Page 5 of Things I Read About
“No,” all four of us say back in unison and then bust up laughing.
“I married Adam at twenty-two,” Susan says softly. Absently.
The vibe at the table gets tense and weird for a beat until Samantha saves it, as she often does. “Yeah, but Adam’s the exception to the rule. I mean look at Shep. When he was twenty-two? Total mess.”
Sadie nods in agreement.
Sam goes on. “Emerson was still doing whatever old man Clark told him to back then. I don’t know what age boys turn into men, but I’m going to guess thirty.”
“I bet Matthew was amazing at twenty-two.” Skye shrugs.
“Again, tech founder who knows his nerdy code stuffandalso gives freaking TED talks? Using human words? Exception.” Sam emphasizes the last word with a swish of her fork.
“True.” Skye cocks her head. “I’m just saying maybe not thirty. Maybe twenty-five. Let’s find Sal a nice twenty-five-year-old.”
“How about a hot older doctor?” Sam gushes. “Yes! Let’s get someGrey’s Anatomygoing on in our lives.”
Sadie cocks an eyebrow. “Because we don’t have enough drama?”
“Sally doesn’t want to marry a doctor.She’sthe doctor. Two doctors? I mean, when would they ever see each other?”
“Duh,Grey’staught us they’ll see each other plenty in the break room.”
“Sam, that is not real life. No doctors.” Susan shakes her head without looking up from whatever she is furiously typing.
“No men, period,” Skye adds, looking at me. “You’ve got like a thousand years of school ahead of you to achieve all your neurosurgeon dreams. You need to focus.”
“I think I agree,” Sadie says.
“Booooo,” Samantha says, again too loudly, and this time with her own tiny piece of a roll. She tosses it at Sadie.
Sadie actually catches the bread. “I’m all for love, obviously, but the next few years she’s working on her craft like Skye did with her painting and I did with my writing.”
“Exactly,” Susan agrees. “Sally doesn’t want to get bogged down with some guy during these important med-school years.”
Currently, Sally wants to take off her clothes and go throw herself at the tatted beefcake at the bar. So, there!
“Well, chatting up hot bartenders on spring break isn’t getting ‘bogged down,’ now is it?” Skye winks at me.
“You should totally go say hi to him!” Samantha screeches. They all look at me, brows raised, even Susan.
I shake my head. I’m not going to attempt anything with these four watching me. I’m also not going to get anywhere in this dress. It’s pale purple with a flirty skirt and capped sleeves. It is shockingly similar to a dress I wore to a school dance in seventh grade.
“Nah, it’s girls’ night.” I say, which sets off Sam’s operatic sing-talking once again.
Conversation moves on to Sadie’s writing, which I love hearing about. Then we discuss Skye’s latest series of paintings and her upcoming show. Susan complains about the HOA board she volunteered herself to lead and Samantha squeals and cheers about each and every thing any of us say.
For a few minutes, it feels like home. Just us five, talking about anything and everything. Is there a lot of husband talk? Yes. But honestly, their stories are pretty funny.
Apparently, Shep is on an epic quest to buy Sadie an estate. Not a house, she clarified, an estate.
Matthew has captured the heart of Skye’s cat, Gus.
Finally, Samantha has us all snort-laughing when she confesses that all day long Emerson has been getting snow-mobile rides up the mountain. The billionaire finance genius is too afraid of heights to get on the lift.
For about fifteen minutes, I keep a radar lock on tattoo guy. But as we sit, the restaurant grows crowded. Still, I look for his black hair with its unique cut. After a few hard laughs with my eyes pinched shut, I lose track of him completely. Which feels tragic. Until I remind myself that I’m at a ski resort for an entire week. Unless he leaves tonight, I will probably see him again. My sisters won’t be hovering around me next time. I’ll bePeak Sallywith Janie and Kat cheering me on.
My whole body breaks out in chills.
