This was Noah. He knew what she looked like.
Of course, he hadn’t actuallyseenher since before her first pregnancy. Not since she was ateenager, for goodness sake.
A knock came on the door.
“Just a minute!” Anne shouted.
The door opened anyway.
Laurie’s eyebrows shot up, and she paused in the doorway to survey the chaos.
“What happened here?”
“Nothing,” Anne snapped. “Didn’t you move out?”
Wow,Laurie signed.What’s your problem?
Anne winced.Sorry.
“I took most of my stuff to the Madeira place, but I haven’t quite moved in. Mom’s watching Mia today. Halia set me up with a free appointment with a lawyer or a legal advisor or something, to walk me through the divorce process.”
Sorry,she said again. “I’m a mess.”
“You’re really spiraling, huh?” Laurie glanced at the bed, where Anne’s entire wardrobe was scattered in piles.
“Um… yeah. Maybe a little.”
Her little sister smirked, and she had a sudden flashback to thirteen-year-old Laurie acting the exact same way when Anne was freaking out about her first date nearly thirty years before.
Is this all about your date with Noah?Laurie asked.
Yes, it’s about my date with Noah,she signed sharply.
“But it’sNoah. He knows what you look like.”
Anne let out a huff of breath and kicked the door closed. “Our history makes itmorenerve-wracking, Laurie. Not less.”
“I don’t see why.”
“What’s a forty-four year old supposed to wear on a date with her highschool sweetheart?” Anne kept her voice low – the last thing that she needed was Claire weighing in – and funneled her frustration into extra emotive signs.
“Um… whatever you want?” Laurie was looking at her like she was crazy.
“The last time he saw me, I was a size two!”
Laurie raised one eyebrow and looked her up and down. “Didn’t you just see each other a few days ago?”
“I meansaw mesaw me.”
“Like… naked?”
Quiet!Anne signed, glancing at the door.
“Spiraling,” Laurie diagnosed with a sad shake of her head. Amusement glittered in her clear brown eyes.
“You are so not helping!”
“Anne, you werekids. I am one thousand percent sure that Noah doesn’t expect you to be the same size that you were when you were a literal child. First off, he’s not a creep. Second, he’s not an idiot. I mean, he has eyes.”
