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“You know you don’t all have to try so hard to make me feel included,” Elizabeth protested.
“Is that what we’re doing? Gee. And I thought it was just that I had this brilliant idea to be with all my friends.”
Chloe was off the couch and staring at Elizabeth, her expression pleading.
“I don’t know . . .” Elizabeth weakened.
“Come on over,” Deirdre insisted. “You can ride with me and Les to the bar.”
Ahh . . . the husbands were going. Of course. Elizabeth tried to beg off, not wanting to be a fifth wheel again, but Deirdre was having none of it. Nadia was going to be there and some other people, too. What other people? Elizabeth wanted to know, but Deirdre was already hanging up, as if afraid Elizabeth would change her mind again.
Despite her better judgment, half an hour later Elizabeth and Chloe were on their way to Deirdre’s house. Chloe had brightened considerably and was keeping up a nonstop chatter as if afraid Elizabeth would change her mind given too much time to think about it. Her daughter wasn’t wrong. All Elizabeth wanted to do was climb into bed and drag the covers over her head. Maybe this is what Chloe needs.
She glanced down at her skinny jeans and tailored blue blouse. A black sweater coat lay in the passenger seat. The Barefoot Bar in Newport Beach had an outside patio with a concrete floor lined with sand. Several fire pits were clustered around the area, each with curved benches and Adirondack chairs. In the summer, the place was completely packed and it was impossible to cadge a seat, but the cool temperature would likely deter the crowds. At least that was Deirdre’s contention.
Chloe was dropped off to play with Deirdre’s sons, Chad and Bryan; the kids were left in the care of a nanny Deirdre shared with another woman. As Elizabeth slid into the backseat of the Czurskys’ dark gray Mercedes, she listened to Deirdre and Les extol the virtues of the food at the Barefoot Bar.
“You’ve had dinner there,” Deirdre stated to Elizabeth as if it were fact, half-turning her face toward the backseat.
“No, I’ve only been to the patio bar.”
“You’re kidding. It’s great. You’ll see. Fresh seafood. Great salads.”
“Steaks, too,” Les put in.
Elizabeth thought about her dwindling bank accounts, but didn’t say anything as Deirdre and Les enthused about their favorite restaurant. No matter what Peter Bellhard had alluded to about Court’s finances, there was no secret stash of money. Court may have fooled Whitney, but the truth was he spent anything he made and nothing much was left. Elizabeth determined that she would just order a garden salad or soup, something not too expensive. She wasn’t all that hungry, anyway.
While the valet took the keys of their car and parked it, they walked through the reception area and outside to the patio. The Eachuses and Hofstetters were already there. Nadia, looking harried, was just arriving, a few steps behind them. “Kurt blew me off at the last minute,” she said, clearly unhappy. “It’s like I don’t even have a husband half the time.” She heard herself and stopped short. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry, Elizabeth,” she said, abashed.
“Don’t even think about it.” Elizabeth waved off the apology. As they met up with the other couples, Elizabeth was introduced to the other people Deirdre had mentioned. Actually, it was really just one other person, as Deirdre introduced her to Gil Dyne, who worked with Les.
Dyne was a widower, it turned out, and Elizabeth sensed he’d been invited to even out the couples because she was coming as a single and everyone had expected Nadia’s husband to show. Already it was happening; she was the odd woman out. Elizabeth cringed inside.
No wonder Deirdre hadn’t taken no for an answer.
Elizabeth was almost glad Nadia’s husband hadn’t showed. It kept her from having to be Gil Dyne’s almost date.
All in all, it was irritating as hell, and it was all Elizabeth could do to smile through it and remind herself that her friends meant well, that they were just trying to help her through a rough transition.
Still . . .
“I heard about your husband,” Gil said to her.
She wanted to sink right through the patio. She didn’t need this, probably not ever.
“I know how difficult the first few weeks are.” He had a friendly face and a nice smile, but he stood a little closer to her than she would have liked. “How’re you getting on?”
She shot Deirdre a warning loo
k, but Deirdre pretended not to notice. “I’m working my way through it,” she said to Gil as Nadia, who had been mingling with the others, joined them. Thank God.
The waiter came by and she ordered a glass of white wine, but when the waiter returned, Gil insisted on paying. Of course. She protested mightily, but he swept away her objections. He made no effort to buy Nadia’s drink, however, even though she was standing right beside Elizabeth and had ordered at the same time.
It was uncomfortable and awkward.
Twenty minutes later, she finally found an opening to move away from him and with Nadia in tow, whispered, “I hope Deirdre doesn’t think this is a date.”
Nadia was a few inches taller than Elizabeth and when she hazarded a glance at Gil Dyne, one of the outdoor lights caught the icy blue of her eyes. “Men prey on single women.”
