CHAPTER ONE…So many women so little time
“Oh, come on, girlfriend. Don’t be a party pooper,” Genie remarked. She stared at her best friend and frowned.
“Go to the party with me. You haven’t been hanging out since…” She sighed as she watched a veil of sadness creep into Deidre’s eyes. She squeezed Deidre’s shoulder, then shook it slightly.
“Oh, hell! I’m gonna just say it. Since Bev died. Look, Dee, I’ll walk you through the party. I’ll be right there with you. I’ll even help you pick out a costume. I know a great place near East 4th Street. There’s always the Village or Forbidden Planet for masks if you don’t feel like going all the way.”
Deidre Adams issued a weak smile that didn’t reach her eyes. When Genie was on a roll, it was best to let her wind down. “I said that I’d think about it and let you know.”
“Yeah, I know what that means in Dee language. It means you don’t wanna go, but you also don’t wanna hear my mouth, so you hope I’ll just forget about it.”
Genie sighed and dropped her hands to her side. “You are a hopeless old hermit. I want you to know that. It’s been two years since she died, honey. Isn’t that long enough to mourn?”
Deidre closed her eyes tightly. She thought that she could hold back the tears, but they leaked out and rolled down her face despite her efforts to control them. She dabbed at the tears with a napkin and then blew her nose into it. “Christ, Genie, I’m blubbering like a baby. Say something funny to cheer me up.”
Genie offered Deidre another tissue, then sighed again as she looked at her friend. She glanced over Deidre’s shoulder and spotted a cute woman staring at her from across the restaurant.
“You’re going to that damned costume party if I have to drag you there naked!” When she peeked over Deidre’s shoulder again, the woman winked at her. She looked down at her hands, then up at the woman’s face, and answered the wink with one of her own.
Deidre studied her friend’s inattentive face. “Okay, what’s got your attention, Genie? Knowing you, I should be asking who has your attention and not what.”
Genie grinned smugly. “We’ll know in a minute because she’s coming over here.”
Deidre grimaced. “How do you do that?” She glanced at her watch. “We’ve been here…what? Fifteen, maybe twenty minutes? You’ve already got a woman coming to see you. I bet she’s probably attractive too.”
Genie patted her friend’s hand. “I’ll take that bet and raise you a hundred bucks.”
