Page 74 of Single Girl in the City
Abi smiled a so-sweet-you’ll-get-a-cavity smile that had an unparalleled success rate with mothers of all kinds. “Darlene’s under the weather, so she asked me to be her stand-in.” She looked around the table and spotted the only single chair—and swallowed.
“Who’s my partner?” she asked, but she already knew. Her fate had been sealed before she’d even arrived.
She looked up at the ceiling and glared.You’d better have one heck of a good reason for this, Jenny.
All eyes went to Margo. “Right. Well, nice to meet you, partner.” Abi stuck out her hand and leaned over the table, and everyone looked her way. It was like a Wimbledon match.
In the end, Margo reached across the table and embraced Abi’s gesture. But when Abi started to pull back, Margo held on. She was strong for a woman about to turn seventy. “Do you even know how to play? You look like you’re right out of high school. I haven’t lost in seven years, and I’m not going to lose because I was paired with a young whippersnapper.”
“I was the reigning poker champion at Alpha Epsilon Pi, a fraternity. So we should make a winning pair.”
“Big talk for a small girl.”
“Bless your heart, you have no idea who you’re playing with. Sit back and watch.” They were big words since inside she was quaking in her boots.
Abi took the deck of cards and shuffled them like she was a dealer at the largest casino in Vegas and Margo said, “Okay then.”
“Ante up,” a woman with a teal pantsuit and white orthopedic sneakers said.
Everyone put in their ante and the dealer gave each player two cards. Eventually, the table was ready, and the first game was in play. Abi had a king and queen of spades, a strong start especially since there was a jack of spades on the table.
When all the cards were dealt and the chips were played, the game was called and,would you look at that, Abi and Margo won the hand.
Abi collected the cards and gave the deck a good shuffle, casually looking up at Margo, who was staring back. Like her sons, she had these big, blue eyes. Unlike her sons, Abi was pretty sure the woman could shoot lasers from them.
“I stand corrected,” Margo said.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s easy to underestimate me.”
People had been doing it her whole life, at least until Owen. But that was going to end in just three days and she didn’t know what she’d do after that. Or where she’d go. Thailand sounded so extreme, and she doubted Portland would be a good option for her wellbeing.
Abi was back to handing out the cards when Margo asked, “Are you the Abi dating my Owen?”
Oh boy.Abi choked on air.
“I wouldn’t say dating.” What would she call what they were doing? It was more than friends with benefits but not quite dating. And in a few days it would come to a close, so what was the point of trying to define or justify anything to anyone. Plus, Abi wasn’t the kind of person to kiss and tell. When it came to her personal life, she kept things close to her chest.
“We’re spending time together,” she decided was the appropriate response. Short. To the point. And open-ended.
Let them think what they want.She wasn’t giving anything away. If Owen wanted his mom to know what was going on between them, then that was up to Owen to tell her.
Margo clutched her pearls and ran her nail along the necklace. “Time that dipped into our movie night.”
Abi’s went chin up and shoulders back. “I apologize for that, ma’am. I thought he needed some fun and to let off some steam.”
The table gasped.
“Are you saying I’m not fun?” Margo accused.
Oh shit.
“No, I’m saying that Owen does a lot of things for a lot of people, and I wanted to do something for him.”
The older woman stopped stroking her pearls. “I agree,” she said, and the room took a collective exhale—including Abi.
“He also needs to have some more balance between work and his personal life.”
“And you’ve convinced him to take time off?” Margo looked beyond impressed.
