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“Awww, honey,” Penny said, kissing Taya on the cheek. “It’s time we got you a date.”
“Nope. I don’t need a date. I need a life. Two very different things.” Taya folded her arms.
Penny shrugged. “They can certainly overlap.”
“I remember a time when you had a date every single weekend,” offered Evie with a grin.
Taya shook her head. “It was during the era of dinosaurs.”
“Come on, we’re not that old,” replied Evie.
Taya laughed. “It feels that way sometimes.”
“You dated that guy with the skinny legs for ages in high school,” said Bea. “What was his name?”
They all laughed together.
Evie’s eyes sparkled. “I called him hairy legs.”
“Ben, I think,” added Penny.
Taya rolled her eyes. “Brent. His name was Brent. And you were all jealous of his skinny, hairy legs.”
“Very jealous.” Bea smirked. “Wasn’t he the guy who always begged you to run away with him?”
“That’s right, and you never did. Thank goodness.” Penny leaned against the railing.
“I never understood it,” said Taya. “We were so young. And I loved my parents. I had no desire to run away and be homeless. Looking back, I wonder if he had a bad home life to want something like that so badly.”
“We all dated duds in high school.” Penny sighed.
“Except for Beatrice,” Evie said.
“Yes, all duds except for your Aidan,” admitted Taya with a nod in Bea’s direction. “He’s a keeper, that one.”
“I’m surprised none of you has asked him out.” Bea’s face flushed warmer still. “You’re all single, and he’s an eligible date. There aren’t many of them on the island.”
“We couldn’t do that — girlfriends stick together,” Taya replied.
Bea’s throat tightened as she ducked her head. Her friends from high school had more loyalty to her than her own husband had. If only he’d considered her feelings before he’d cheated. She blinked away tears, then looked up at the circle of smiling faces around her.
“Well, thank goodness for friends,” she said. “I’ve neglected you terribly, but I’m so glad we found our way back to each other again. It’s as though almost no time has passed at all when I’m with the three of you.”
Fourteen
“What areyou going to do about that husband of yours?” Dad’s question at the breakfast table the next morning surprised Bea.
She was in the middle of a mouthful of cornflakes coated in honey when he asked it, and she almost choked. So far, he’d been very quiet about the whole divorce thing and hadn’t asked about it, but of course it couldn’t last. At some point, she’d have to think about the answers to those kinds of questions for herself and share them with others as well.
She swallowed. “I honestly don’t know, Dad. I suppose we’re getting a divorce. He asked for one, and he hasn’t changed his mind as far as I know.”
“Are you taking his calls?”
She grimaced. “Not exactly.”
“How do you know he hasn’t changed his mind, then?”
“Fine. If he calls again, I’ll speak to him. I’m sure there are things we have to work out, but I’ve been avoiding it and spending all my time renovating instead. It’s far more rewarding.”
