Girls in White Dresses - JENNIFER CLOSE [83]
“This is not normal,” Isabella thought. During tree pose, her legs were so sweaty that she slipped and fell.
“Don’t go to that yoga class,” Lauren told her. “Oh my God, that’s, like, the worst one. Go to hatha.”
Isabella’s new yoga class was better. It was a normal temperature, and kind of reminded her of church with all of the chanting and bowing and putting hands in prayer position. At the end of the class the teacher sprinkled them with lavender water as they lay still, which was nice. But her yoga mat smelled like feet, which got in the way of her transcendence.
“Maybe we should move out of New York,” Isabella said to Harrison. “Things aren’t going well here.”
“It’s not like other cities are in great shape,” Harrison said. “Plus, we both still have our jobs.”
“For now,” Isabella said.
“For now,” he said.
“I pushed someone on the subway,” Isabella admitted. “They were going too slow, and I just pushed a little bit.”
Harrison laughed. “So you think you need to leave New York?”
“Yeah,” Isabella said. “I always said when I push someone, it’s time to go.”
“Well, that’s something to think about.”
Isabella went out for drinks with Lauren and Mary. All they wanted to do was talk about Beth White.
“The house is a piece of shit,” Lauren told them. “They didn’t take care of it, and in this market? They aren’t going to get anything for it.”
“Spoken like a wonderful real estate agent,” Mary said.
“I told them not to sell,” Lauren said. “Beth wouldn’t hear of it. She said she wants it gone.”
“Jesus,” Isabella said. “What happened, exactly? Does anyone know?”
Lauren shrugged. “She said it was mutual.”
“That sucks,” Mary said.
“I was wondering why they weren’t having kids, though, you know?” Lauren said. “I knew something was up.”
“She told me that she’s getting custody of the dog,” Mary said.
“That’s the saddest sentence I’ve ever heard,” Isabella said. When she got home that night, she looked at Winston and said, “You would go with me, right? You love me more.” The dog yawned, and looked away.
“What’s happening?” Isabella asked Cate. She’d gotten stuck on a subway with no air-conditioning and was twenty minutes late to work. When she walked onto her floor, the conference room was full of people and some of them were crying.
“They closed the whole YA division. They just told everyone today.”
“So all those people are just fired?”
“Yeah,” Cate said. “Crazy, right?”
“How can they just close a whole division?” Isabella asked. Her dress was stuck to her legs, and she tried to pull the material away without being obvious.
“The company is in some serious trouble,” Cate whispered. “I say, we’re lucky if we’re still here in a couple of months.”
“There’s nothing you can do about it,” Harrison told her. “Just make sure your résumé is updated, and do your job. That’s all.”
Isabella felt sick to her stomach, and heard the yoga instructor in her head saying, “You may feel nauseous. This is a normal reaction.”
“But that’s all that I’ve worked for,” Isabella said. “If I leave now, with the title I have, I won’t be able to get a job anywhere.”
“You still have your job for now,” Harrison said. “You’re very resourceful.”
“You’re very resourceful? What kind of a thing is that to say to someone?”
Harrison told her to calm down, and she started screaming. “I hate when people tell me to calm down! You calm down. Don’t you call me resourceful, and then tell me to calm down.”
Isabella packed a bag and left the apartment. “I’ll be back tomorrow,” she said. Harrison stood in the door and looked confused.
Isabella went over to Mary and Ken’s apartment. Ken took one look at her and carried Henry into the other room.
“I think you’re just stressed from work,” Mary told her.
“Maybe,” Isabella said. “But I don’t think that’s it.”
“It doesn’t sound like Harrison was really out of line, though,” Mary said.
“No,” Isabella said. “I’m out of line.” She thought about her left side, all gnarled and crooked. Then she sent Harrison a text message that said, “I’m sorry. I’m crazy.” He wrote back, “That’s okay.”
Isabella