“Besides,” Mariska added, “I have an insurance policy.”
“I don’t get it.”
Mariska smiled mysteriously. Her hand strayed down to her stomach and rested there. “I haven’t told him, so don’t say anything.”
Laura felt as though someone had punched her.
Mariska’s smile blossomed into laughter. “You should see your face. You’re more surprised than I was, that’s for sure.”
Because you planned this, thought Laura with a sudden clarity of understanding. Although Mariska claimed love was all she and Philip needed, she’d hedged her bets by getting pregnant. And while Laura didn’t know much about Philip, she did know that not only was he the handsomest guy on the planet, he was also extremely decent. He brought Fresh Air kids from the city, and he was getting a special leadership award from President Carter for working with New Haven’s poor. And now that Mariska was pregnant, he would never leave her.
“I, um, don’t know what to say. I mean, I’m happy for you.” Her heart sank, because she couldn’t fathom a way to see this working out. Mariska hadn’t even finished growing up. Having a kid this young was a mistake.
Laura felt a little sorry for the Majeskys. They had wanted a big family, but according to Laura’s mom, Helen had so much trouble having Mariska that she almost died, and she was unable to bear any more children. Maybe that was why Mariska was so spoiled. They lavished all they had on her. And here was the trouble with spoiled people. No matter what you gave them, they were never content. They always wanted more.
“So when are you going to tell Philip?” she asked.
“I haven’t thought about that yet.”
“Mariska, you have to—”
“I will, I swear, I will. I just found out myself. You’re the first person I’ve told…well, almost.”
“Almost?” Laura did not like the sound of that.
“I was kind of in shock when the clinic called with the results. I sort of blurted it out to some of the customers in the bakery.”
“Uh-oh.”
“Uh-oh is right.” Then Mariska laughed again. “You won’t believe who they were—Mr. and Mrs. Lightsey.”
Laura could only shake her head. Clearly, blurting out the news had been no accident. “Pamela’s parents.”
“Philip says they’re best friends with his parents. They came up for the closing ceremonies of the camp. He told me they do every year.”
“And they know you’re pregnant.” Laura felt a chill despite the summer heat. This was the way Mariska operated. She was going to manipulate the situation, Laura just knew it. Making sure Pamela’s parents learned the score was all part of some plan Mariska had up her sleeve. “Do they know it’s Philip’s?”
“It doesn’t matter. As soon as he sees Pamela, which will be next week at Yale, he’s going to tell her the engagement is off. He’ll marry me before the baby comes, and everything will be just fine.”
“Except for Pamela Lightsey.”
“She’ll be all right after the BMW,” Mariska said airily.
* * *
Two days later, Laura was trimming the asters in the planter boxes in front of the bakery when she heard the train whistle, and remembered that Mariska had gone to the station to say goodbye to Philip. Minutes later, Mariska returned to the bakery, looking pale and defeated, a stranger Laura had never seen before.
Sweat beaded Mariska’s upper lip. She swayed a little and clutched her stomach as if she was about to throw up.
“What happened?” Laura demanded, setting aside her gardening shears. “You look awful.”
Mariska lowered herself to a chair at one of the bistro tables on the sidewalk in front of the bakery. “I broke up with him.”
“I don’t understand.” Laura’s mind swirled with confusion. “Did he take it badly? Did he not want anything to do with the baby?”
“I didn’t tell him about the baby.” Desperation shadowed Mariska’s eyes. “He can’t ever know, do you understand? Ever.”
“Don’t be crazy. He has a right to know.”
“Stop it, Laura. I swear, if you say a word…” She rubbed her temples. “I need to think.”
“Listen, a couple of days ago, you were planning a future with him. Did he change his mind?”
“No. He begged me not to break up with him.”
“Then why did you?” Laura demanded, trying to figure out what had really happened.
Mariska took a deep breath. She looked at her reflection in the big window of the bakery. “I got a better offer.”
“What do you mean, a better offer? From whom?”
Mariska didn’t answer. She gave a bitter laugh, got up from the table and strode away. Although Laura called after her, she didn’t respond as she walked along the sidewalk with her head held high. She took something out of her purse, ripped it down the middle, threw it in the green enamel trash bin and kept walking.
Laura couldn’t resist. She pulled out the paper her friend had ripped. It was an enlargement of the beautiful shot of Mariska and Philip, torn neatly down the middle. Without hesitation, Laura rescued it from the trash. Mariska was surely being too hasty.
Food for Thought
BY JENNY MAJESKY
Friendship Bread
At the Sky River Bakery, a lot of our breads begin with a sourdough starter, and Friendship Bread is one of the favorites. It’s called that because the starter can easily be shared among friends, who are invited to create breads of their own. It seems a little counterintuitive to let a vat of ingredients ferment for days on end, but ultimately, it gives the bread a special depth of flavor. This makes enough starter to share with your friends, along with a copy of the recipe.
This particular recipe is very flexible. You can add dried fruit, nuts, almond extract or sweet spices.
FRIENDSHIP BREAD STARTER
3 cups sugar
3 cups flour
3 cups milk
Day 1: In a nonmetal bowl, combine 1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour and 1 cup milk. Stir with wooden or plastic spoon (don’t use
