Page 46 (1/2)
Carol and Barbara exchanged a look Slowly each shook her head, and then all three shared a warht be too late," Barbara said theatrically, speaking frons," Carol agreed soleht, I fear," Barbara responded in kind "She’s already in love with hi her hands to herand vulnerable"
"It’s a pity, such a pity"
"I can’t help but agree Maryanne is much too sweet for Nolan Adams I just hope he appreciates her"
"He won’t," Carolto her normal voice, "but then no man ever fully appreciates a woman"
"It’s such a pity men act the way they do" Barbara said in a sad voice
"Some men," Maryanne added
Carol and Barbara dabbed their eyes and sole heap in the ather all the used tissues and ceremonially dump them in the toilet, flush their "pity pot", and then celebrate all the good things in their lives
The idea for this little party had been an iht She’d been feeling blue and friendless and decided to look for a little innocent fun She’d phoned Carol and learned she was a weekend ; her husband had gone fishing with soood one herself, since she’d just broken her longest fingernail and was in the mood for a shoulder to cry on
A pity party seeh a bleak Friday night
Maryanne awoke Saturday er of a headache Wine and the ice crea definitely didn’t ht have recognized sooner that her apartain It did that soed to coax it back to life with a feell-placed whacks The past few days had been unusually cold for early Noveht
She reached for her robe and slippers, bundling herself up like a Dece her hands over her mouth, she blew until a frosty mist forth aspirin took the edge off her headache Maryanne shivered while she slipped into jeans, sweatshirt and a thick winter coat She suspected she rese to join an Arctic expedition
She fiddled with the radiator, twisting the knobs and slaainst the side, but the only results were a couple of rattles and a hollow clanking
Not knohat else to try, she got out her heavy cast-iron skillet and banged it against the top of the rad in hopes of reviving the ageing pipes
The noise was deafening, vibrating through the rooh the sound barrier If that wasn’t enough, Maryanne’s entire body began to quiver, starting at her ar effect that caused her ar on over there?" Nolan shouted from the other side of the wall He didn’t wait for her to answer and a couple of seconds later cah her front door, wild-eyed and dishevelled
"What…Where?" He was carrying a baseball bat, and stalked to thethe interior for what Maryanne could only assume were invaders
"I don’t have any heat," she announced, tucking the thin scarf htly around her ears
Nolan blinked She’d apparently woken him from a sound sleep He was barefoot and dressed in pyjah he wore a shirt, it was unbuttoned, revealing a broad muscular chest dusted with curly black hair
"What’s with you? Are you going to a costu to keep waraze lowered to the heavy skillet in her hand "Do you plan to cook on that radiator?"
"I et it to work In case you hadn’t noticed, there isn’t any heat in this place"
Nolan set the baseball bat aside andwith it?"
How like a man to ask stupid questions! If Maryanne had knoas wrong with it, she wouldn’t be standing there shivering, with a scarf swaddling her face like an old-time remedy for toothache
"How in heaven’s name am I supposed to know?" she answered testily
"What went on here last night, anyway? A wake?"
She glanced at thethe area as if it were a crime scene and he should take caution not to stu room, he picked up the two empty wine bottles and held the to be shocked
"Very funny" She put the skillet down and removed the bottles froe
"So you had a party and I wasn’t invited" He h he’d hed loudly "If you must know, Carol, Barbara and I had a pity party"
"A what? You’re kidding, right?" He didn’t bother to hide his rin
"Never mind" She should’ve realized he’d only poke fun at her "Can you figure out how to get this thing working before the next ice age?"