Read Online The Bachelorette Party by Karen McCullah Lutz - Free Book Online

like Chinese.”
    “Well, I guess lightning could strike twice. Go out to eat and hit on the waiter.”
    “Definitely not. Every guy who’s a waiter is waiting to be something else, and if I’m going to date someone, I’d like him to already be what he’s waiting to be.” Wow, that was profound. She’d never realized what an accurate job title “waiter” was.
    “That made absolutely no sense.”
    Her profundity was wasted. “I’m tired. I should go.”
    “Okay” Dorian turned around and looked back into the house. “Now that the kids are asleep, it’s time for me and Dan to watch porn.”
    “Are you serious?” Zadie had a newfound respect for marriage.
    Dorian laughed. “No, I’m not serious! It’s time for me to wash the snot out of my shirt and go to bed. Trust me, you’re not missing much.”
    Zadie sighed. “Aside from love and companionship.”
    “Well, yeah. There’s that.”

eight
    Zadie woke up the next morning and realized that it had been at least two months since she’d seen her therapist. Of course, this was because she was actively avoiding her. It was ridiculous that she was paying someone to listen to her problems to begin with. Her friends did it for free. It was especially ludicrous given that Zadie didn’t want to talk about her problems. Didn’t that just give them more validity? Wouldn’t it be better to just ignore them altogether and hope that someday she’d forget about them?
    Obviously, seeing a therapist had not been her idea. Her mother had insisted she go and Mavis Roberts could be a giant pain in the ass when she set her mind to it. She made the case that Zadie didn’t have the luxury of processing the end of her relationship in a normal fashion. It didn’t take the natural route of dating, things souring, and then breaking up. It went from “Here I am, about to walk down the aisle” to complete and utter devastation. She had to instantly start hating Jack right at the moment she was at the peak of her love for him.
    In order to shut Mavis up, Zadie went to see Dr. Reed. Seven times. By then she’d had enough of “How did you feel about that?” It wasn’t helping.
    But on this particular morning, Zadie felt the need to air her agita with a trained professional. Someone who would notice how
profound she was because they were being paid to do so. More important, someone who would agree that she did not need to go on a date.
    She drove over the hill to Sunset and parked in the underground parking garage. Was it possible to build one that wasn’t creepy? The sign stating that the state of California found there to be toxins in the garage that were harmful to unborn fetuses always unnerved her. Where would she park if she ever got pregnant? Every parking structure in the city had that damn sign.
    Dr. Reed always had In Style magazine in her waiting room, so while you were waiting to purge your soul of the world’s injustices, you could find out what kind of shampoo Debra Messing uses. There were also several framed nature prints on the wall, clearly meant to be soothing. Although Zadie had never once been soothed by the sight of a raindrop clinging to a lily pad.
    When the good doctor called her in, Zadie took off her shoes and sat on the couch, tucking her legs up underneath her. She always tried to make it seem like they were just two gals shooting the shit over their morning coffee instead of doctor and tragically fucked-up patient.
    “I wasn’t sure you were going to come back.” Dr. Reed gave her a placid smile. She was dressed in her usual perfectly pressed Casual Corner silk separates.
    “Why? Do I seem cured?”
    “Interesting choice of words.”
    “Here we go—”Zadie rolled her eyes.
    “Cure implies an illness.”
    “No, I don’t think I have an illness.” Zadie grabbed a piece of butterscotch from the dish on the coffee table.
    “Well, that’s good. How would you describe what you’re feeling?”
    “Annoyed.” She popped the candy in