Smart Women Read Online Free PDF Page B

your first day of junior high, Mom?” Sara asked.
    “Yes . . . I was so scared I couldn’t eat a bite of breakfast and my mother made me carry a buttered roll in my book bag. I flushed it down the toilet in the Girls’ Room.”
    Sara laughed. “I’m not that scared. Besides, all my friends from Mapleton will be with me and Jennifer’s in my homeroom.”
    “You’re braver than I was.”
    After breakfast B.B. brushed Sara’s hair, which was thick and honey-colored, like Andrew’s. “A braid or a ponytail?” B.B. asked.
    “A braid,” Sara said.
    When B.B. finished her hair, Sara collected her new notebook and pencils. They walked to the front door together. “Goodbye . . .” B.B. said, “I love you.”
    “And I love you,” Sara answered.
    “For how long?” B.B. asked.
    “For always and forever.”
    “That’s how long I’ll love you too.”
    B.B. gave Sara a hug, then went back to the kitchen and put the breakfast dishes in the sink to soak.
    U NTIL LAST SPRING B.B.’s life in Boulder, aside from Mitch, had been peaceful and rewarding. Then, in May, the letter from Andrew had come. B.B. had arrived at her office a few minutes later than usual that day because she had taken extra time dressing. She had invited Clare and Margo to join her for lunch at The James to discuss an intriguing real estate deal. A twenty-acre parcel of land outside of town had come on the market and if she could interest Clare in putting up half the cash, she was ready to make an offer. It was the perfect site for passive-solar cluster housing, a concept she knew appealed to Margo. She was prepared to offer Margo a piece of the action in exchange for her architectural services. She admired Margo’s work. It had a class feeling, even when it was just a remodeled garage.
    Miranda, B.B.’s secretary, had brought in the morning mail before noon and B.B., thumbing through it, had stopped when she’d come to the letter from Andrew, marked personal.
    They never wrote. All communication between them regarding Sara was handled through his attorney in Miami and hers in Boulder. So what was this?
    She slit the letter open with a silver and turquoise opener, a gift from a satisfied client. She read it quickly the first time, then slowly, to make sure she understood.
 
Dear Francine,
I plan to spend the next school year in Boulder, writing another book. That way Sara and I can have more time together, which we are both looking forward to.
I expect to leave here the second week in August and to drive cross-country, arriving in Boulder somewhere around the 20th. I hope that we can work out the arrangements easily when I arrive. I will need to find a small apartment or house, with enough room for Sara. If you have any suggestions I would be grateful.
Yours,
Andrew
    She felt herself grow hot, then cold. A pounding began in her temples. And although she rarely sweat, she felt a dampness under her arms.
    She stood and walked around her office, watering her African violets, straightening the Fritz Scholder posters on the walls. She went back to her desk and read the letter a third time. She lifted the phone to call her lawyer, then changed her mind and hung up. She folded the letter and dropped it into her purse. She could not believe that he was serious.
    She took five shallow breaths and did a Lion, one of the yoga exercises she learned last year. Then she grabbed her purse and went to meet Margo and Clare at The James.

4

    M ARGO HAD BEEN SURPRISED by B.B.’s invitation to lunch last spring. Margo and B.B. were not close. Margo could never get beneath the surface, could never connect with B.B.’s feelings, so she had settled for a friendly relationship rather than a true friendship. Clare was really the link between Margo and B.B. and while the three of them lunched together every now and then it was always informal and arrangements were made at the last minute.
    It had been a soft May day, a perfect day to eat outdoors and as they