“English too.”
“Like Prince William?”
Lucy thought about it. “More like a guy who would punch Prince William outside a pub.”
“Even better.”
Lucy laughed. She knew Theresa could cheer her up.
“He likes you?” Theresa asked.
“I don’t think so,” Lucy said. “But he gave me a pair of shoes.”
“Um…shoes? What the hell?”
“Are you cooking while talking to me?” Lucy asked when she heard pots and pans rattling in the background.
“I’m a kindergarten teacher. I can multitask like an octopus. Tell me.”
Lucy told her everything that had happened so far—the coat, the lawyer, the “spoiled brat” remark, Dustin, the rescue, the shoes.
“He likes you,” Theresa finally said.
“You think the shoes were flirting, not pity?”
“Martin bought me a fish tank when he was trying to get with me. Men are crazy when they’re crazy about a girl. He gave you his shoes. You give him your panties.”
“You teach kindergarten, Theresa.”
“I also have a husband. Get him.”
“I’m not here to get a husband, remember? You’re supposed to tell me to keep my eyes on the prize. I’m doing this for Christopher.”
“Honey, if anybody deserves two prizes, it’s you. Win your game. Get your boy, then get your man. The end.”
Lucy rubbed her forehead. “Theresa. This isnothelping.”
“Call up someone stupid then. I’m too smart to tell you not to flirt back. Flirt back. Hard. Make him give you a fish tank, baby girl.”
“I love you,” Lucy said. “You’re insane, but I love you. Thank you for making me feel slightly less like shit.”
“You don’t feel like shit. You aretheshit, baby. Don’t you forget it. And I love you too. Be good but not too good, okay?”
“You too.” They hung up.
Talking to Theresa had helped. Lucy took off her old Converse sneakers and tossed them under the bed. She found her thickest pair of socks and put them on. The boots fit pretty well. Traipsing all over the islandwould be much easier now with a pair of almost-new hiking boots. She looked herself over in the mirror. They looked great with her red skinny jeans—a Goodwill find—and her favorite black crewneck sweater, an old gift from Sean.
After she brushed her teeth, it was almost two o’clock. She walked to the picnic tables at One O’Clock.
Andre and Melanie were there. No Dustin.
“Take a bow, Lucy,” Andre said, giving her a golf clap. “You figured out the puzzle this morning, and you got rid of Dustin.”
“I didn’t mean to.”
“Take it as a compliment,” Melanie said. “He didn’t try to cheat with us, just you.”
“Yeah, lucky me.” But it was, in a weird way, a compliment. Lucy had won the first game, and she did guess what the puzzle meant this morning too. If she won the next game, she’d be nearly halfway to victory and only on day two.
