The Goodbye Summer Read Online Free PDF Page B

” Her laugh sounded nervous and silly. Time to stop talking; she didn’t like the sound of herself any more than Byron was going to. She left her number and hung up.
    “Agh!” she screamed, and Finney shot up in the air. She had to catch him and console him before she could resume, in a softer voice, “ Agh, agh, agh. ”
    Never again, she’d rather go to a singles bar. She’d rather be rejected for stupid things like small breasts and no butt than hang herself with herown words. Good posture! “I’m all about personal humiliation,” she told the dog, and took him out for his last walk.
    Unbelievably, the phone was ringing when she got back. She raced to it and tried to say “Hello?” without sounding breathless.
    The unmistakable voice of Byron, low-pitched and slightly nasal, like an Englishman but without the accent, said, “Hello, is this Cattie?”
    “Caddie, yes, hi—Byron?”
    “I hope I haven’t called too late.”
    “No, no, not at all. How are you?”
    “I’m well, thanks. You said this is your first time answering one of the ads?”
    “It is, yes, and it’s kind of nerve-racking. I’m not even sure what you do. ”
    “It’s an artificial socializing mechanism, true, but at the same time it’s pretty civilized, I think. You can avoid a lot of the rough-and-tumble in the beginning, save quite a bit of time.”
    “Yes, I’m sure that’s true.”
    “Dating is intrinsically messy, just an awkward construct by nature. I’ve never felt in any way demeaned by the personals process, never thought it tainted me as ‘desperate’ or anything of that sort.”
    “Oh, no, of course not.” Not him, obviously. It was different for her, though, she was desperate. “Have you had a lot of success, then?”
    “Well, that depends on your definition of success. If it’s marriage and happily ever after, I’d have to say no.”
    “No, I wasn’t—”
    “If it’s the quiet companionship of two intelligent, seeking people who may or may not be kindred spirits, then the results have been somewhat more encouraging. So tell me, Carrie, what do you do for a living?”
    “Caddie. I’m a music teacher. I teach piano and violin.”
    “I see.”
    “And what do you do?” She felt giddy from nervousness; she wanted to giggle; she had to stop herself from adding “Brian?”
    “I’m in management consulting. I design systems for expenses and inventory control for small businesses.”
    “ Oh. That sounds interesting.”
    “What are your hobbies?”
    It was like a job interview, but with a black screen between her and the interviewer. “Um, well, music, of course, I love to listen to all kinds. I used to be in the Michaelstown Community Orchestra, I played second violin, but I had to drop out—”
    “I enjoy music, but I’m pretty much tone-deaf, you may as well know. Where are you in the sibling hierarchy?”
    The sibling hierarchy…“Oh—I’m an only child.”
    “I see. I’m the eldest of three.”
    “Do you believe in that, birth order and so forth?”
    He huffed out his breath. “Most certainly I do.”
    “I’ve never thought about it much, but I’m sure it’s very revealing. Of character and…stuff. What are your hobbies?” She squeezed her eyes shut, a habit when she wished she were somewhere else.
    “I enjoy antique car shows. I have a barbed wire collection. I play handball and golf. Now, let’s see…” He seemed to be ticking items off a list. “You said you currently live alone?”
    She’d felt disingenuous about that, afraid it might’ve sounded as if she were temporarily without a live-in boyfriend. Which would certainly send the wrong message. “Well, actually, I live with my grandmother, but she had an accident and she’s gone to recuperate in a home. For a few months. So I’m on my own now. ”
    “Ah. You live with your grandmother, and you’re thirty-two?”
    She didn’t like Byron very much, might as well admit it, but she particularly disliked the way