Read Online Bodies and Souls by Nancy Thayer - Free Book Online

friends of Ron and Judy’s; they had known one another for almost twenty years. Pam and Gary had three children, and Judy and Pam had seen each other through diapers and teething and Little League and ballet lessons and school trips and legs broken while skiing and the agony of waiting for acceptance into the rightcollege. They had so much in common. The men also had a lot in common: Gary had started his law practice the same year Ron had opened up his own contracting business. They weren’t as close as Pam and Judy—men never were—but they played tennis regularly once a week, and were comfortable enough with each other so that the two families had even taken vacations together. They had spent Christmas Day dinners together; the Bennetts and the Moyers were an integral part of one another’s lives.
    Recently it had seemed to Judy that Pam was overdoing it with her community service and political work: Pam was becoming so serious, so involved. Judy appreciated the energy Pam was dedicating to the various social issues in the world, but wished that Pam could be a little lighter —her earnestness was getting to be a bore. It must certainly be hard on Gary, Judy thought, to have someone so dreary around; it couldn’t be good for the marriage. Judy wondered if she should speak to Pam about this, out of friendship. But no, probably she shouldn’t, for Pam had been prickly lately, and it seemed whenever they bumped into each other in the grocery store or post office, Judy could see a mote of anger floating like an unwanted shard of light in Pam’s dark brown eyes. Why should Pam be angry with her, though; what had Judy possibly done?
    Judy smiled: of course, Pam was undoubtedly jealous of the marriage between Johnny and the Stafford girl. If only she would just come right on out with it and admit it. It would be such a relief to both of them. Pam’s children were all doing well. One was in law school, one was in med school, and the youngest boy was finishing his senior year at Londonton High School. Still, none of the Moyers’ children’s accomplishments could come close to equaling John’s marriage to the daughter of the president of one of New England’s finest colleges. Judy could understand Pam’s jealousy—she would certainly feel exactly the same way if she were in Pam’s shoes. Yet she thought that Pam was being rather silly about it. She ought to be grateful that her three children were alive, healthy, and happy. Not everyone could marry the child of a college president. It would be just so much nicer if Pam would go ahead and admit how she felt. But she could not think how to approach the subject gracefully without somehow further injuring Pam. She would have to be oblique.
    She would send Pam flowers. Or buy her a book—she had seen a new coffee table sort of book on needlepoint in the local bookstore. She could get that for Pam. In the past she and Pam had often surprised each other with just such gifts, spontaneously thanking the other for her friendship, or simply giving the other woman some one thing that shewould want. Women tended to do that sort of thing more than men, Judy had discovered; men just didn’t think that way. She and Pam were lucky to have each other.
    She especially was lucky, Judy thought, and as she carefully glanced around the church, looking at the other people, she smiled a small secret smile to herself: for she felt superior to every person there. Just in her line of vision, on the side, sat Suzanna Blair, who hadn’t been able to keep her husband and was now struggling along trying to raise two small children herself. Judy pitied Suzanna, but couldn’t develop very much interest in the woman, for Suzanna was younger, and didn’t have much money, didn’t run with Judy’s group, would never be of any use to Judy. In front of Suzanna sat Jean and Harry Pratt—what a time they had had of it, when Harry lost his executive position at the mill. It had been so embarrassing for