“And this is Diana,” I said, laughing.
“And who is Diana?” Julian asked.
“Oh, um…” I didn’t know what to say.
She interjected, “I’m her maid.”
“She is my savior,” I retorted.
A voice from behind me said, “Jesus, Gray. Are you so high-maintenance now that you have to take your maid with you to the pool?” I turned to see our “friend” Alexander (don’t you dare call him Alex), who was cocky as hell and didn’t care who he pissed off.
I could feel myself reddening with embarrassment. I glared at him. “We are all having a morning break,Alex.” I’d evened the score now.
“Maybe you could quit being so rude,” Julian added.
Alexander just shrugged and continued to the bar, where he pulled out a stool and sat down.
I mouthedI’m sorryto Diana. She rolled her eyes. As Stafford turned to throw one of the kids in the water, Marcy looked at me and made a slicing motion with her finger across her throat.
“Really?” I said when she reached me a couple minutes later. “None of those rumors are true.”
“He hasfull custody,” Marcy said as if she were saying, “raging herpes.”
“Ugh,” Julian said. “Nobody’s got time for that.”
“I thought you didn’t care about the kids,” I said.
“Yeah,” she said. “Every other weekend I don’t. But raising a one-, three-, and five-year-old on my own? Please.”
“Agreed,” Julian said. “Hey, what about Alexander?”
“He brings his own wineglass to the bar,” Marcy groaned.
“Ohhhh,” Julian said. “I was under the impression that you were marrying for money. If you’re looking for love, I have a few prospects in mind.” Then he waved at a woman entering through the gate and was calling, “That bag!” as he walked away.
“He’s too much,” Marcy said. “But he really does mean well.”
“Does he?” Diana asked.
We all laughed, and I felt myself relax. She didn’t seem mad about the earlier slight.
The waiter came up, and I said, “We need to order lots of food.”
“Oh, oh! Onion rings!” Trey said.
“And lots of rosé,” Marcy added.
“Haven’t you people ever heard of beer?” Diana asked.
“And evidently Diana will have some sort of beer,” I said.
We were all smiling and happy. Yes, there was work to be done, but that’s why God invented laptops. I missed my boy, so many thousands of miles away. But if I couldn’t be with him, I realized, there was nowhere I would rather be right now than right here, lounging poolside, with my favorite people, all summer long.
Later that night, I tossed my phone on the outdoor couch beside me, finally giving up. Andrew wasn’t going to call. He just wasn’t. I had ruined my summer fling. I weighed my options. Did I call him? Did I casually run into him at the club tomorrow? Because there was no denying that I hadn’t stopped thinking about him for a moment since he’d left my house. But I knew I wouldn’t, because I had too much pride. Or maybe I was too afraid. What if he hadn’t called because the divorced thing had finally sunk in? Or because I hadn’t been pretty enough, or because I had cellulite on my thighs and he saw? Maybe he didn’t think I was a good kisser.
Stop, I finally thought.Enough. I had always known that getting back on the horse would be hard. Maybe he hadn’t called because he didn’t want to, but maybe that had nothing to do with some shortfall of mine. The water was so dark and eerily still, only the moon’s reflection giving away that it was water at all. The stars twinkled, and I sighed.
Before I could decide what to do, I heard the unmistakable putter of a small engine and saw the skiff it was propelling a few seconds later. As it pulled up to the dock, my heart leapt into my throat.
