Nora nods. “Now, that is a man who has his shit together.”
I stare at the clean, white tablecloth in front of me. Maybe Robbie really does have his shit together.
For once.
“Sorry for the delay, ladies. Are you ready to order?”
We all turn in our seats toward the new, female voice over our heads. A young woman stands by our table with an order pad and pencil in her hands. Short, red hair, and petite.
Not our usual guy.
“Where’s Roger?” Nora asks her.
“Oh, he changed his schedule,” she says. “He’s not on Sundays anymore.”
“He’s not?”
“What can I get you?” she asks, feigning a pleasant smile.
Nora looks around. “Our usual bottomless mimosas, I guess.”
“No,” I say as my stomach flinches. “I can’t even smell alcohol right now. Just water for me, please.”
Trix raises a hand. “And I’m with child, so... I’ll just have normal orange juice...” she says, not looking too happy about it. “No pulp, please.”
“Me, too,” Haley says. “Not the pregnant part. I’m just eighteen.”
Nora exhales. “Well, I don’t want to be the only one drinking.” She looks at the server. “Iced caramel latte, please.”
The server nods. “Coming right out.”
“Thank you,” I mutter.
We sit in a brief silence as she walks off toward the kitchen.
“Is this growth?” Nora asks. “Are we growing?”
“I don’t like it,” I say, shaking my head. “New table. New server. Too much change.” I point among them. “Too much new. No more change.”
Trix blocks Haley’s face from my pointer. “She doesn’t mean you, Hal,” she says.
I nod quickly. “Right. Haley, you’re welcome here anytime. Of course. That goes without saying.”
“She’s just projecting the very obvious freak-out she’s having about her ex onto the rest of us,” Trix says, smiling at me.
“No, I’m not.”
“New job,” she says. “New sobriety. Too much new.”
“Oh, that’s not what—”
“Melanie, do you remember what you told us to do if you ever started showing interest in Robbie again?”
I exhale hard. “I’m not showing interest. He is interesting at the moment, but I’m not showing interest.”
“You told us we were to physically restrain you to keep that from happening again.”
Nora nods. “That’s right. You said that.” She smiles. “And I have great handcuffs now, so you better watch it.”
Haley raises an innocent brow.
Trix leans over. “And what do you say when your dad asks what we talked about at brunch?” she asks her.
“Politics and religion,” Haley answers, a well-rehearsed line.
“Good girl.”
“I’m not showing interest in Robbie again,” I say, hitting every word. “This isn’t interest. It’s fascination and… I don’t know, a little self-pity, I guess.”
“What do you mean?” Nora asks.
I sigh. “If Robbie really has been sober for seven months, then that means he immediately got better the day I left him,” I say. “He got better because I wasn’t in his life anymore.”
“Oh, no, honey.” She leans forward, reaching for my hand on the table. “That’s not right. How do you know that you leaving wasn’t the kick in the balls he needed?”
“Yeah,” Trix says. “I’m with Nora here, Mel. You can’t take it like that. Robbie still worships the air you breathe. Trust me on that.”
“I always thought Robbie was bad for me,” I say. “But maybe it was the other way around. Maybe I was bad for him.”
Nora and Trix look at each other, both of them softly shaking their heads. The hesitation on their faces tells me they think I might have a point. Robbie was always a mess — of the irresistible variety, on my part. For him to suddenly be more than that... how can I not find the timeline painfully suspicious?
The server returns with a tray of our drinks. As she passes them out, I stare at the condensation on my water glass and drift even deeper into my Robbie-based madness.
What did he even mean when he said he wasn’t ready to talk to me about it yet?
Does he not want my opinion?
Do I even get to have one?
“Let me know if you need anything else,” she says, smiling.
“Thank you!” Nora says.
What is this feeling I’m having?
Am I angry that he didn’t tell me?
Or guilty because I didn’t notice?
Water droplets run down my glass, staining the white tablecloth beneath it. I look up, realizing the table has been awfully quiet for who knows how long, to find the other girls staring at me with those big sympathetic eyes.
I sit up straight. “Let’s change the subject,” I say. “Please continue talking about what you were talking about before.”
Nora sighs. “Do we have to? I was kind of enjoying that break.”
“Break from what?”
“Do you remember Alex? The guy who broke into my condo?”
I nod. “Clive’s partner-in-crime?”
She winces. “Yeah, that guy. Apparently, his lawyers are close to securing a plea deal.”
“Seriously?” I ask. “Can’t your lawyers stop that?”
“They’re trying, but I guess the ADA has been after his mystery employer, the one who wanted my client list in the first place, so they’re willing to let Alex walk if he offers enough information. Makes me sick thinking about it.”
I look at Trix. “Can Lance do anything?”
Trix nods. “I already texted him. He will look into it first thing tomorrow.”
“All right, so…” I reach across the table to pat Nora’s arm. “Stay positive. Don’t lose hope.”
“Yeah…” She exhales. “I haven’t broken it to Clive just yet. Not sure how he’ll react.”
“Daddy can take it,” Trix says, drawing Nora’s upward brow. “Daddy’s a good, strong Daddy.”
Nora glances at Haley, whose cheeks seem about ready to burst. “Maybe we shouldn’t use the Daddy talk around Haley…”
I smirk. “Yeah, she’s looks a little pink.”
Trix nods. “Maybe you’re right.”
Haley sinks lower into her chair and hides behind her glass of orange juice.
“Anyway…” I say. “Are you all still coming to my parents’ holiday party this Saturday?”
“Oh, I’d never miss an opportunity to gorge myself on your mother’s snickerdoodles,” Nora says. “I’m bringing Clive. Is that cool?” She winces.
