time, hands across America, and all that, a real uprising for a new kind of women’s rights.”
“How do we do that?” Cyn rubbed her temples. “I don’t even know how to find something I want to do. Maybe I’m just happy where I am.”
“Are you?”
“Not really.”
“Well, good, I’m glad we got that out of the way.”
“But part of me feels guilty for being here.”
“What do you expect? You’re Catholic.”
“But another part of me is looking forward to it.”
“Good.”
“And another part is scared.”
“Shea, did you know we were traveling with the three faces of Eve?”
They all laughed and Derry pointed to Shea and said, “You will think Marilyn Monroe, and you”—she nodded toward Cyn—“Sophia Loren. I am Liz.” Her voice turned husky. “Sex will start oozing out, you’ll see.”
“Where’s it gonna ooze from?” Shea asked. “Marilyn had more sex in her left earlobe than I have in my whole body.”
***
The first time Shea saw Derry Rohan she stood on the podium of the Mercy Hospital Annual Children’s Benefit Ball wielding a pair of giant scissors above her head. Shea and Richard had attended the fancy benefit to help raise money for Kids’ Wigs. She hadn’t wanted to go. It was one thing to stand alongside a doctor and hand him a bolus of Lidocaine with the rush of adrenalin pulsing through them as they worked to save another life, but quite another to sit next to that same man in his black tuxedo and his diamond-studded wife. And besides, Shea never had anything to wear.
But Richard had insisted. He didn’t care about raising money to make wigs for kids with cancer. He wanted prospects and what better place to mine for new business than a function that brought together more per capita income in one building than a dozen real estate magazines? Doctors needed houses too, he’d explained, and Shea should think of her role in the introductions as a facilitator of good will.
She’d just come out of the bathroom where she’d been hiding while Richard cornered one of the doctor’s wives, when she saw the tall, striking woman in red, waving a pair of scissors in the air.
For the children. The woman waved the scissors, then reached up and unwound the black coils on top of her head. A single fat braid fell to her waist. Shea stood, mesmerized, as the woman lifted the braid, and chopped it off. The crowd cheered, the woman hugged the handsome man next to her, and Shea stared at the thick, black snake of hair.
Later, with Richard engrossed in conversation with a podiatrist who many said made more money in the stock market than in his practice, Shea slipped out the back door, vodka tonic in hand.
That’s where she found Derry Rohan, puffing on a cigarette and downing a scotch.
“I didn’t even know I was going to do it, until I was in front of the podium with the scissors in my hand. Then, it came to me and I said, why not? I just did it and everyone was cheering and at first I didn’t even realize why.” Tears clogged Derry’s voice, made her whole body shake.
Derry and Shea became friends that night five years ago, despite themselves and their differences. But now, as Shea stretched on the bed of the Best Western, waiting for Derry and Cyn to return from Wal-Mart, she worried Derry would wake up tomorrow and wonder how she got here, and why.
She was wondering that herself right now. What if Richard came home tonight and she wasn’t there? She’d left him six messages on his cell phone, a detailed note at the house telling him she’d be traveling with Derry and Cyn, and a poorly veiled plea on his office voicemail indicating plans could be altered without notice.
Who was she kidding? He wasn’t going to call. She massaged her belly. What kind of woman would still want a man who cheated on her, who didn’t even want his own child?
The knock on the door and Derry’s, “Honey, I’m home,” saved Shea from having to find an answer.
“This place may be a
“How do we do that?” Cyn rubbed her temples. “I don’t even know how to find something I want to do. Maybe I’m just happy where I am.”
“Are you?”
“Not really.”
“Well, good, I’m glad we got that out of the way.”
“But part of me feels guilty for being here.”
“What do you expect? You’re Catholic.”
“But another part of me is looking forward to it.”
“Good.”
“And another part is scared.”
“Shea, did you know we were traveling with the three faces of Eve?”
They all laughed and Derry pointed to Shea and said, “You will think Marilyn Monroe, and you”—she nodded toward Cyn—“Sophia Loren. I am Liz.” Her voice turned husky. “Sex will start oozing out, you’ll see.”
“Where’s it gonna ooze from?” Shea asked. “Marilyn had more sex in her left earlobe than I have in my whole body.”
***
The first time Shea saw Derry Rohan she stood on the podium of the Mercy Hospital Annual Children’s Benefit Ball wielding a pair of giant scissors above her head. Shea and Richard had attended the fancy benefit to help raise money for Kids’ Wigs. She hadn’t wanted to go. It was one thing to stand alongside a doctor and hand him a bolus of Lidocaine with the rush of adrenalin pulsing through them as they worked to save another life, but quite another to sit next to that same man in his black tuxedo and his diamond-studded wife. And besides, Shea never had anything to wear.
But Richard had insisted. He didn’t care about raising money to make wigs for kids with cancer. He wanted prospects and what better place to mine for new business than a function that brought together more per capita income in one building than a dozen real estate magazines? Doctors needed houses too, he’d explained, and Shea should think of her role in the introductions as a facilitator of good will.
She’d just come out of the bathroom where she’d been hiding while Richard cornered one of the doctor’s wives, when she saw the tall, striking woman in red, waving a pair of scissors in the air.
For the children. The woman waved the scissors, then reached up and unwound the black coils on top of her head. A single fat braid fell to her waist. Shea stood, mesmerized, as the woman lifted the braid, and chopped it off. The crowd cheered, the woman hugged the handsome man next to her, and Shea stared at the thick, black snake of hair.
Later, with Richard engrossed in conversation with a podiatrist who many said made more money in the stock market than in his practice, Shea slipped out the back door, vodka tonic in hand.
That’s where she found Derry Rohan, puffing on a cigarette and downing a scotch.
“I didn’t even know I was going to do it, until I was in front of the podium with the scissors in my hand. Then, it came to me and I said, why not? I just did it and everyone was cheering and at first I didn’t even realize why.” Tears clogged Derry’s voice, made her whole body shake.
Derry and Shea became friends that night five years ago, despite themselves and their differences. But now, as Shea stretched on the bed of the Best Western, waiting for Derry and Cyn to return from Wal-Mart, she worried Derry would wake up tomorrow and wonder how she got here, and why.
She was wondering that herself right now. What if Richard came home tonight and she wasn’t there? She’d left him six messages on his cell phone, a detailed note at the house telling him she’d be traveling with Derry and Cyn, and a poorly veiled plea on his office voicemail indicating plans could be altered without notice.
Who was she kidding? He wasn’t going to call. She massaged her belly. What kind of woman would still want a man who cheated on her, who didn’t even want his own child?
The knock on the door and Derry’s, “Honey, I’m home,” saved Shea from having to find an answer.
“This place may be a
Similar Books
