Read Online The Secret of Joy by Melissa Senate - Free Book Online Page B

Arlene said. “If I were twenty years younger … And he’s single, too, by the by. Are you just visiting?”
    Just visiting. Rebecca nodded, her momentary glimpse of spirit sinking, her shoulders slumping. She wouldn’t be able to stay in this little dream of a restaurant all day and night. She’d have to decide what to do. In the meantime, she took a bite of pizza. “This is exceptional,” she told Arlene.
    “It’s the fresh Maine air. When I toss up the dough, it mixes with the air. That’s why it’s so good. That’s the secret ingredient—not the sauce.”
    Rebecca smiled. And believed it.
    The bell on the door jangled.
    “Hey there, Joy,” Arlene said. “The usual?”
    Rebecca glanced up. There was Joy Jayhawk, staring at her.
    “Actually, no, Arlene,” Joy said. “I just came to find—” Her cheeks pinkened.
    “Rebecca,” Rebecca finished for her.
    “Rebecca.” She stared at Rebecca, expressionless. No, that wasn’t quite accurate. There was a bit of anger. And sadness.But something else, something that could be both good and bad: resignation.
    Rebecca had seen that expression on the faces of so many couples in mediation. “Fine, you take the furniture. I take the dog. No, you take the goddamned furniture. I’ll take Jo-Jo.” And then the mediator would work his magic. Michael was much better with strangers than with his girlfriend. “Tell me about the furniture,” he’d say to the husband. “Which pieces do you love?” And the husband would say, “I don’t even know what we have. Well, I guess I like the big leather chair in the living room.” And then the wife would cut in with, “Yeah, you sat in it enough, doing nothing.” Which would lead to a thirty-second argument that Michael would allow, then handle. “So you won’t miss the chair, right?” he’d say to the wife. The wife would shake her head, then burst into tears, then say he could have the chair and the stereo system and the Wii. But that she needed Jo-Jo, that the husband could have visitation rights for the dog. And the husband would agree. Done.
    Joy did not look particularly agreeable. But this wasn’t a coincidence. Joy had gone looking for Rebecca’s car in Wiscasset’s small downtown.
    Joy sucked in a loud breath and pushed her blond hair behind her shoulders. “Okay, I’m sorry I shut the door right in your face. I’m not usually a rude person. I’m sort of having a bad day. Bad week, really. Bad few months, if you must know.” She bit her lip and glanced at the floor. “I’m leaving in a few hours for a weekend singles tour of Portland with a small group of people. You’re welcome to come, but it’ll cost you three hundred dollars since I had to book you a single room at the inn.”
    Rebecca was so pleased, so relieved, that she rushed over to her and took Joy’s hands. “Thank you so much!”
    Joy, regardless of the tight smile on her pretty face, was studying her. Aha , Rebecca thought. She’s curious, too. She’s looking at my face, at my features. Looking for herself. She wants to know.
    Joy pulled her hands away and took a giant step back.
    “Although, I guess you should know, I’m not technically single,” Rebecca rushed to say. “I mean, I’m not married, but I’m not single. And, oh my God, do I know from bad weeks.”
    Joy was once again expressionless. “Four o’clock in my driveway.”
    Rebecca smiled and nodded, and Joy turned and left, the little bell jangling after her.
    I did it, Dad , she thought toward the ceiling. Contact has been made. More than contact has been made .
    “Are you a friend of Joy’s?” Arlene asked from behind the counter.
    “Not really,” Rebecca said.
    “Complicated?” she asked, sprinkling dough with flour.
    Rebecca nodded.
    “The best things in my life are,” Arlene said, tossing the dough high in the air.

five
    In the backseat of her car, parked in the lot at Mama’s, Rebecca took everything out of her suitcases and stacked her