{"id":3245,"date":"2026-02-03T04:37:45","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T04:37:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/self-editing.com\/?p=3245"},"modified":"2026-02-03T04:37:45","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T04:37:45","slug":"lesson-12-raincheck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/self-editing.com\/?p=3245","title":{"rendered":"Lesson 12 Raincheck"},"content":{"rendered":"\u2018Promise me you won\u2019t judge. I didn\u2019t have time to tidy up this morning\u2026 and I really wasn\u2019t expecting we\u2019d end up here tonight,\u2019 he said.

\u2018Really? You didn\u2019t plan this little detour?\u2019 I smiled at him. I trusted him \u2013 felt safe. Who wouldn\u2019t feel safe with a ruggedly handsome fireman?

\u2018Once you see the state of my bedroom, you\u2019ll know I wasn\u2019t expecting visitors,\u2019 Joel said, as he punched a code into the front door.

\u2018Who said anything about your bedroom?\u2019 I shot back. He turned to look at me, his face just a few shades lighter than the fire truck he\u2019d been in earlier. There was no pulling back from the hole he had dug. He opened the door and stood aside, allowing me to enter first.

The apartment was modern, almost clinical. Far from being untidy, it was like something out of a design magazine.

\u2018Oh, so, so messy,\u2019 I said. \u2018I\u2019d hate to think what you say about my place if this is your idea of untidy.\u2019

\u2018I guess it\u2019s all relative,\u2019 he smiled, offering me a seat on the breakfast bar.

The kitchen was pristine. Not a single dirty dish, used cup. Not a stray crumb to be seen. Joel had seemed so laid back on the three dates we\u2019d had. His dating profile had declared him as such. This apartment however, told a whole different story.

\u2018Can I get you something to drink?\u2019

\u2018What\u2019s on offer?\u2019

Joel opened the fridge and pulled out a chilled bottle of Chablis and showed it to me for my approval. He grabbed two glasses -directed me to the living room. Not that it appeared to experience much \u2018living in\u2019. The furniture felt as if it had just been dropped in for a photo shoot. A strategically placed Eames chair by the window. A deep crimson red leather lounge, long enough to accommodate his six foot frame.

\u2018Have you been here long?\u2019 I asked.

\u2018Three years,\u2019 Joel said, as he poured the crisp white and handed it to me.

\u2018Really?\u2019

Something about the sterile environment began to jangle my nerves a little. Joel handed me my drink and I took a large gulp. Then another. Joel was meant to be easy, relaxed. That was who I was looking for. Stop it, I told myself. Get a grip. A tidy house is not a disorder.

I put my glass back on the table. Next thing I knew Joel had pounced on my dripping glass, sweeping it away with one hand and pushing a coaster across the table with the other. The speed of the movement made me jump. He set my drink down on the coaster and leapt up to grab a cloth from the kitchen. He had the drips on the table wiped away before I could take in what was happening. I looked around the room. Remotes lined up in order of size, magazines squared away, the window blinds at the exact same height.

As he busied himself putting a plate of cheese and artisan crackers together in the kitchen, I sent a quick text to my friend,\u2013 anytime things were not quite going as well as hoped for on a date, there was a bail out plan in place. Lisa would call me back with an emergency at home. Not at all subtle, but face-saving hopefully.

Joel\u2019s home triggered memories of Danny \u2013 controlling, emotionally blackmailing Danny, who robbed me of four years of my life before I could break free. In fact, I only had to text \u2018Danny\u2019 to my friend and the call came immediately.

\u2018Sorry,\u2019 I said to Joel, as he set the plate down on the coffee table. \u2018I need to take this. It\u2019s my father\u2019s carer.\u2019
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\u2018Promise me you won\u2019t judge. I didn\u2019t have time to tidy up this morning\u2026 and I really wasn\u2019t expecting we\u2019d end up here tonight,\u2019 he said. \u2018Really? You didn\u2019t plan this little detour?\u2019 I smiled at him. I trusted him … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":656,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/self-editing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/self-editing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/self-editing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/self-editing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/656"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/self-editing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3245"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/self-editing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3259,"href":"https:\/\/self-editing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3245\/revisions\/3259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/self-editing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/self-editing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/self-editing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}