The Cinderella List. Judy Baer

gracious, hospitable)

       Earns a decent living

       Sophisticated, charming, chivalrous

       Looks good in jeans and suits

       Appreciates fine food (and smells like oatmeal-raisin cookies)

       Thoughtful, compassionate, intuitive

       Sense of humor

       Clever and willing to try new things, brave

       Knows what the words ebullient, anthropomorphize and hubris mean

       Health and disability insurance

       401K

       Faith in God

      Can love be far behind?

      Love, Jenny

      Marlo studied the List thoughtfully, her gaze falling on each line and recalling many of the conversations she and Jenny had had over the years. Her sister’s memory was good—in her hurriedly written note, she hadn’t missed a single quality required of Marlo’s current-day Prince Charming. The silly childhood game had somehow managed to grow up right with her.

      Angela’s unexpected announcement had only underscored her single state. It had also brought up her time with Jerry and her own thwarted wedding. The pain might be gone, but the promise she’d made to herself remained. Never would she do to another woman what the “other woman” had done to her.

      After a couple of restless hours, Marlo did the only thing she knew would keep her mind off the ridiculous games her mind was playing with itself. She baked. There was nothing more therapeutic than kneading bread dough.

      It’s the twenty-first century, she mused, as she thumped a fist into the risen dough and felt the soft resistance against her knuckles. Women don’t need a man to be complete. She punched the doughy mass again. What were her friends thinking?

      She already knew the answer to that question. They were thinking that because they were content in their marriages, they wanted her to be happy, too. The teasing had all been in good fun. It was just too bad she wasn’t having any.

      It was the Lord who planned her days and hours, and Marlo wanted to listen to Him, not her changeable emotions. Doing that when she’d met Jeremiah was the biggest mistake of her life. When—if—she did meet someone, Marlo prayed that God would make it clear that she wasn’t treading on someone else’s territory.