Worth the Weight Read Online Free PDF Page B

wearing a belt.”
    “So?”
    Her voice cracked with emotion. Emotion she’d tried to silence with Ding Dongs for so long. “I haven’t worn a shirt tucked in with a belt in fifteen years.” She turned her head, but not before her friends could see the moistness in her eyes. Damn, she didn’t want to cry. Not now. Not when she had her first date with Finn tonight. She pretended to brush her hair away from her face and caught the dreaded tear.
    Katie was not quite as subtle and openly let a few drops fall as she whispered, “Oh, Lizzie.”
    Lizzie caught Katie and Alison’s glances in the mirror and decided the spotlight had been on her long enough for one afternoon. Turning the tables, she asked, “So, Al, any prospects out there?”
    Alison shrugged. “A new prof in the civil department at Tech has been sniffing around a little bit.”
    Katie perked up. “Really? Since when?”
    “Just a couple of weeks ago. Of course with classes out now, I probably won’t see him for awhile, so it’ll probably turn out to be nothing.”
    “You’re not teaching any summer classes?” Lizzie asked as she put her gym shorts and tee shirt back on, bringing the fashion show to an end. She put the winning choice over a chair and collected the runners up from the bed. Katie and Alison were lying cross-wise, their legs dangling off the side of the canopy bed that she had slept in since the sixth grade. She moved Alison’s legs to get a top that had been cut in the first round, put it on a hanger and back in the closet.
    “No, I’m not teaching this summer. And my patient load is pretty light right now, so the summer’s looking pretty carefree.”
    “Is this prof teaching this summer? Will he be around?” Katie inquired.
    “He is teaching a couple of classes. Being new, he drew the short straw.”
    “Where does he live? Has he ever been married? Kids? Where’s he from originally?”
    Alison put her hands up to stop the barrage of questions. “Whoa, Kat, slow down. I don’t know any of that. Oh yeah, he’s from Baltimore originally.”
    “And he’s spent a winter here? And he didn’t leave? The snowfall didn’t scare him off?”
    “As far as I know he’s planning on teaching next fall.”
    Lizzie finished hanging up the last of the clothes. “Anything we can do to help land this guy? You two are helping me out with my plan, I’d gladly help you out, Al.”
    Before Katie could say a word, Alison cut them off. “No way. Let’s just handle you right now, Lizard. I have a feeling that this twisted plan of yours will keep us all on our toes for the next few weeks.”
    “What do you mean twisted ? This is a well thought out, succinctly planned mission which will be executed on time and in full.”
    “Yes, General Hampton,” Alison said with a salute.
    “Oh , shut up.” She picked up a hairbrush and threw it at the other two, which Alison easily deflected then handed to Katie who began to brush Alison’s hair. It was a routine that had begun in fifth grade.
    As if reading Lizzie’s thoughts, Katie said, “Gosh, the more things change.... huh? I half expect Zeke to come barreling in here and scream at us to turn the musi c down. Or your mother yelling ‘ Elizabeth, Ezekiel, behave yourselves’.”
    Alison and Lizzie both s miled, remembering all the time the three of them had spent in this room doing pretty much the same thing they were doing now.
    Katie continued on with her thoughts, “Hey, where is Zeke now? Still on float?”
    “Yep, still on float. I think the carrier’s due back soon. You know the Navy, you get about a forty-eight hour notice as to when anything will happen. My mom and dad are ready to go as soon as they get the word. They’re going to fly to Jacksonville to meet the squadron when it flies in. It’s this big ritual they do after a float this long, all the wives and girlfriends go to the base and meet the jets with champagne . Anyway, with Zeke not seeing anybody right now, my parents