Page 5 of Second Dance
The screen lit up with a notification in bold letters:You have a new match on Second Chance!
Ice slid through my veins.
Grace was fourteen. What was she doing on a dating site for single adults—one specifically aimed at single parents? One of the women in my Pilates class had just mentioned she was on there. The woman was in her mid-forties.
My knife clattered against the cutting board. Had some predator convinced her to go on there? But how? And why would she? Grace was dramatic and sensitive, yes, but she was also sensible and responsible. She'd never shown interest in boys at school. Was that because she wanted a grown man instead?
My stomach churned. Please don't let it be that.
I tried to open the app, but her screen was locked. Coffeehouse music still played from the speaker, cheerful and oblivious. Through the open windows, the sea breeze carried the smell of salt and seaweed, but I barely registered it now.
Shaking with worry, I called out to her. “Grace, can you get down here, please?”
I heard the clump of her bare feet on the wood stairs, and then she appeared, hair damp, cheeks pink, eyes bright.
“What’s up?”
I held up her phone. “Why are you getting alerts from Second Chance?”
Pink drained from her cheeks. “Oh. That.”
“Spill it. Now.” My voice shook. I was not prepared for whatever she was about to say. I really wasn’t.
“I put your profile up.” Grace’s eyes shone with unshed tears.
For a moment, I couldn’t understand what she meant, but then it clicked into place. I flooded with relief, followed immediately by shock. “Why would you do that?”
“We all did it.”
“And who is all?” I asked between clenched teeth.
“The five of us.”
I collapsed into a chair at the kitchen table. “What were you thinking? This is outrageous.”
“But Mom, you guys all need a little nudge.”
“A little nudge? This is a full-fledged shove into a frozen lake in the middle of January,” I said.
“Do you want to at least look in there? At your match?”
I shook my head. “I don’t even know what to say to you right now.” Scents of the grill wafted in through the screen door. “I need to finish dinner. I suggest you go upstairs until it’s ready.”
“But Mom, why are you so mad?”
“If you really don’t know the answer to that, then we have a lot to discuss.”
Several tears rolled out of her eyes and down her cheeks. I almost caved. I was absolutely terrible at staying angry at Grace. She was my heart. And I hated to see her suffering. However, this time, I was too angry.
“Go upstairs. Leave your phone. I need the pass code and password to the app.”
“TragedyComedyGirl14.” Grace swiped a tear from her cheek, then slinked away, her tread on the stairs heavier than just a moment ago.
Numb but still shaking, I put the salmon on the grill, mostly to give me a moment to think about what to do. Obviously I had to tell the others. Our friendships were as solid as family. They were like my sisters. Still, I had no idea how any of them would react to something so outlandish. What fourteen-year-old kids sneak their mothers’ profiles on a dating site?
Ours, apparently.
I cooked the fish, dressed the salad, all the while reeling. Having lost my appetite, I set everything aside. It was best to jump right in and tell the others what our children had been up to.
