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“Easy and torture.”
“Do you want to pull up your sweater? We’ll get this wire going. Henry’s parked in a van over on Canal, and then we’ll stay close to you.”
“Oh, how funny. I’d better be careful not to say anything off-color.”
“He is such a prude,” Samantha said, snickering.
She got Laura all wired up and left at eight thirty to join Henry.
Laura finished her morning routine, checking in with a new client, and at nine, she went out on the terrace to wait for Shelly. She saw her round the corner at the marina and sprint up to the cottage.
“You ready?” Shelly asked.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Laura said, laughing. “You’re a good sport to put up with me.”
They took off together at a comfortable pace, going north on the beach.
“I’m grateful to have the company. There isn’t another person I can really talk to except for Dan, and you know his relationship history with Alan is skewed.”
“I’m glad I can be there for you, Shelly.”
“I think I’m still grieving the breakup. I haven’t really processed his predicament. It doesn’t seem possible that he’s in jail for what could turn out to be a long sentence if he’s convicted.”
“Yes, you need time to heal.”
“Anyway, enough about me. How are you doing? I see the dumpster is full!”
“Yep, we are nearly finished with the first phase of work. The next project isn’t going to happen for a while. We’re going to excavate the basement next.”
“Wow, that’s a big deal here on the beach.”
“Yeah, it is. We’re waiting until the attic conversion is done.” Laura looked out over the water, thinking she had something intimate to share that might heat up the conversation. “I have news. We don’t know each other, but it won’t hurt to tell you. I’m pregnant.”
Shelly stopped in her tracks and looked at Laura. Then she reached for her and hugged her gently. “How wonderful. Are you happy?”
“We’re thrilled.”
“Oh! I guess I didn’t realize you were married.”
“I’m not. We’ve been trying for a while, so this is a nice surprise.”
“Well, congratulations. I don’t need to tell you that I’m envious. I had hoped Alan and I would have a baby together, but he actually wore two condoms when we had sex, he was so worried about getting me pregnant.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
They resumed running side by side. “The first time I saw Alan with Lily, I thought this was why our relationship wasn’t going anywhere.”
Shelly immediately sputtered, shaking her head, tucking her hair in, anything to look occupied, trying to cover up a major slip of the tongue.
When she heard it, an epic flash of heat washed over Laura. Hoping the wire had picked it up, she tried therapeutic communication techniques to get Shelly to repeat it.
“You saw them together?”
Shelly tried to compose herself but failed, nearly frantic as tears filled her eyes. “I did! I’ve avoided talking about it because it’s so painful. I saw them more than once,” she admitted, her voice growing louder. “The first time, they were parked by the marina, having sex in the front seat.”
“Oh, Shelly, how awful. You must have been devastated.”
“I was livid. She was horrible, fat, and greasy-haired. She had huge boobs, which helped me understand why Alan was always criticizing me for my flat chest.”
