204 Rosewood Lane - Debbie Macomber [76]
“What I learned from all this,” Rachel said, as she finished the polish job on Maryellen’s nails, “is that if one of us dumps a man, it’s for a damn good reason.”
“You can say that again,” Jane echoed.
“What about the guy you met?” Jeannie asked Maryellen.
She blinked, pretending not to understand the question. “I didn’t meet anyone.”
“That guy you brought stuck to you like glue,” Teri called from the other side of the shop, where she was working on an older woman. “I had my eye on him big-time, but he wasn’t having anything to do with me.”
“I’m sure you’re imagining it.” The last person she wanted to discuss with her friends was Jon Bowman.
“Not likely,” Teri muttered, standing in front of the display of fingernail polish. She picked up a bottle and read the name on the bottom. “How about ‘More Than a Waitress’?” she asked her customer.
Thankfully, attention was turned away from Maryellen.
“Are you going out with him?” Rachel asked, ambushing her with the question. “You might not have noticed how hot that guy was for you, but the rest of us sure did.”
“I haven’t seen him since before Christmas, but if I do, would you like me to give him your number?” This was the only way she could think of to convince Rachel that she wasn’t interested in dating Jon.
“No way. I’ve been with guys who’re hung up on someone else. It’s a real downer, if you know what I mean.” Coloring the last fingernail, Rachel set the timer and lowered the light over Maryellen’s perfect pink nails.
Once they were dry, Maryellen hurried out of the shop. She was meeting her mother for dinner at the Pancake Palace. Her entire schedule was off, due to a meeting with the gallery owners, who’d flown in unexpectedly. Luckily, Rachel could fit her in for a late-afternoon appointment.
Fearing questions, Maryellen had been avoiding her family. Kelly, busy as she was with Tyler, had readily accepted her excuses, but Grace was having none of it. Given no other option, Maryellen agreed to meet her at the Palace, where the food was plentiful and cheap.
Grace already had a booth by the time Maryellen arrived. She slipped into the seat across from her and reached for the menu.
“How are you feeling?” her mother asked immediately.
“Wonderful.” That was a lie, but Maryellen didn’t want Grace to overreact to her situation. At this point, only her mother knew about the pregnancy; she hadn’t been ready to divulge the news to Kelly or any of her friends, especially while she felt ill. Every day for the past month, Maryellen had awakened with a queasy stomach. Invariably, a short time later, she was hanging her head over the toilet. She didn’t recall Kelly having these symptoms when she was pregnant. In any event, if her sister had suffered from morning sickness, Paul was there to love and encourage her and then hand her a wash-cloth. Maryellen had rarely felt more alone.
Grace set aside the menu. “So you’re in perfect health? Ha! I don’t believe that for a moment.”
“Mother,” Maryellen said, doing her best to remain cordial. “Don’t. Please don’t.”
“Don’t what?” Grace demanded and then seemed to have a change of heart. “Let’s start again, shall we?”
“Please. Tell me what’s going on with you. Please, Mom, just this once don’t drill me with questions I don’t want to answer.” She bit her lip and prayed her mother was listening.
Grace stared at her, obviously unhappy about her daughter’s request. “All right,” she said slowly. “There’s plenty of other news for us to discuss.”
“Like what?” Maryellen asked gratefully.
“Well, for one thing,” Grace said, cradling her water glass in both hands. “I went out to dinner with Cliff Harding last Saturday night.”
Now, this was news Maryellen had been waiting to hear. “Cliff called you?” In her opinion, he’d been patient for far too long.
Her mother blushed and looked down at the menu. “Actually, I phoned him.” She said this as if she’d committed some terrible breach of etiquette.
“Mom, that’s great!”
“I’ve never called a man in my life.” Even now Grace sounded unsure that she’d done the right thing.
“What convinced