Read Online Gina and Mike by Buffy Andrews - Free Book Online Page A

yeah?” I said. “Mike was there?”
    “Yeah. Did you know he’s divorced?”
    I spit the hot tea I had just taken a sip of all over the fashion spread in the magazine. I had no idea Mike and Lisa got a divorce. The last I heard they had a son and were happy. “No, I didn’t know that.”
    “Yeah. Apparently his ex remarried a couple of years ago and has a daughter that’s about one. Mike told Cookie that they’re still friends. They just realized too late that that’s all they ever really were.”
    I closed the magazine and tossed it aside. “I had no idea.”
    “Me, neither, but I thought you’d want to know.”
    “Now why would I want to know that Mike is divorced?” I asked.
    “Oh, I don’t know,” Sue said. “Maybe because you’ve never stopped caring about him.”
    “Oh, come on, Sue. It’s been twenty years.”
    “That’s right. It has been. And in those twenty years you’ve never stopping loving him. You might be able to fool other people, but you can’t fool me. God only knows why you broke it off in high school. I’ve never been able to figure that one out.”
    “I told you why. I didn’t love him anymore.”
    “I know that’s what you said, but it’s a crock of shit,” Sue said.
    “It’s not like I haven’t dated other guys,” I said. “I even had one propose to me.”
    “Sure, you’ve dated. But you’ve never married. Christ, you’ve never even lived with a guy. And spending weekends is not living with a guy, Gina. So that one guy, the one who asked you to marry him, doesn’t count.”
    “Can we talk about something else?” I asked. “You haven’t asked me about my doctor’s appointment yet.”
    “OK. How did your doctor’s appointment go?
    “Great. He gave me lots of information to look through. Each sperm donor is assigned a number. It’s like looking through a catalog. There’s tons of information, like eye and hair color, ethnicity, height and weight, blood type.”
    “So you’re really going to go through with it?”
    “You know how much I’ve always wanted a child. I’m 38. It’s now or never.  I can afford a nanny and Mom said she’ll come down for several weeks afterward to help.”
    “And you know Chloe and I will help in any way we can.”
    “I know. And I appreciate that. It’ll be like a sister for Chloe. ”
    “So, you decided on a girl?”
    “I would love both, but I thought that if I’m going to be a single parent, that probably a girl is best. At least I know what to expect.”
    “Good point,” Sue said. “Did you get the flyer about the reunion?” Sue asked.
    “Yeah. Got it and tossed it in the trash.”
    “Gina! Come on. Come home and go to this one. It’s been 20 years. Everyone would love to see you.”
    I sighed.
    “Promise me you’ll think about it,” Sue said. “You and I can go together. Like old times.”
    “OK. I’ll think about it.”
    “Might see Mike there.”
    I had wondered if he would go.  “Is he going?”
    “Cookie told me that he was thinking about it. He hasn’t committed yet. But you read those love stories all the time about high school sweethearts that reconnect at high school reunions.”
    “You’ve always been a hopeless romantic.”
    “But it could happen,” Sue said.
    “Could, but I think that stuff is more fairy tale than anything else. I’m not the same person I was in high school. You know that. And I’m sure Mike isn’t either. Twenty years have passed and a lot has happened in those twenty years.”
    “Yeah, I’ve gotten fatter,” Gina laughed.
    “I’m serious. My life is so different than I ever would have imagined. I love what I do. I’ve worked hard to be one of the county’s top prosecutors. I wouldn’t give up my life for anyone. And now I’m going to become a mom and all of my energy and focus will go into being the best mom I can be. Yes, I would have preferred becoming a mom the traditional way, but life, as we both know, doesn’t always turn out the way we