Page 52 of Meant to Be

“Ido,” he said.

“Okay. Well, tell me this,” I said, feeling bold. “Where did your last girlfriend fit into that equation?”

“Then or now, in real time?”

Intrigued that she might still be in the mix, I saidnow.

“I don’t know…pretty far down. Maybe somewhere in the twenties or thirties?”

I laughed, thinking that I couldn’t name thirty people I loved—or even liked a lot.

“So, you’re still friends?” I said.

“Sort of…We don’t talk…but I guess I still consider her a friend.”

“What’s she up to?”

“She’s engaged,” he said, shrugging. “Teaching in Brooklyn.”

Making a mental note to ask Curtis if he knew anything about Margaret’s fiancé, I nodded and said, “Okay. What aboutthen? When you were together?”

“Hmm. That’s a tough question,” Joe said, staring into the distance for a few seconds before looking back at me. “At her peak, she was probably tied with Uncle Mark.”

“She never got higher than tied forfifth?” I said, laughing. “Ouch.”

Joe laughed, then said, “Hold up. Wait a sec! I see what you’redoing here. You flipped this shit around—you got me talking about myself—”

I shrugged, gave him a half smile, and said, “Sorry that I can’t rank everyone in my life.”

“Okay, I’ll make it easier for you. Who’s your best friend? Can you answer that?”

“Elna,” I said.

“Is she the roommate who doesn’t like me?”

“Theideaof you,” I said. “And yes.”

“Okay. And who’s next?”

“I don’t know. Probably Curtis—the guy you met on the beach, the day you got my number and then never called—”

“Jeez!” he said, laughing. “Will you ever let me live that down?”

“Probably not,” I said. “And third would be Wendy. A high-school friend.”

“What’s Wendy like?”

I shrugged and said, “Oh, I don’t know…she’s a lot of fun, outgoing…a little loud. She was the head of the cheerleading team in high school. That type.”

Joe nodded and asked whether I had been a cheerleader, too.

“What do you think?” I asked, poker-faced.

“Well…you were a model…sooo…”

“Not the same atall,” I said. “Models don’t have to be cheerful…. Elna isn’t cheerful. Nor am I.”

“So Elna’s a model?”

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