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MJ looked at Pandy in astonishesture, clapped her hands on either side of Pandy’s cheeks and squeezed affectionately

“Now that’sbaby voice “Money,” MJ confir her turbaned head “That’s what life is about You kno they say that if you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything? Well, I say that if you don’t have your ”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Pandy said MJ, she decided, was a true fe that Jonny had turned out to be the enemy of feminists everywhere—but perhaps this wasn’t MJ’s fault

“Tell me the truth,” MJ said in a kindly tone of voice “Why haven’t you been married?”

“Just haven’t ed

MJ peered at her closely, and then, like a soothsayer, said, “I’ is that this doesn’t have anything to do with ato do with a woman A woman you were very close to, but”—she sniffed the air, as if sensing an unpleasant odor—“there’s so sad there You lost someone you were close to?”

“My asped

“Is she alive?”

Pandy shook her head She usually tried to brush off the lingering sadness of the tragedy that had happened twenty years ago, but with MJ, she suddenly felt like she didn’t need to pretend

“She and my father died in a car accident When I enty and hteen For a while, when I was inht maybe

I ine ine a wo? And then I realized it’s because weddings are about family And tradition You need your mother How could I pick out the china pattern? Or the dress? Or remember the traditions? And on top of it, I didn’t even have my father to walk me down the aisle Because he’s dead, too—”

Pandy sat back, stunned at this revelation She couldn’t believe how quickly she’d revealed feelings to MJ that she wouldn’t even ads she’d never even known she’d had until MJ had drawn them out of her

“This is good,” MJ said approvingly “You’ve acknowledged your fears Perhaps your parents’ deaths make you feel like you don’t deserve happiness in love”

“Perhaps you’re right,” Pandy said in wide-eyed wonder

She smiled And for some mysterious reason, she felt happy