I laughed.“Most people say that.I love it, though.I’ve always loved kids.”
“Do you have any?”Sage asked.
I shook my head.“Uh, no.I love being able to give them back to their parents at the end of the day.”
Sage’s eyebrows spiked.“You don’t want kids?”
“No.It… I know it’s not normal, but I just… I’ve never wanted kids.”
Sage raised her glass.“Same.Most people think I’m crazy, but I love my life the way it is.I never saw myself settling down at all.No husband, no kids.I like not having to answer to anyone else.”
I grinned.“Wow.I don’t meet a lot of people who understand.”
“Neither do I.”Sage chuckled, then reached for a slice of prosciutto.
“I think you’re both crazy.I always wanted kids.I just never found someone who wanted me,” Ashlyn said.
“We want you,” Sage told her.“And you deserve better than Rob.I told you that from the start.”
“You did?”I asked.
Sage nodded.“He doesn’t have a great reputation around town.She deserves someone who’ll dote on her and put her first.Rob was never that man.”
“I agree with her,” I told Ashlyn, smiling.
Ashlyn shook her head but grinned.“You guys are amazing.Thank you.Now if only you could materialize that man, I’d be all good.”
“He’s out there,” Sage said, hiding behind her glass as if afraid to say more.
I didn’t call her on it because I didn’t know her that well, but it made me wonder who she was talking about.I hoped it wasn’t Josh.
“How was graduation?”Ashlyn asked, clearly ready for a subject change.
“It was good,” Sage said with a smile.“Good speeches.It was a great group of students.Tons of scholarship money.”
“That’s awesome.Josh’s daughter graduated,” Ashlyn said, pointing next door.
“That’s right.I didn’t see him, but I’m sure he was there.The crowd was standing room only.”Sage settled her wide hips onto a stool and pushed one over for me to sit next to her.
“I thought you didn’t have kids?”I asked her.
Sage shook her head.“I don’t, but the station always has cameras at big events like that.We’re a small station, so we make sure we highlight all town functions.I covered the graduation.”
“Even though you’re an anchor?”
“Yeah.It’s not like a bigger station where there are multiple people who do the same job.I mean, you can look at me and see I’m not the typical woman you’d see on the news.I have been turned down for more jobs than I can count because of my weight, but Amethyst Bay is different.For one thing, they can’t be as picky, but they’re also not as discriminatory because everyone knows everyone.”Sage shrugged, but I could see the strain around her eyes.
“I’ll never know what it’s like to be you, but I have to say I’m a huge fan of yours.That sounds weird, but I mean it.You make me feel comfortable here because I’m not out of place.”
“Thank you.That’s another reason I do personal interest stories and features.I want to make sure I’m out there in front of all the other girls who look like me, who never saw someone they shared any resemblance to showing them what’s possible.I always wanted to be on TV, but I never thought it was an option for me.I studied broadcast journalism in school, and I fell in love with being on camera.”
“You are made for it.You bring a sincerity to it that I really like,” I told her.
“Thanks.”
We fell into a new topic over and over again, talking and laughing as if we’d all known each other forever.As the night wore on, the bottles of wine emptied and our enjoyment of each other climbed.
“I’m surprised you’re still awake,” Ashlyn said at one point.
