Ex and the Single Girl by Lani Diane Rich

Author:Lani Diane Rich [Rich, Lani Diane]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: General, Fiction
ISBN: 9780446693073
Google: R2V2krmXFqkC
Amazon: 0446693073
Publisher: 5 Spot
Published: 2005-11-13T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

“So,” Beauji asked as we power-walked, “have you talked to them yet?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“What about Peter?”

“He’s with the Mizzes. I avoid them all.”

“It’s been a week,” she said. “Not that I don’t like having company for these morning walks, but you’re a bit of a downer, you know.”

“Am I?” I said, kicking a large pebble into a ditch. “I thought I was being pretty cheerful. Considering.”

“Hmmm,” Beauji said. “What about Ian?”

I shrugged. “I haven’t seen him, either. You’re officially the only person in my life with whom I have any contact, aside from my faculty adviser, who was nice enough to pretend to believe me when I told her I was almost done with my dissertation.” Beauji gave me a sideways glance but didn’t break her stride. “You’re not almost done?”

I shrugged and looked toward the east, where the sun was in full bloom. “What time is it, do you think?”

Beauji glanced at her watch. “Seven-eighteen. So, when is the dissertation due?”

“December.”

“Are you at least mostly done?”

“Define mostly.”

She sighed and shook her head, picking up the pace. “For Christ’s sake, Portia, if you throw twelve years of school down the drain—”

“I’m not throwing twelve years of school down the drain. I’m just delaying it. Maybe. I only wanted it done by December so they could consider me for the new faculty position opening up in the spring. But now…”

“But now what?”

“I don’t know.” We started again, in the direction of the Babb farm. “Do we have to walk on this road every day? Couldn’t we go through town and down River Road? I really don’t want to bump into Ian.”

A big fat lie, that. But still. A girl’s got to keep up appearances.

“Ian writes in the mornings,” Beauji said, arms pumping. “But we can go another way tomorrow. If we do it tomorrow.” She grinned at me. “I have a feeling today’s the day.”

“You have a feeling every day’s the day.” I tried to keep the irritation out of my voice. Every morning we walked. And walked. And walked. Still no baby. I had my suspicions that she wasn’t even pregnant, just fat in a highly abnormal way.

“But today’s my due date,” she said, taking a swig of her water.

“Yeah, and yesterday was supposed to be the day because no one ever gives birth on their due date. And the day before that was supposed to be the day because it was a full moon, and birth rates climb during a full moon. And—”

“Hey, are you trying to alienate the last friend you got left, or what?”

I didn’t say anything. Beauji slowed down a little more.

“We’re almost to the farm,” she said. “Ready to turn around?”

We stopped and stared northward, silent for a moment. I considered going farther, visiting with Ian, having coffee, chatting, trying to mend that busted-up fence. I’d bet dollars to doughnuts Beauji considered dragging me screaming by my hair to do that very thing. We each sighed on the same note. Nobody beats old friends for clairvoyance and timing.

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