This is the end of the first novella in the Calendar Girl series! I only just realized that “Calendar Girl” might be a sorta pun for “call girl”. I can safely say this is the most clever part of the book.
Calendar Girl (January): Chapter 9 Part 2
Mia watches as movers take all her new stuff out of Wes’s house and drive it to her apartment. She reveals that she’s leaving early although Wes is expecting her for one last meal together because “I knew that doing so would break me. More than that, it would ruin me.” Apparently ruining is much worse than breaking. That is the hierarchy.
Mia instead decides to leave Wes a “cliche but heartfelt” letter.
Weston Charles Channing, III,
Writing your name out like that cracks me up. Have you ever said your name out loud? Do it. For me. It’s funny. You’ll laugh. I did.
Nothing says “cliche and heartfelt” like “hey, have you ever noticed that your name sounds stupid?”
In all seriousness, I want to thank you for this month. I was expecting to hate every second of this job, and instead, it ended up being the most exciting thing I’ve ever done in my life.
I imagine a 12-book series about a woman forced into prostitution in all but name probably has to be unexpectedly “exciting” to sell in a post-Fifty Shades world.
I do care. A lot. More than I should.
Being with you, spending time together, has changed me, for the better I think.
Yes, just think, we’ve gotten to see Mia evolve from someone who quickly developed feelings for every man she was ever intimate with into someone who quickly developed feelings for another man she was intimate with.
If I stayed and let you take care of my problems, pay off my dad’s debt, I would regret it every day of my life. It would always hang over my head and our relationship.
Ok, this explanation finally makes some sense! Observe: the power of explaining character motivations beyond “I need to do this myself! For ME.”
I hope to come back one day. If it’s meant to be, it will be, right? If it’s not, we will always have a friend we can count on. I truly hope you understand that and where these words are coming from. […] Wes, I promise, I’ll never forget our time together, but most importantly, I’ll never forget you.
Anyway, that’s enough emotions. TIME FOR A MAKEOVERRRRRRR.
The next couple of days were a nightmare of appointments my Aunt Millie scheduled for me prior to meeting hot artist guy, Alec Dubois.
It’s a slightly jarring transition to say the least:
I had to get waxed. Everywhere. The artist had very specific requirements.
Wow I do not have high hopes for book #2.
An aesthetician is another name for torture mistress.
…you know what? It’s probably best for everyone if I just skip this section.
The book jumps ahead to Mia waiting on a plane to go to Seattle, when she gets a text from West.
Got your letter. Sorry I didn’t contact sooner. I thought it would be better if I gave it time. Want to wish you safe travels. There’s something in your bag in the front pocket. I’ll call you soon. Remember me.
Mia reaches in her back, which apparently has something Wes hid in it before she packed to go on a month-long trip to Seattle, which then went through airport security.
Inside the box was a brass key dangling from a small yellow-and-pink surfboard. […] A note sat jammed at the bottom of the box. I opened it.
Mia,
You forgot your key. It opens a lot more than a door. One day, I hope you’ll use it.
-Wes
The first entry in this series about a girl who meets a new man every month ends on a very strange note to set up what are presumably going to be another very similar eleven entries.
His intention couldn’t be any cleaerer. If I wanted to come back to him, I would need to be ready to give him my heart, because I already had his.
God, I hope book 12 is Mia holding the 12th letter exactly like this and just going “HOW DID THIS HAPPEN”. Then her dad wakes up from the coma like, “Whoa! A YEAR? What did I miss?”
I never even thought about what her dad would think of all this. Of course, if he’s half as strange as the other characters in this book, he’ll probably think what his daughter is doing is AWESOME. Yes, please cover at least the next book in this series. I want to see what kind of literary pattern we’re dealing with.
Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if he started reminiscing about the escort HIS mother had bought for HIM back in the day.
She has been there a month and still needs movers to move all her new things? She would probably be a lot closer to the amount of money she needs if she sold it all, but I guess new clothes are more important than getting rid of that debt as soon as possible.
I bet the next guy will give her enough paintings to fill a small museum with, because she will obviously be his perfect muse.