*Author's Note: I recently saw a commercial that I almost missed. I had the TV on mute and wasn't paying attention. I glanced up and read what was on the screen then turned up the volume and started watching.
When I saw the woman's name and that she was 57 years old, I immediately perked up because she was not only a very attractive blonde, but because she looked 20 years younger than her age. The ad was for a supplement of some kind, so it made sense to use her in it.
She served as the inspiration for this one. I hope you enjoy it.
*****
"What are you reading, honey?"
"Dr. Montgomery's latest book."
"The guy that was on TV a couple of days ago, right?"
"Very good, Mom. Yes, he was on Dr. Phil."
"I thought that was him. You know, someone I love very much went on and on about how handsome he was," she said to her daughter.
"That's because he is. He's gorgeous. And famous. And rich. Oh, and smart. He has two PhDs and he's written three best-selling books and he's only 35."
"Self-help books, right?" her mom asked just to be sure.
"I know how that sounds, but his approach is just so different. It's been described as revolutionary."
"It seems a little hokey to me, but if you're interested in it..."
"Hokey? You can't be serious, Mom. It's life-changing stuff!!"
Her mom hadn't listened to much of it because it sounded a lot like the kind of thing every other self-help guru had said for as long as she could remember. But since her daughter was clearly enamored with the newest of the new ideas about love, dating, and marriage, she was't going to argue the point.
"Did you know he lives here in Seattle and that's giving a presentation locally next month?" her daughter asked when her mom wouldn't defend her position.
"Oh?" was all her mother said.
"I wanna go, Mom. Come with me, okay?"
Her resolve not to criticize him faded fast as she said, "Honey, I know you think this guy is great, but that's just so much mumbo jumbo."
"Mom, I almost never ask you for anything. Just do this one thing for me, okay? I'll pay for your ticket. Just go with me. Please?"
"You're not depressed so it's not like you need his...advice, so would this maybe have anything to do with the fact that he's so good looking?" her mom asked playfully.
"Well, that doesn't hurt," her daughter said in a way that let her mom know that was quite possibly the most important aspect of her decision.
She waited for a second then smiled at her mom and said, "He's single and if I don't ever meet him, then there's no chance I could ever get to know him, right?"
Her mom wanted to laugh but didn't as she realized her daughter was never going to meet him anyway beyond maybe a 'hello' and a selfie or possibly an autograph even if they went.
The fact was, her daughter wasn't beautiful. She was most definitely attractive, and some would say even pretty, but few would call her beautiful. But this self-help 'guru' was very good looking. He was also now very well known and on his way to becoming famous and fabulously wealthy. So infatuations aside, Kami had real no chance of ever even going out with him.
Rather than mention the obvious-but-painful truth she gave in and said, "Okay. I'll go. It might be nice to do something where I could dress up for a change and get out of the house for something other than work. Just don't ask me to buy into all that New Age stuff of his, okay?"
"Mom, New Age was like...twenty years ago. This is cutting edge!"
"Cutting edge, huh? Okay. If you say so, honey."
Kamilla McClain-Fox, Kami to her mother and her friends, was 32, recently divorced, living at home again, and very interested in finding another husband. Her mother, Jenna Fox, was 57 and finally happy living alone after her husband walked out on her four years ago just weeks before Kami's husband did the same to her.
They'd always been close, but they leaned on one another almost constantly during the months that followed this gawd-awful double breakup. Even now, they were nearly inseparable and more like sisters than mother and daughter. And although Jenna never acknowledged the compliments she often received with more than a 'thank you', she and everyone who knew her knew it was true. She looked more like Kami's sister than her mother.
The closest way to describe it was what a woman had said a year ago. She said Jenna was like Naomi Judd back in the early 80s when she and her daughter, Wynonna, were singing country music together. Maybe people assumed that her mom really was her sister even though they were separated by 28 years. The hurtful part was that her daughter, Wynonna, who wasn't un-attractive, wasn't even in the same league with her gorgeous, older mother.
Like the elder Judd, Jenna had those gorgeous 'apples' for cheeks and her skin was still smooth and taut. Even at 57 she could wear a size 6 dress, and if that wasn't enough, she had a very tight waist, amazingly-firm C-cup breasts, and a perfectly round tush. In a word, she was the envy of women of all ages. And she could still wear her dark-brown hair to her shoulders and look fabulous when virtually all of her friends were wearing some sort of bob.
As far as being single, it wasn't that Jenna was happy with it so much as she'd learned to make peace with living alone. She'd been hurt so badly it had caused her to shut down where men were concerned for nearly two years, and even since then, she'd rarely dated. Still, in her heart of hearts, she wanted to find someone she could trust and who would love her the way she wanted to be loved. However, when it came to finding that kind of man it seemed impossible, so she'd all but abandoned trying.
To fill in the huge gap left in her life, she'd taken up all kinds of hobbies like Yoga, Pilates, gourmet cooking, gardening, and ballroom dancing. She'd loved dancing, but every time she went it made her realize she was still alone. And truth be told, the available partners she paired up with, most of whom were her age and older, were anything but attractive to her.
Jenna most definitely wasn't a snob, but she was a realist. She simply wasn't about to consider a relationship with a man that made her feel like she was settling. He didn't have to be George Clooney or Robert Redford or whoever the hot guys were these days. But he also couldn't be Danny DeVito or Michael Moore. No amount of fame or money or anything else could make her see past someone that physically unattractive.
All she did need was a guy who at least took care of himself physically, had a nice smile, an easy laugh, and, okay, a full head of hair would be very nice. Even grey hair for that matter. For that matter, even if were the kind of guy who could pull off the shaved-head look, she would gladly consider him, all other things considered.
Even so, once those physical things were at least mostly all there, he would also, and most importantly so, have to be someone she could fall really in love with.
So far, every man she'd met had either been physically unattractive to her, emotionally immature, a cocky jerk, or some combination thereof. Well, there had been one very nice, very good-looking man close to her age she'd really, really liked. That is, until she unexpectedly met his wife one day when she and her husband were sitting outside at a cafe near Pike's Place Market.
When Jenna saw him, she was so surprised she nearly ran to him before she noticed he was sitting with someone. A woman. Once she saw her, Jenna slowed down, but still assumed this was a business lunch with a colleague from work. She wasn't a jealous woman, and he was entitled to a private life. However, when she got a little closer, she could see his hand on hers and that sick feeling of betrayal set in immediately. He just happened to glance her way, and when he did, he did a double take then slowly pulled his hand away. His reaction told him this other woman wasn't a colleague.
Jenna stopped right next to the table causing the man's wife to look over at her and ask, "Honey, do you this woman?"
Jenna waited for him to look at her again then shook her head in disgust before turning and walking away. Somehow she managed to neither lose her composure nor cry. That had been nearly a year ago, and she hadn't even gone on a second date with anyone since.
So attracting men wasn't an issue. It never had been. At 5'8" and 115 pounds, Jenna still had a figure most 35-year old women would die for. She was a genetically-gifted woman who'd also taken superb care of what nature had given her. She'd attracted men all her life, and doing so was no big deal.
But finding love—true, lasting, unconditional love was a problem, and unless she could somehow find it, she'd remain the female version of the Neil Diamond song, Solitary Man.
*****
Doctor Tyler Montgomery was a 35-year old, single psychologist, who like Dr. Phil himself, had begun appearing here and there on TV shows like Oprah. These appearances quickly boosted his already-strong book sales and sent one of them to the top of the New York Times best-seller list.
Dr. Montgomery had never been married, and until recently had no interest in ever settling down. After working his way through grad school and leaving with PhDs in psychology and philosophy, he went into practice first with the Veteran's Administration in the Seattle area and later into private practice with a psychiatrist who could prescribe medication for their patients.
But even after just six years of working with people who were sad, angry, or depressed all day, every day, he'd had enough. The constant negativity was draining; so much so that no amount of running or time in the gym or a pool could restore him to balance. It was like being exposed to a kind of cancer that was somehow contagious, and he began to fear for his own mental health.
Making matters worse was the deep-seated emptiness in his life that came from one hook up or brief affair after the other. Beautiful women were everywhere and more than happy to sleep with the handsome, young professional, but after nearly two decades of sex without love, it too, had become more of a burden than a pleasure.
Consequently, for the first time in his life, he'd been giving serious thought to finding a woman he could love who would love him in return. Having never once even bothered to ask himself what that woman might look like, he was in some ways, starting from scratch; the proverbial clean slate. And by 'look like' it wasn't just the physical, although that most definitely did matter.
