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“I’m a Taurus. May twentieth.”
“Oh.” She was quiet for a moment. “That’s interesting.”
“How come?”
“Don’t ask,” David said. “She’s into this astrology bullshit.”
“David is a Cancer.”
“Like my friend Gretchen,” I said.
Brian laughed to himself. “That explains a lot,” he muttered with his chin in his hand.
“Brian, did something happen between you and Gretchen?” I asked.
“Oh.” He looked up. “No, nothing at all.”
“Are you sure?”
“Are you asking me to kiss and tell, missy?”
“So there was a kiss?” I exclaimed.
He looked embarrassed. “It was very brief. I stopped it.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Why? Don’t you find her attractive?”
“Exceptionally. We aren’t well-suited though. She seems to have something to prove. And that’s not me.”
I shrugged at his cryptic answer and turned my attention back to Jessa. “So why is it interesting that I’m a Taurus?”
“It’s not that,” she mused, touching a finger to her lips. “Both you and David are on the cusp of your signs. In fact, you’re both on the cusp of Gemini.”
“Is being on the cusp bad?” I asked.
“No, no. But two Gemini together can be, well, explosive. Volatile. Not usually a good combination. On the other hand, Cancer and Taurus is a great match.”
“Oh.” I smiled at her before glancing over at David. “Well, we’re not . . .”
She raised her eyebrows at me. “You’re not?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head in confusion. I looked to David for backup, but he was stoic as he stared at his sister. “I’m married,” I said, holding up my hand. All four pairs of eyes dropped to my ring, and her face fell instantly.
“Oh,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry, I just assumed . . . Crap, I’m really sorry.”
“It’s okay,
no big deal,” I said with a reassuring smile.
“Uncle David!”
David bolted upright, knocking his knee on the table and cursing. He shot us a quick look before jogging over to the boy. Brian shifted uneasily. After a moment, he mumbled an excuse and took off after David.
“Well this is uncomfortable,” Jessa said.
“Not even, don’t worry. I’m sure it’s hard to keep track of all his girlfriends.”
She cocked her head at me, and my hand flew to my mouth. “I’m sorry, I didn’t meant to imply anything. Just that he’s so charming, I’m sure he’s had many girlfriends.”
Jessa released a fluid, heartfelt laugh. “Don’t worry, I know David’s something of a ladies’ man. But ‘girlfriends’ is the wrong word.” I waited for her to continue, but she just popped a grape in her mouth and looked over to the grass.
“Is that your son?”
“Alex – sorry I didn’t introduce you.”
“It’s okay, he’s busy. How old is he?”
“Just turned ten.”
I nodded and watched as David scooped him up effortlessly and spun him around until Alex started screaming. As soon as he released him, the kid stumbled sideways and fell to the ground laughing. David leaned his hands on his knees and said something to Brian, who burst into laughter. David’s head swung in our direction then, a carefree smile plastered on his face. He really was blindingly beautiful when he smiled, especially when it was directed right at me.
“I’m surprised.”
“I’m sorry?” I asked, reluctantly breaking from my adulation.
“That you’re married. You and David seem to have a connection. I certainly haven’t seen him look at someone like that . . . ever.”
My breath rushed from my lungs. I fingered the hem of my spandex tank top, trying unsuccessfully to avoid her stare.
“Brian has the idea that your being here today is a coincidence. Is it?” Her eyes were alive with questions, and I was afraid of the answers she might read in mine. I felt scarily close to confessing everything to her; she seemed so warm and understanding and disconnected from my life. I grasped at words, opening and closing my mouth like a goldfish.
Judy appeared suddenly, rescuing me from any spontaneous confessions. “Hot dog or burger, girls?”
“Burger for me,” Jessa chimed.
I nodded my agreement.
“Two burgers,” Judy called to her husband, and she climbed onto the bench. She sat up straight, brushing dark hair off her shoulder and flashing a colossal ring that dominated her slender fingers. “So, Olivia, where are you from?”
“I grew up in Dallas, but I moved here after college.”
“Oh? You don’t strike me as Southern girl.”
“I get that a lot,” I said with a laugh.
“Where’d you go to school?”
“Notre Dame. Your husband went there, right?” I recalled my conversation with David the last time we’d had burgers. “My dad too.”
“How funny!” she exclaimed. “Ger, Olivia here went to Notre Dame.”
