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"Todays the day, remember? My report on the reservists Bush called up to active duty. My first honest-to-God important story. "
"Oh. Right. "
"You dont sound very excited, Katie. "
"Its five-thirty in the morning. "
"Oh. I thought youd want to watch the broadcast. Sorry I bothered you. Bye. "
"Tully, wait—"
It was too late. The dial tone blared at her.
Kate cursed under her breath and hung up the phone. She couldnt seem to do anything right lately. She and Tully had so little in common these days there wasnt much to talk about. Tully didnt want to hear endless "mommy" stories and Kate could only stand so many my-life-and-career-are-great anecdotes. The postcards and calls from distant, exotic places were vaguely irritating.
"Shes on Sunrise this morning, remember?" Kate said. "She wanted to remind us. "
Johnny threw the covers back and turned on the television. They sat up together, listening to Norvilles report on the buildup of hostilities in Iraq and the presidents response.
Then, suddenly, Tully was on the air. She stood in front of some rundown concrete building, talking to an impossibly fresh-faced kid with a thick red crew cut and freckles. He looked as if he could have been wearing braces and a lettermans jacket ten seconds ago.
But it was Tully who demanded attention. She looked trim and utterly professional and beautiful. Shed tamed her curly auburn hair into a sleek, sophisticated bob and applied just enough makeup to accentuate her eyes.
"Wow," Kate whispered. When had that transformation occurred? She wasnt overblown Tallulah anymore, child of the cocaine-and-glitter eighties. She was reporter Tallulah Hart, as beautiful as Paulina Porizkova, as professional as Diane Sawyer.
"Wow is right," Johnny said. "She looks gorgeous. "
They watched the rest of the broadcast. Then he kissed Kates cheek and headed into the bathroom. Within moments she heard the shower start.
"She looks gorgeous," Kate muttered, leaning sideways for the phone.
She punched in Tullys number. The NBC receptionist answered and said shed need to leave a message.
So Tully was pissed.
"Tell her Katie called to say the story was great. "
Tully was probably right there, standing next to the phone, wearing her expensive designer skirt and blouse, digging through her quilted designer handbag, watching the light flash on her phone.
Kate got out of bed and went into the bathroom. There was no point in trying to sleep any more. Marah would waken any minute. In the shower, her husband was singing a very off-key version of an old Rolling Stones song.
Against her better judgment she looked in the mirror. Steam clouded her reflection but didnt obscure it.
Her hair was straggly and too long. Dark blond roots showed how long it had been since shed had a foil. She had bags under her eyes the size of open umbrellas and enough cleavage for two women.
No wonder she tried to stay away from reflective surfaces. With a sigh, she reached for the toothpaste and began brushing her teeth. Before shed finished, she felt Marah wake up.
Turning off the water, she opened the door.
Sure enough, Marah was screaming.
Kates day had begun.
When the big day arrived, Kate wondered why in the hell shed planned such a ridiculous birthday party for her daughter. In the morning, after another sleepless night, she got up and began the preparations, putting the finishing touches on the pink Barbie doll cake and wrapping the last few presents. In a moment of obvious madness, shed invited all the children from Marahs Mommy and Me class, as well as two former sorority sisters who had similarly aged daughters and her parents. Even Johnny had taken the morning off work for the extravaganza. When they all arrived, on time, bearing gifts, Kate immediately got a headache. It didnt help that Marah picked that moment to start screaming, either.
Still, the party went on, with all the women in the living room and the kids on the floor, making more noise than Sherman marching into Atlanta.
"I saw Tully on that really early show the other morning," Mary Kay said. "I was up with Danny. "
