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“He is a mess,” Megan said. “We went to visit his apartment, and he had another woman there. It was the first night that he moved out.”
“Ugh. Men are a trip,” Kassandra said.
They reached Lisa’s place.
“Do you want to come in for coffee?” Lisa asked.
“No, thank you. I’ll run back up to my place. I have bread proofing in the oven since last night. It’s probably huge by now. I’ll bring it for lunch. What time?”
“People usually start coming to play on the beach at about eleven thirty. We’ll grill or eat leftovers from yesterday. I don’t go to a lot of trouble.”
“Mom, yes you do. You go overboard every week.”
“Aw, you’re so sweet.” Lisa grabbed Megan and hugged her.
“It seems like having a girl is having a built-in friend for life,” Kassandra said lovingly.
“It can be. I know I lucked out,” Lisa said.
“I’ll let you prepare for your guests. Can I bring anything else besides the bread?”
“That gave me an idea. I’ll make a big pot of chili. If no one wants to grill, we’ll have chili. Ryan always used to grill.”
“Maybe one of the others will do it,” Megan said.
“Maybe! Anyway, after eleven,” Lisa said.
“Great! I’ll see you after eleven, then,” Kassandra said, waving as she headed back to her place.
The run back was wonderful.Thiswas what she longed for. A sense of community. A safe environment to raise a big family, even if she did it alone.
Soon, she was back at her monstrosity of a house. But coming upon it from the water like that wasn’t bad at all. The back of the house had a pleasant beach presence that felt organic more than gaudy, with simple white-painted wood and glass.
Maybe she could change the finishes that she found so unappealing on the front of the house. Instead of the Moorish arches, she’d rip that faux façade off and replace it with ledge rock and not just fake siding. It would cost, and that reminded her that now that she’d discharged her last patient, tomorrow she could apply for referral privileges at the local hospital. She’d talk to Will at Lisa’s if he was there. It was good having a connection to the hospital.
For the next hour, Kassandra finished baking bread and made cookies and muffins to take to Lisa’s house. While she was in the shower, she thought of Tony for the first time that morning.
Janine’s house in Alpine, New Jersey, made Igor’s place in Babylon look like a hovel. The master bedroom overlooked the Hudson River from a cliff. That morning, bright light filtered over the drapery-covered French doors that led to the balcony.
“Ugh, my head,” Tony said, rolling away from the light.
“I told you to be careful with dark-colored reds,” Janine said, sitting up, her bare breasts moving from side to side. She reached for glasses on the nightstand and looked down at Tony. “What are you going to do today?”
“Can I stay here? I don’t even have a towel at the condo. If something doesn’t happen fast, I’ll move back on Wednesday. We have a game this afternoon and one on Tuesday. Can I stay here with you until the games?”
“Tony, you’re giving me and Kassandra mixed messages. Do you want to reconcile or not? Don’t use me for a hotel.”
“I can’t go back to her now. You’re the first person I thought of before I even drove off the street.”
“That sucks. You have a baby on the way.”
“I do. It seemed like a good idea. It would still be a good idea if you hadn’t opened your big mouth.”
“Yeah, well, it’s too late to take it back. And she had a right to know.”
“How does it feel having me here?” He had flipped over on his back, arms crossed under his head. “This place makes my father’s place look like a dump.”
“Except it’s not his place anymore, is it?”
