“Call me when you’re over thirty-five,” teased Diana, who was thirty-eight. “Then we can really talk about your body putting its foot down about certain things.”
“But not in front of Miriam,” June shot back, “unless we want to really get an earful.”
They both laughed. Diana held out the bag of macarons. It was, she admitted, probably for the best that June had come along. Diana might have purchased a few more of the treats than was reasonable for one person to eat.
“Ooh,” June said. “I would have walked faster if I’d known you had these at the ready.”
The two women laughed, and, for a moment, they ate in silence.
“So,” June said after she’d sampled a macaron. “You can’t pull one over on me. I know this is your ‘I’m feeding my feelings’ treat. What’s up?”
Having friends who knew you so well, Diana mused, had its pros and cons.
“I was talking to my sister,” she said. June knew about Astrid, of course, but Diana didn’t want to spread news of Astrid’s pregnancy before she was ready, so she kept her commentvague. “And her family and all that. And it just… reminded me that I still haven’t met the right person.”
And it’s starting to feel like I never will, she didn’t need to add.
Diana had expected June to look softly sympathetic, or something along those lines. To her surprise, however, her friend’s eyes lit up with delight.
“Do you know what we have to do?” she asked.
“Uh, no? I mean, if I did, I probably would have done it already…”
She trailed off as June lunged for Diana’s phone, holding it up to Diana’s surprised face to bypass the password.
“We,” she said, “need to get you signed up for some dating apps. One of the women I work with at the diner sometimes said she found her boyfriend that way.”
Diana reached for the phone, but June held it out of reach, scrolling through the screen until she found the app store icon.
“Is this person like nineteen, June? Because I am not going to date like ‘the kids do it these days.’ I’m too old for that stuff.”
June shot her a triumphant look. “She’s fifty-four, thank you very much. And she and her boyfriend, who is fifty-eight, I think she said, have been dating for over a year. Give me some credit. I’m not going to find you one of those apps where crazy young things are looking for a wild night out. This app she recommended is all about chatting and getting to know someone before you meet up, so that you feel comfortable when you do.”
Okay, Diana could admit that didn’t soundtoobad, but…
“No way,” she said, shaking her head. “Apps like those are full of crazy people, aren’t they?”
June was still holding Diana’s phone protectively, but she wasn’t typing any longer.
“Listen,” she said, pinning Diana with a look. “I’m obviously not going to make you do anything you’re uncomfortable with.But online dating, or even using apps, isn’t like it used to be. It’s not something that only weird people who are trying to trick you use. And we both know you’re savvy enough to be safe. You’re not going to fall for some scam.”
Diana narrowed her eyes. Darn that June for using compliments and logic against her.
“Besides,” June said, cajoling. “What do you have to lose?”
Diana huffed a laugh. “My self-respect?”
June pursed her lips. “Okay, if that’s how you really feel…”
“It is,” Diana said, with a bit more confidence than what she truly felt.
“Well, fine, June said, handing back the phone. “Here you go. But the app is there if you change your mind. That way you’ll at least know you have an app that’s reputable, not something where you’re likely to encounter a bunch of unsavory characters.”
“Unsavory characters?” Diana echoed, arching an eyebrow. “Have you been reading a bunch of romance again?”
June laughed. “Guilty as charged. You know I just want things that distract me from my real life. I’ve been reading a whole series about this group of brothers in the 1950s…”
And then they were off, chatting about books, the matter of Diana’s love life forgotten for now. Soon enough June had to go pick up Benjamin from his playdate.
