Page 10 of Pity Play

“According to every article I’ve ever read about him, he rarely dates. Although Noah did say he just broke up with someone, which apparently never hit the papers.” Because if it had, I would have most definitely seen it.

Allie’s eyebrows arch so high they nearly reach her hairline. “Is he still as gorgeous as ever?”

I release a long, slow sigh as I answer, “Even though I haven’t seen him in years, I practically jumped into his arms when he showed up this morning.”

She looks from the right to the left like she’s afraid someone is eavesdropping. When she sees that the coast is clear, she leans in conspiratorially and asks, “Did he seem interested?”

I laugh aloud. “I was wearing a purple bandana on my head and an old flannel night gown that practically buttoned to my chin. I looked like some kind of gangster nun.”

Cringing, she accurately guesses, “So, no?”

“He seemed mildly less repulsed after I changed. He even made me breakfast,” I tell her.

Her eyes brighten with interest. “A man who cooks breakfast … That’s a novel thought.” Once again, I assume Allie’s husband was a real piece of work. Yet she’s made it clear she doesn’t want to talk about him, so I don’t pry.

“He made me an omelet. It was amazing!”

“When are you going to see him again?”

“I don’t know. He’s here to spend time with his family.” I almost tell her he’s going to cook at Pop’s, but I remember Noah’s warning. “I told him to come and go like he would at his own house, but I am hoping to see him at least once a day.” And if I know me, I will. But only because I’ll sit by the front door if I have to so I can welcome him home.

“Girl, you have to keep me posted. In fact, you should invite me over some night so I can catch a glimpse of him for myself.”

“Done,” I tell her. “Now, what do you have going on other than work today?”

She rests her elbows on the table with her hands under her chin. “I’m here until three and then I’ve got nothing.”

“You want to go to Pop’s for dinner with me? I’ve been craving a cheeseburger lately.”And who knows, maybe we’ll see Luke there.

“That sounds great. My parents are leaving next week to go on a cruise and they’re busy packing. They have stuff all over the house.” She rolls her eyes. “They asked me to go with them.”

“You totally should!” I say excitedly. “Get out of the cold and put on a bikini, girl. You’d have a blast!”

“It’s from Quebec to Boston.” Rolling her eyes, she adds, “It’s a seniors’ cruise.”

I involuntarily shiver. “Why are they doing that? It’s going to be cold.” The only place anyone should cruise in March is the Mediterranean.

“The cruise line is hosting a pickleball tournament that my parents are all gung-ho about.”

I swallow the last bite of scone before saying, “You can play pickleball at home. Why would you waste a cruise on that?”

Allie shakes her head. “If I knew why people made the choices they did, I’d have put my life savings into Beanie Babies back when that meant something. All I know is that I’m looking forward to ten days without anyone asking what my plans are forthe future. Why can’t people just let you figure things out for yourself?”

I push my chair back and cross my legs. “Family is the worst.” I’m not talking about her parents, either. I’m talking about my brother and his impression that I’m wasting my life living in Elk Lake.

“We should have cocktails with dinner tonight,” Allie decides.

“I’m in.” On that note, I stand up and give my friend a tight hug. Then I tell her, “We’re both young. We’re going to figure everything out in our own time.”

“Or not.” She sounds like she couldn’t care less either way.

“No matter what, we have each other, okay? We’re not going to let the doubters doubt and we’re not going to let our families push us. We’re going to take life one day at a time.”

“And we’re going to drink lemon drops and eat cheeseburgers,” she reminds me.

“Absolutely!”

As I walk out of Rosemary’s, I wonder what would have happened had I moved back to Madison after Michael and I broke up. The reason I didn’t is because most of our friends were his friends from work and I feared that I’d have to restart my life from scratch. If I was going to do that, why would I do it in a city that I only moved to because my boyfriend’s job was there?

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