[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
. So who was it this time? She was in town for the insurance convention.I think she said shewas from Atlanta. Hitting on out-of-towners, huh? Think that s a sign you ve doneeveryone in town? Hey, I saved her.You should ve seen the woman who was hittingon her when I got there.I swear to God, she looked just like Bob Dylan,scruffy beard and all. I laugh, spewing crumbs onto the table. I know who you re talkingabout.Her name s Priscilla.I met her through Joanna and Karin about ahundred years ago. Anyway, after a few drinks, she tells me her husband doesn tunderstand her needs as a woman. Why does she have a husband if he doesn t do it for her? Didn t ask. Tonya intentionally drops a piece of bagel on thefloor, and Jitterbug snatches it up before I can protest. Her name isAlison, by the way with an A and we had a very nice time together. She leans forward and grins. But I d much rather hear about yourevening. 105Elizabeth Kingsley is a dead woman.I bet she was on the phone toTonya the minute Rebecca and I left the party.What a juicy talk theymust have had, guessing how long my date would stay, how far we d go.I can just hear them going on and on about how wonderful it was thatpoor little Claire had finally taken her first step toward healing.HolyMother, they were probably on the phone for a solid hour. Hope you ve got free weekend minutes, I say. Bet your cellphone was smoking by the time you two got through. She exposes her ear. It wasn t exactly smoking, but it did get alittle warm.See? My ear s still red. So what was my neighbor s take on the evening? I pull anothermuffin from the bag. Said she seems nice and that she s pretty. She swallows a bite ofbagel. Got any cream cheese? I nod toward the refrigerator.Jitterbug collapses by my chair andlays her head on my foot. Yes, Rebecca is both nice and pretty. Fuck her? Fly, for God s sake! Didn t think so. She ambles to the refrigerator, snatches acontainer from the shelf, and sits back down. Going to fuck her? I try to answer, but no words will come.If I can t tell Tonya howI m feeling, I can t tell anyone.It was Tonya who spent a month livingout of an overnight bag, shuttling between her own house and my newlyempty one, her arms that rocked me to sleep after a hundred crying fits.She s the one who told me it was okay to feel bad for a while.I scan her face and wonder how she stays so young.She looks onlya day older than when we met, smooth skin unmarred by laugh lines orcrow s feet.Her eyes still dance to the rhythm of her different drummer;her heart still longs for something she can t name.I swallow my last bite of muffin. I don t know if Rebecca wantssex from me. Tonya s glance lingers on me for a second before her attentionreturns to the cream cheese and bagel. Here s a good rule of thumb: ifshe doesn t try to fuck you by the second date, she s not interested. Where d you get that rule? Made it up. Well, it s stupid. You got a better one? No. Then believe it. Tonya takes a small bite and swallows quickly. When are you and this Rebecca person going out again? 106 We didn t talk about it.Thought I might call her later. I stuff therest of the muffins back into the bakery bag and dust the crumbs into mypalm. You should.Maybe she ll be free this evening, and you ll be anew woman by this time tomorrow. Rushing things a bit, aren t we? Rushing? How can it be rushing? Maybe if you were a nun orsomething, but by my standards, you should ve bagged her last night. By your standards, I d have been screwing every woman in townthe day after I chop off the words, letting them linger in my brain.The day after.The worst day of my life.How can the feeling still be sovivid, hurled from nowhere like an ice pick stabbing me between theeyes? I reach for the counter to steady myself
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]