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“Let’s talk more over lunch,” Mary said.
She moved away from me and made a jaunt toward her small kitchen to attend to what my nose had deduced was a burning homemade pizza.
I removed my shoes and looked around where I stood. The space was small, as most converted Victorian homes in this area of Boston were, with a combination living room and dining area. It had the pretty fireplace, some of the original crown molding, and elegant light fixtures, but that was where the charm ended. Four tall bookcases dominated the space, packed with books and enough kitsch to make a grandma raise a brow, or so I imagined. Being the only living relative of both my parents’ lines left me with only TV shows as a reference. Her small, old-fashioned twenty-inch TV was on, playing what I thought to be a documentary, though the volume was turned down. I supposed it was part of her studying by osmosis. The small fabric couch, chair, and rug, were littered with more books and papers. Her dining area was no less cluttered. She had it set up like an office with a desktop computer, printer, and papers stacked and organized on top of her small, round table. It all reminded me that Mary was in term paper mode and I would be put to work soon.
I rolled and parked my trolley bag at the end of the table, then joined Mary in the small alcove that was her kitchen.
“You’re worse than Gregor,” I teased as I took a seat at the small table there.
“Am not,” she retorted, passing me a bottle of wine. “He’s a disaster. How is he?”
I rose to open the wine as she set two slices of pizza on each of our plates. I quickly filled her in, telling her about the kiss as well.
“Told you he’s crazy about you,” she said smugly.
I rolled my eyes. “He’s not. He was just confused at the time.”
“Because you don’t like him. That’s the only reason you’re saying that,” she said adjusting her glasses.
I didn’t respond, as it hit too close to Jonas and myself.
Mary quickly changed the subject. “Life moves too fast up there. I’m kind of happy I’m over here.”
She sat down with the plates.
“I’m sorry I dumped this all on you. Tell me what happened with you and Hans,” I said, taking a bite of my pizza.
“Fine,” Mary said, lifting her chin. “Hans and I had a fight because he had sex with his teaching assistant. And before you point out that I agreed to an open relationship, we also had a few rules in place. We were to be open and honest about it. He had sex with her once, which we agreed to. Then I learned they were fucking every afternoon thereafter. I think he has feelings for her, so he’s going to explore that.”
She bit into her pizza as I gaped at her. She was almost frosty now, not anything like she had been on the phone.
“After two years?” I asked, my voice raising. “That’s it? Aren’t you upset?”
“I am. I was. I cried already. Eat,” she said as she sipped her wine. “Crying won’t change anything. I’m focusing on what I have control over right now. And that’s my studies and career, which we will get to after you tell me the rest. I don’t feel like talking about it anymore right now… So, spill it woman.”
I reached over and squeezed her hand, and she drained her glass of wine, the only sign that she was still upset. I knew from experience that if I pushed her, she would get snippy. I respected her wishes and filled her in between bites of the abysmal pizza made with some odd flavorless cheese. I told her everything I had left out earlier between Ian and Jonas, omitting Declan from all of it. I just wasn’t ready for that conversation yet.
“I risked carbs for this,” I said at the end, taking my last bite of pizza. “Yuck.”
Mary giggled. “It’s not that bad, and you’re not eating.” She adjusted her horn-rimmed glasses and made sure I caught her glare. “Something else is going on with you, but first…Meow.What a hot little cat you are, two guys! I’m impressed. Ian sounds hot, but don’t be that girl that goes through a guy’s friends. I love you like a sister, but that’s skank territory.”
My cheeks burned. “Thanks, Mare.”
“I’m only saying these things because I adore you my beautiful, dorky friend,” Mary said and beamed at me. “As for me, I’d give Ian a go. Who did he look like again?”
I laughed. “Kind of a Rosenberg, a bit of a Hemsworth. I don’t know… hot.”
She wagged her brows. “Geeky, too? I might be in lust. I’ll need to make a trip up to New York soon.”
I laughed, but she actually looked serious. Whether she wanted to admit it or not though, she loved Hans.
“What about Hans?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I need a sex-esteem boost. Since he’s so busy with his assistant,” she grumbled.
I squeezed her shoulders. “Think about it first. It’s too fresh to make any hasty decisions.”
The sound of my phone chiming made my heart skip a beat as I pulled it out to answer. Mary’s face lit up, but turned concerned when she saw the corners of my mouth turn down.
