The Glass Wives by Amy Sue Nathan

Author:Amy Sue Nathan [Nathan, Amy Sue]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2013-05-14T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

EVIE WAITED FOR NICOLE AND Luca at the front door of the Lakewood Sports Center. Evie had brought the twins early—Sophie to practice with her team and Sam to hang out with his friends, like regular kids. Evie liked when it was just three. The instantly larger family of five had its benefits beyond the financial, but sometimes she wanted the twins to herself, even if they were nowhere nearby.

The ecofriendly building housed four gyms, and at nine A.M. the place buzzed with a five P.M. vibe, including parents in designer combat gear vying for the best seats on the bleachers.

Evie watched Nicole as she approached the building. She bounced as she walked, her head bobbing in a sea of parents and kids and strollers.

“Want me to push?” Evie asked.

Nicole stepped aside and Evie marched behind the stroller.

“Did you have fun last night?” Nicole asked.

“I did.” Evie was getting comfortable sharing her house, but not her personal life.

“Beth told me you saw that guy. The one I met at shiva? I’m glad for you.”

Evie would talk to Beth about discretion. “It was just dinner, we’re not dating.”

“Oh.” Nicole clamped her mouth shut.

“Let’s go find Sophie’s team.”

They walked down a long, glossy hallway past gymnasiums and bathrooms and down another long hallway past classrooms and the beloved concession stand to the Blue Gym. Sophie’s team was playing in a fifth-grade-girls, double-elimination tournament. The screech of basketball shoes on the highly polished, paid-for-with-your-tax-dollars floors along with the jumbled conversations of parents escaped the open door. Evie knew many parents silently prayed for a loss so they could go home and get on with their day. Evie also knew many more prayed for a win. It didn’t matter that all kids under twelve walked away with a “real” medal and coupons for free pizza and pop; or that Lakewood’s version of March Madness was intended as a respite from the harsh Chicago winter. The daylong extravaganza was more about community spirit than the number of basketballs dunked. Evie hoped everyone remembered that as she stepped into the gym, Nicole by her side, Luca as their point guard.

Sam sat alone on one end of the first row of bleachers, a big T-shirt draped over his shoulders like a tallis, a Jewish prayer shawl.

“Why are you sitting here?” Evie said.

This was not what she had planned. She looked around the gym and saw familiar faces, but not the fifth-grade-boy faces she expected. “Where are your friends?”

Sam shrugged and whipped the shirt off his neck and pushed it into Evie’s hands. She shifted the stroller back to Nicole and scooted next to her son. As Sam reached out his hand and touched hers, Evie’s arms tingled as the blood drained. Richard’s shirt.

“This is Dad’s shirt,” Sam said.

Evie remembered Richard had signed up to coach Sophie’s team for this event. Which insensitive ass had given Sam the shirt?

“I remembered he was supposed to coach so I asked Soph to get it for me.”

Evie put her arm around Sam and he leaned on her hard.

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