Crosby let out a scream of a laugh. Stuart flagged down the cocktail waitress circling the tables.
While the thump of the techno music reverberated the floor, Maxine slipped into the background letting the din of the club wash over her, content to watch the other three tease each other. She felt a weight of sympathy for Rose, probably bent over a desk in her small cubicle, staring blurry eyed at the computer. The truth was, out of all her siblings, Rose was the one who seemed to understand she needed time after she and Johnny broke everything off.
Johnny.
Maxine opened her clutch and looked at her phone. Sheβd actually gone fifty-five minutes without thinking about him. That was a record. But now, of course he was all she could think about. Did he think about her? Did he miss having coffee in bed on Sunday mornings while she read the comics and he did the crosswordβ he always used a pen, never a pencil. She loved that confidence about him. In fact, she still had the last puzzle heβd done.
The familiar stone lodged itself in her heart. She loved Johnny. She still loved Johnny. They had been together for four years.
Four years!
Four years of sharing and dreaming. Four years of walking through Umbra making imaginary purchases for their future home. Four years of waiting in the arrivals at the airport every time he came homeβshe was always there to meet him.
And four years of walks in the park when they would make spontaneous plans, like the time they decided to adopt a rescue dogβ¦except neither one of them filled out the forms.
Four years.
The burden of all that time was too much for Maxine to ignore. She simply refused to accept all that time, all that work with Johnny was for nothing.
She believed love was something that just didnβt happen, it was something you worked forβlike luck or even fate. And Johnny was her fate.
A cool glass was placed in her hands.
βA mojito with extra mint leaves for the cougar,β Stuart teased. Then he nodded toward a group of guys even younger than he and Westley. βCrosby tells me youβre in the market for meaningless sex. I think delta- gamma-go-all-night over there is a good start. Might as well go for the sure thing.β He squinted across the room, then added, βOr sure things if youβre feeling adventurous.β
Over Stuartβs shoulder, Maxine saw a slim man with a crewcut walking through the crowd, a pint of beer in one hand. βOh God!β She panicked. It was the divorced high school teacher with a phobia for dentists.
She spied the neon sign for the washrooms, then grabbed her clutch, and quickly left the table. Stuart called out something, but the music was so loud it drowned out his words.
With her head down and still holding her mojito, she careened around bodies staring at their shoes. It was depressing enough to still be miserable over your ex- fiancΓ©, but then to see the guy who dumped you with
one glance while youβre trying to distract yourself from being miserable over your ex-fiancΓ©, was a whole new level of hell.
How much could one woman take?
Stupid Crosby and her stupid project rebound sex! Maxine wished sheβd stayed home, cozy under the covers snacking on Twinkies and watching Alexis Colby strut around town to her heartβs desire, asking for whatever she wanted, especially men.
She made it around the final corner then hit a wall. βOw!β Maxine cried out and nearly fell backward. Her drink spilled down the front of her dress. The glass landed on her foot, sending a shooting pain up her leg. A pair of strong hands grabbed her elbows and kept her from stumbling.
