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. I was surprised, and a littlehurt, that she thought she d have to askabout little Jude.They were a packagedeal.I wouldn t invite one without theother. You d do that? she said, followed bya sniffle.If I didn t know better, I wouldhave thought that stonewall Holly Reed was close to tears. You d really let acrazy, destructive caveman and me movein with you? Hol, I said, I ve been sharing thisplace with a crazy, destructive cavemanevery weekend for three years, until he gothimself drafted and moved across thecountry.I ve got a caveman vacancy thatneeds to be filled ASAP. The little caveman picked that time toscream, I ve got to go poo-poo, Mom! You know how to go to the bathroomon your own, Holly replied. I can t get my pants off! was littleJude s reply. I need your help! I ll be there in one minute! See? I said through my laughter. He ll fill Jude s caveman shoes perfectly. I love you so hard, Lucy, she said. Idon t know what I d do without you andJude. Please.You re the toughest girl Iknow.You re a fighter, Holly.You d bejust fine. Boy, have I got you fooled, shereplied softly.So much like Jude.Longstretches of tough, interrupted by briefglimpses of vulnerability. You know, if you need any money toget you by. I began, clearing mythroat. Your best friend just landedhimself a pretty decent job, and I ve gotsome money saved up, too.All you haveto do is ask, Holly. She was silent for a while.Then she sniffled again. Love.You.So.Hard, sherepeated. And that s the nicest thinganyone s ever offered, but I can t takemoney from you guys, Lucy.I just can t.Okay? I didn t need an explanation.I got it. Okay, I said, realizing Holly was asmuch like me as she was like Jude. Mom! Holy bloodcurdling scream,caveman, I said, making a mental note tostart baking brownies for my neighborsnow so I d be in their good graces whenthe shrieking little boy moved in. I gotta go.I ve got thirty secondsbefore he craps his pants, she said,sounding like she was rushing across theroom. Call you tomorrow to work out the details? Call me tonight after you put cavemanto bed so you can be here tomorrow, Isaid, popping off the couch.I needed tostart preparing for new housemates.Holly chuckled. Someone have a badcase of the lonelies? I blew out a breath. The worst case. Don t worry.Soon you ll be donewith school, married to one of the top-paid football players in the nation, andliving in some house the size of thiscraptastic town. That statement, minus the marrying Judepart, made my stomach queasy. SEVENEven though it felt like Wednesday nightwould never arrive, it was finally here.After a grueling afternoon session at thedance studio, I d come back to theapartment and enjoyed tofu stir-fry forone.I was lonely.Morbidly so.I neverthought I d be the girl who couldn t standto be alone, but this was the first time I dlived on my own.Alone.All alone.I was one of those girls.However, tonight was the last night I dhave to spend all by my lonesome,because I would be with Jude tomorrow night through the weekend, and then Hollyand little Jude were flying in Mondayafternoon.In the course of four days, Holly hadmanaged to score a sweet deal on airlinetickets, find someone to buy her trailerback home, get packed up, apply to everylast one of the salons in White Plains, andstart looking for child care for little Jude.I took a while with the dinner dishes,deciding what to do with myself for thenext couple of hours.It was too early to goto bed, I d scrubbed and sanitized everysurface in the apartment three times thispast week, and we were smack intosummer rerun season.I was heading toward the bathroom totake a long bubble bath when a knock sounded at the door.I jumped it hadbeen a while since I d had a visitor. Coming! I called out as I headed tothe door.I wasn t expecting anyone, andnone of Jude s or my friends lived closeenough to make the drive this late at nightjust to say hi. Come on already! Put a robe on, andget one of your asses to the door! afamiliar voice yelled on the other side ofthe door. I m developing crow s-feet outhere. I was smiling when I opened the door. Hey, India. Hey, girl, she said, propping a handon her hip. What took you so long? Shepeered over my shoulder. He s not here, I said. But if he was you would have been waiting a lot longerthan you were.A lot longer. I matched my straight face to India s,waiting for one of us to crack.She didfirst.The corner of her mouth moved. There s my girl.Now get your bony assover here and give me some sugar. Laughing, I wrapped my arms aroundher.She was in platforms, so she wasfreakishly tall so tall her chin fit overmy head. This is a surprise, I said, motioningher into the apartment.India sauntered in, peeking into thebedroom like she didn t believe Judewasn t in there. A good or a badsurprise? When it comes to you, Indie, I said,walking into the kitchen, the best kind ofsurprise. She winked. Yeah.I m pretty great,aren t I? Like you and half the male populationon the eastern seaboard aren t aware ofthat, I teased, filling the kettle withwater. You want some tea? Only if you ve got the kind I like. Dropping her purse on the dining table,she took a seat.I rolled my eyes as I thumbed throughmy tea stash. Will this do, YourHighness? I asked, waving the packet inthe air.India inspected it before nodding. Perfect. I turned on a burner and set the kettleon it. So predictable, I chided. Come on, Lucy.You know my rule.Itake my tea the way I like my men. Dark and strong, I murmured, givingher a look. Yeah, well, at least I don t take my teagreen and earthy like you, she shot back. I mean, what does that say about Jude? I sure have missed you, Indie, I said. Of course you have, she said,checking her phone. What s not to miss? Indie and I could go another fiverounds easy, but I had to get to bedsometime tonight, and, judging from theway she was dressed, she had plans todance the night away at some club. Not to sound rude, because you know I love me a piece of the India pie, butwhat are you doing here? I asked,dropping the teabags into a couple ofcups.India was a big-city girl.Shedodged being in the suburbs like it spelledsocial ruin.She lifted a shoulder while texting aquick message. My brother s up here forwork, and one of his old college lacrosseteammates working for him is hot.Andsingle.And Puerto Rican. She waggledher eyebrows at me, her eyes sparkling [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]