New Year's Eve Read Online Free PDF

tell her I did that, too. But it seemed disloyal to Grady, to tell someone that I thought about leaving him. Thought about it pretty much every day.
    “What—” I broke off. None of my business.
    “What what?” Jade flicked water at me.
    “What happened, I was going to ask. That your husband’s going to leave you.”
    “I told him I’m in love with somebody else. I have been for a while.”
    Sharla shouted from the kitchen. I couldn’t hear what she wanted.
    “The stupid thing is, I’m not even doing anything about it,” Jade said.
    I didn’t say anything.
    Jade’s hands clenched and unclenched under the water. She looked at the fans her fingers made. “He’s married.”
    You are, too, I thought.
    “He doesn’t know,” Jade said. “I mean, the guy. I haven’t told him. It’s just hard.”
    She was staring at me, trying to tell me something in code.
    I thought, it’s Grady. She’s trying to let me know.
    But that was dumb. Grady had never even met Jade, as far as I knew.
    But he might have, when he was on a course or something. Or at the hockey tournament. I couldn’t go last year because I was pregnant and sick. I was pretty pissed off that Grady went, in fact. He got his mom to come and help me out while he was gone.
    Sharla came back with a tray, carrying the police radio by its antenna. The radio was crackling again.
    I could hear Ron. He was saying, “We’ll be 10-77, you can reach us here.”
    In the radio code, 10-77 is at home .
    Just as I figured that out, Ron put his head around the sunroom door. He grinned at us and waved. He said 10-4 into the small radio on his shoulder and clicked it off.
    “Hey, ladies!” Ron said. “Grady, we picked the right time to come home! It’s a strip show!”
    Grady stuck his head around the door, like a cop checking the scene before entering. He can’t help it. In a restaurant he always has to sit with his back against the wall.
    “This is Jade, Tim Lamont’s better half,” Ron was telling Grady. “Really great you could make it, Jade—I thought you were stuck helping with the teen party?”
    Sharla talked over him. “We found her at the hall. Did you guys even see us? I was right there on the dance floor when that all started.”
    Sharla was trying to cover up the mean thing she’d done, but it was too plain. She must have told Ron that Jade couldn’t come. But really, she had never invited Jade.
    Jade looked at Ron, then at Sharla. “I—no, it turns out. They went to Donna’s, so they didn’t need me.”
    Ron didn’t seem to notice that Sharla had been mean. Or that Jade had figured out the truth and was playing along, being kind. Guys miss things. They expect everyone to be as straightforward as they are.
    Grady had seen the truth, though. He didn’t like Ron being fooled.
    He passed Sharla and came to say hi to Jade.
    “I know Tim from a course,” he said.
    Jade looked up—she had been staring down into the water.
    “He taught the new member course when Ron and I were on it a couple of years ago. Good guy.”
    “Yeah,” Jade said. “He likes teaching. Means a few weeks away from here.”
    “He’s an excellent teacher,” Grady said. He undid his parka. “Hot in here!”
    Sharla hurried through. Her robe was coming open, showing the top of her pink chest.
    “Now you can finally relax,” she told Grady. She pressed a White Russian into his hand.
    He took the glass but didn’t drink.
    Ron threw his coat on a chair. He undid his collar.
    “Wish I could jump in there with you,” he said to Jade. “Grady, you should peel off. Hey, Sharla, no drink for me?”
    Sharla gave him a dirty look. She went back to the kitchen.
    “What took you guys so long?” she called back.
    “Had to wait for a guard. Those boys needed some Band-Aids, too,” Ron said. He smiled at Jade. “Can’t let their moms see them like that. Good thing your boys weren’t in on the fight. I’d hate to have to deal with their mom later. I hear she’s a