In Florida, Ric was lying in Val’s mansion guest house bed thinking about his poor, pitiful existence. He hated feeling that way—he had never pitied himself before. But what did he have to show for his life? He was about to reach that peaceful age of thirty—at least he hoped the next decade would be better than his miserable twenties. Those were years of two failed loves, the loss of four children, and a career change. Okay, the career change had been good—he could feel good about that.
Kat walked out of the bathroom naked—her brown skin glistening. She pulled the covers back and crawled back in bed next to him.
His phone vibrated on the night table. He briefly looked at the caller ID—Catherine. He’d call her later.
Franco quietly and carefully stood up. He looked out over the beautiful view of Peru from his balcony. His daughter moved in his arms and made a small squeak. “Shh, shh.” He rocked her back and forth, rubbing her cheek with his finger until the small infant fell back to sleep. Finally, he had a child he could call his own. He’d thought the day would never come.
Chapter 2—Micky
It had been almost three months since Robert and Gini were married and two months since Lisa’s son’s birth. Saturdays were usually a free day for Debbie unless Robert got called to the hospital for a special case.
Debbie stood in front of the mirror after showering, applying moisturizer on her face. She moved closer to the reflection and marveled at her skin. It looked younger than it used to—fresh. She would turn forty in less than a month. Debbie had never thought much about age until lately. Could she really be that old? Where had the years gone? She smiled at herself. Forty is not old, she thought. She had a lot of life ahead of her.
She pulled back from the mirror and ran a comb through her hair, again admiring the sheen. Lisa had insisted Debbie use her hair products when they lived together—gee, that seemed so long ago. It had been nearly two years. After a few washings, she saw a big difference. When she was young, her dad told her she had awful dishwater-colored hair. Dishwater? she thought. What color is dishwater? But now it was a pretty honey brown with lots of body and a nice shine. Debbie had let it grow longer, per her stylist’s suggestion, and wore it pulled back behind her ears with a curl wrapping to the front. It was an easy, natural style.
She guessed she was paying more attention to her looks since her surprise meeting with Micky on the cruise. What were the odds that they would both be on the same ship? Debbie remembered how shocked she was when she saw Micky sitting at a table in one of the buffet restaurants. It was the third day out at sea. Amazing they hadn’t seen one another before then.
Micky was onboard with five friends. They all came from different parts of the US but took a trip together once a year. Debbie was immediately invited to join the group. She was happy to do so, not only because it was great to see Micky but also because she had found herself quite bored being alone.
The partying, dancing, and long talks reminiscing about their college days had rekindled Debbie’s strong feelings for Micky. If she remembered right, Micky was the one who had slowly drifted out of their relationship. Debbie tried as hard as she could to keep the long-distance affair going, but Micky just stopped calling.
Debbie sat on the bed after pulling up her slacks. And now Micky was making frequent trips to Boston for nurse training on special equipment. She’d told Debbie she’d tried to find her, but Mass General had sent Micky to New Haven Med Center. From there the path was not clear. “Somewhere in Boston,” she was told. She promised Debbie the next time she was in Massachusetts, she’d get in touch with her. But there had been no call until the day before. Micky would be in town on Tuesday. She told Debbie she was eager to meet Gini, since Debbie had told her so much about Gini and their life together.
Debbie looked forward to the visit but was also a bit nervous. She knew Micky was a true lesbian, unlike Lisa. What if Micky wanted to be together again? What about Gini if that happened? Debbie put her hand to her mouth and stared across the room. Then she shook her head. No sense worrying about or anticipating an outcome. She’d just have to wait and see.
She went to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. A few minutes later, Robert walked out of the master bedroom. He was wearing drawstring pants and a pullover shirt. His hair was uncombed, and his eyes still looked half asleep. “I smelled coffee,” he said and went to the couch.
Debbie chuckled under her breath. They were like an old married couple, so casual and relaxed. She’d never have guessed she’d be comfortable with a man in her house with all her awful memories of her dad and brothers—so cocky and rude. Here she was with a very dear friend of a decade or more living under the same roof. And the amazing thing—it wasn’t at all weird for her, and she guessed not for him either.
She took a cup of coffee to him and sat in the chair. He blinked his eyes hard and then rubbed the sleepy away. “You look nice today,” he said.
“Thanks. Lisa is coming for the day, and we’re going shopping. Lenny told her to have a mom’s day out; he wanted some one-on-one time with the baby.”
“What a great guy. Timmy is awfully cute. I envy Lenny
