a little vacation down in Florida. I’d like to figure out a way to meet my daughter.”
Chapter 29
“Well, if this isn’t the cutest, most adorable, tiniest little onesie I’ve ever seen!” Gloria Persimmons-Kloosterman exclaimed, holding up a mint-green baby garment to show off to the gals at Drunk Puzzle Night. Her engagement/wedding/baby shower had been postponed until after the holidays, but my sister had loaded up a wicker basket with a dozen baby-centric items to present to the newlywed/mom-to-be. A little stuffed elephant, brightly colored rattles, and assorted soft and fuzzy outfits that made my eyes well up and my midsection feel oddly hollow. I wanted a baby. I wanted a husband and a baby and cozy nights by the fireplace and stroller walks to the park. I wanted the diamond ring and the promise of forever.
But Leo was gone. It was just a week ago that he and Gina had carted off a sullen Mick O’Malley. I hadn’t said anything to anyone yet, having spent the last several days pretending to have the flu just for the privacy that afforded me. It wasn’t hard to fake illness because I pretty much felt like I was dying anyway, and I’m not sure I could have gotten out of bed if I’d needed to. Instead I indulged myself with days spent in my ratty pajamas watching maudlin, sob-inducing movies and taking long fitful naps with all the curtains closed, and I discovered that a meal comprised of spiced rum poured over vanilla ice cream tastes pretty fucking good.
True to his word (ironically), Leo had tried to call several times, and each message he left was the same. He was sorry. He wanted to make it up to me and wondered how. And I believed he was sorry, but I also knew I’d never feel the same way about him ever again. How could I? I didn’t even know him. I had jumped without looking and had landed on rocks. So I didn’t return his calls.
And now I was at Drunk Puzzle Night, where someone was most certainly going to ask about him. I had a story all ready, though. I’d tell them he got a job in Washington, DC. I’d say I was bummed that we hadn’t had more time together but that I’d always understood we were just a fling, and that nothing very significant had happened between us anyway. Sure, I’d miss him, but I was practically already over him. I mean, how hard could you fall for someone in so short a time, anyway? At least that’s what I’d planned to say. It’s what I’d rehearsed in my head a dozen times.
So when Marnie White finally turned to me as we all sat in the cozy living room of Eva’s house and said, “So, what’s the latest with Sexy Bartender Guy?” I did the only thing I could do. I burst into tears. A full-on ugly cry with the snot and the hiccups. I’d never cried in front of anyone before, but instead of me being horrified, it felt oddly cathartic. I couldn’t tell them all the stuff about the jewel thief, of course. I just said he’d given up on writing the book and had taken a job assignment someplace else, and every woman in the room did the tsk, tsk, tsk and shaking of the head and the shame on him. They were unanimous in their support of me, and the solidarity was something I’d never experienced before. Gloria got me a huge goblet of wine, and Eva got me a fresh box of tissues. My sister sat next to me with her head on my shoulder and assured me that Leo was the one losing out. I’d arrived that night with a broken heart, but sitting there among my friends, I’d never felt so loved. It was a small but priceless consolation. And it would have to be enough.
Chapter 30
“You’re not going to believe this,” Sudsy Robertson announced to the city council as he burst through the door. He brushed a generous portion of late-December snow from his winter parka and onto the floor of the Palomino Pub.
It was the Wednesday between Christmas and New Year’s, and my life had settled into a calm if somewhat predictable routine. I continued to mark time with life before Leo and life after Leo, but it had been a full month since he’d left town, the phone messages had stopped, and my heart, although not really mending, had