uniform, so this must not be official."

"Hey, April. Do you have a minute?"

She stepped to one side and opened the door, gesturing him into the house where she'd lived since their divorce eight years ago.

The living room was a wild jumble of half-finished canvases, tables littered with paint tubes and brushes, house plants, bright ceramics and an eclectic mix of found objects ranging from driftwood to an alligator skull.

"How've you been?" he asked.

"Okay. Excellent, really. Except for the fact that you were right about Paul Harrison. What a jerk. Thanks for the heads-up on that, although I'm not thrilled that you were spying on me."

"Not spying. Just keeping an eye on strangers in town. Not my fault if the guy has a bad reputation with his bank and his four ex-wives."

"Okay, don't rub it in. Apparently, I have lousy taste in men." She picked up several magazines that were strewn on the couch and casually tossed them on the floor. Her offhand housekeeping style, which had annoyed him when they were married, now seemed endearingly quirky to him. "So what's on your mind?"

"It's Jack. You know he's been seeing Whitney Adams?"

April laughed. "I believe he's doing a lot more than 'seeing' her."

"You know what I mean."

"No, actually, I don't."

John ignored her obvious attempt to bait him. "I'm worried about it. The Adams' have more money than God. Whitney's used to the best."

"Speaks well for our son, don't you think?"

"April, Jack wants to marry her."

His ex-wife gave him one of those looks he never did learn to interpret.

"John, get a grip," she said. "Jack is a grown man. He and a lovely young woman are in love. We should rejoice."