up on me or what?”
“Actually, I came to invite you to the New Year’s Eve party I just decided this morning to have. I figured since I didn’t get invited to any cool, hip party, I’d throw one myself. Since it’s a last minute thing, I’m following the K.I.S.S. rule and keeping it simple—munchies and a couple of party platters from Giant Food, wine and beer, and of course, champagne. And the really great part is I’m just a few blocks away, so you won’t have to worry about driving. You can spend the night if you want or walk home afterward, your call.”
Licking butter from her thumb, Mandy shrugged. “It sounds great, really, but I’m not really in much of a party mood.”
Suz sent her a sympathetic look. “The dead hunk still got you down, huh?”
In the course of their twenty years as best friends, she and Suz had shared not only clothes and music CDs but also hopes, secrets and dreams. After Mandy had gotten home from the M.E.’s office on Christmas night, Suz had been the only person she’d even considered calling.
Voice hitching, she’d said, “I met this really great guy on Christmas Eve, at least he seemed really great and really into me, me, if you can believe that. Only guess what, I just ran into him again and the only thing he was wearing other than his birthday suit was a toe tag.”
Even on the brink of tears, she’d deliberately held back any mention of Josh being a federal witness. There were some things, classified case information especially, that a cop couldn’t share, not even with her best girlfriend.
A true blue buddy, all Suz had said was, “Hold tight, girlfriend, I’m on my way.” She’d shown up on the Delinskis’ doorstep fifteen minutes later with a bottle of Chianti and a jumbo box of Kleenex, neither of which had gone to waste.
With Suz’s clear green eyes looking straight through her, Mandy knew denial was pointless no matter how pathetic her situation might seem. “I know it sounds crazy, but I really thought I’d finally found him. You know, the guy, Mr. Right. We only spent a couple of hours together, but we had this chemistry thing going and well, as nuts as it sounds that a guy like that would be into me, he really seemed like he was.”
Crossing her long legs beneath her campfire style, Suz shook her head. “It doesn’t sound crazy and stop putting yourself down. You know what you felt. Just because he’s, uh…passed on, doesn’t make what you experienced any less real.”
“I don’t know, Suz. It was Christmas, after all, and he was…new in town. Maybe he just couldn’t face the holiday alone. Maybe he just wanted another warm body to cling to. Make that a big, warm body to cling to.” She tried for a laugh but it fell flat. Like leftover New Year’s Eve champagne, there was no sparkle, no fizz.
Looking exasperated, Suz dragged a hand of hot pink nails through her hair. “Look, Mandy, you’re a great woman at any weight. You’re pretty, and funny, and smart—don’t roll your eyes at me like that, yes, you are. Some guy’s gonna come along and sweep you off your feet when you least expect it, you wait and see.”
A lump of sadness moved into her throat, and Mandy set the popcorn aside. “But I thought this was him, you know, The One.”
Suz reached across for Mandy’s hand. Giving it a squeeze, she said, “I know you did, sweetie, but there are other great guys out there just waiting to meet someone like you.” Letting go, she sat back and added, “But one thing’s for sure, you’re not going to meet anyone holed up here watching Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rocking Eve . Besides, I’ve invited actual living, breathing men tonight including some real hotties.”
Suz was back to doing a sales job on the party. Holding in a sigh, Mandy reached for the candy. “It sounds great, really, but I still think I’ll pass.”
Snatching the bag away, Suz said, “Come on, Mandy, it’ll be fun. It’ll do you good to get out. All
“Actually, I came to invite you to the New Year’s Eve party I just decided this morning to have. I figured since I didn’t get invited to any cool, hip party, I’d throw one myself. Since it’s a last minute thing, I’m following the K.I.S.S. rule and keeping it simple—munchies and a couple of party platters from Giant Food, wine and beer, and of course, champagne. And the really great part is I’m just a few blocks away, so you won’t have to worry about driving. You can spend the night if you want or walk home afterward, your call.”
Licking butter from her thumb, Mandy shrugged. “It sounds great, really, but I’m not really in much of a party mood.”
Suz sent her a sympathetic look. “The dead hunk still got you down, huh?”
In the course of their twenty years as best friends, she and Suz had shared not only clothes and music CDs but also hopes, secrets and dreams. After Mandy had gotten home from the M.E.’s office on Christmas night, Suz had been the only person she’d even considered calling.
Voice hitching, she’d said, “I met this really great guy on Christmas Eve, at least he seemed really great and really into me, me, if you can believe that. Only guess what, I just ran into him again and the only thing he was wearing other than his birthday suit was a toe tag.”
Even on the brink of tears, she’d deliberately held back any mention of Josh being a federal witness. There were some things, classified case information especially, that a cop couldn’t share, not even with her best girlfriend.
A true blue buddy, all Suz had said was, “Hold tight, girlfriend, I’m on my way.” She’d shown up on the Delinskis’ doorstep fifteen minutes later with a bottle of Chianti and a jumbo box of Kleenex, neither of which had gone to waste.
With Suz’s clear green eyes looking straight through her, Mandy knew denial was pointless no matter how pathetic her situation might seem. “I know it sounds crazy, but I really thought I’d finally found him. You know, the guy, Mr. Right. We only spent a couple of hours together, but we had this chemistry thing going and well, as nuts as it sounds that a guy like that would be into me, he really seemed like he was.”
Crossing her long legs beneath her campfire style, Suz shook her head. “It doesn’t sound crazy and stop putting yourself down. You know what you felt. Just because he’s, uh…passed on, doesn’t make what you experienced any less real.”
“I don’t know, Suz. It was Christmas, after all, and he was…new in town. Maybe he just couldn’t face the holiday alone. Maybe he just wanted another warm body to cling to. Make that a big, warm body to cling to.” She tried for a laugh but it fell flat. Like leftover New Year’s Eve champagne, there was no sparkle, no fizz.
Looking exasperated, Suz dragged a hand of hot pink nails through her hair. “Look, Mandy, you’re a great woman at any weight. You’re pretty, and funny, and smart—don’t roll your eyes at me like that, yes, you are. Some guy’s gonna come along and sweep you off your feet when you least expect it, you wait and see.”
A lump of sadness moved into her throat, and Mandy set the popcorn aside. “But I thought this was him, you know, The One.”
Suz reached across for Mandy’s hand. Giving it a squeeze, she said, “I know you did, sweetie, but there are other great guys out there just waiting to meet someone like you.” Letting go, she sat back and added, “But one thing’s for sure, you’re not going to meet anyone holed up here watching Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rocking Eve . Besides, I’ve invited actual living, breathing men tonight including some real hotties.”
Suz was back to doing a sales job on the party. Holding in a sigh, Mandy reached for the candy. “It sounds great, really, but I still think I’ll pass.”
Snatching the bag away, Suz said, “Come on, Mandy, it’ll be fun. It’ll do you good to get out. All
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