"I did notice, and I'm proud," Julia said, and gave herself a mental slap for not being more sensitive. But it was hard not to grow immune to the drama of Nina's love life, especially after watching her marry and divorce the same man twice.
"Jason's totally moved out, and we've filed the papers. So . . ." There was a drum roll in her voice. "In eight weeks, I'll be a single gal!" she finished with a big ta-da.
Nina must have confused Julia's silence for self-pity because she said, "Come on, Jules, let's keep things in perspective here. You meet a hot guy. Great. Worse ways to spend a day. People think you've got feelings for the hot guy. Hardly a national crisis. Besides"—she stopped and gestured to Lance, who stood dutifully beside the car—"he pumps the gas. I don't even remember the last time I didn't have to pump my own gas."
Both women stared at him out the window.
When Lance took the squeegee and began to clean the windshield, Nina gripped the steering wheel and moaned, "Oh, have mercy."
"Which house is it again?" Nina asked as they pulled into a housing addition a half mile off the highway. Lance looked around and understood why she was confused. The subdivision was like a maze, each structure nearly identical to the one that stood beside it, all of them in the last stages of completion, each one reeking of decay as muddy, un-sodded yards oozed into piles of shingles and scrap lumber.
"What is going on here?" Lance asked.
"Contractor went bankrupt," Nina told him. "There are only three or four houses in the whole subdivision that are done. Everything else is in limbo. No one can finish them until the courts straighten it out."
"What a mess," he muttered.
"This is the road," Julia said, guiding Nina onto a snakelike lane that resembled every other road in the monster development. They eased their way through the half-finished carnage of dream homes until they made another twist and saw one house that had daffodils dotting the flowerbeds and an abandoned tricycle standing sentry in the yard. Orange and white helium-filled balloons were tied to the mailbox and drifted in the breeze, but there wasn't another car in sight.
"Good," Nina said as she pulled the VW up the slight incline of the garage slab and shifted into park. "We're early."
Chapter Nine
WAY #56: Always enjoy the party.
Whether it's the wedding of two old college friends or the -as. birthday of someone from work, your lack of a date should I never keep you from attending important celebrations. If people are really your friends, they'll invite you to such events because they want you to be there. So go; kick up your heels and have a great time.
—from 707 Ways to Cheat at Solitaire
Here are some things the world should be spared, and the sight of a tax attorney in a Hello Kitty party hat is one of them, Julia thought as she stood in the doorway of her sister's house and examined her brother-in-law, Steve. Then she recognized the strange feeling in her stomach: relief. Maybe she was simply glad that Steve had placed his family over his firm for at least a few hours that weekend, but deep down, Julia realized the feeling was probably due to the fact that of all the people she could count on not to notice the
Lance debacle and not to care, her brother-in-law was at the top of the list.
"Julia, welcome back," Steve said, as if ushering her inside his office.
"Like the hat," Nina said as she followed Julia inside. "Hi there," Lance said, and held out his hand. "I'm Lance "Welcome, Lance," Steve said, shaking his hand. "Come on in."
In the grand foyer, their footsteps echoed on the marble floor, despite the gorgeous rugs and wall hangings that Nina had sold to Caroline at cost, earning her a place in Steve': penny-pinching heart forever. A staircase curved to the second story and the formal living room stretched out beneath a cathedral ceiling, and Julia had to wonder for the millionth time( how her sister and brother-in-law had wound up here. It look like a page from a magazine, and it had been Julia's experience! that only two-dimensional people live in such two-dimensional rooms. But the chandelier kept blazing, and all six thousand square feet of it kept gathering dust—despite Caroline's constant efforts otherwise.
Steve led the way through a formal dining room that Julia had never seen anyone use. They were about to enter the kitchen when her sister screamed, "I'm going to kill her!"
"Now, Caroline, sweetheart, you shouldn't harbor darkness in your heart."
Great, Mom's beret, Julia thought. But Caroline was havin: none of their mother's goodness and wisdom.
"Mom, you misunderstood. I didn't say I hated her, I said I was going to kill her."
Steve, Julia, Nina, and Lance exchanged glances as Caroline shrieked, "That old bat is trying to ruin my daughter's party!"
Nina leaned close to Julia and whispered, "Ro-Ro?"
"I don't think so," Julia whispered back. A loud crash echoed through the house, and Steve bolted toward the noise, muttering, "That sounded expensive!" The rest of them hurried along behind him.
"That is our backyard!" Caroline was saying as they all entered the kitchen. "Three different surveyors were here, and they all agreed on the property line. So help me, if she pulls up one more stake, I'm going to stick it up her ..."
Caroline stopped short at the newcomers' arrival. Then everyone seemed to stare at Lance, who looked wrinkled and worn. Julia knew how exhausted she was, and thought that he must be about to collapse, too; he certainly looked like it.
"Julia, welcome back," her mother said at last. "Aren't you going to introduce your friend?"
Friend. Not sweetheart or parasite or stalker. Friend. She could handle that.
"Lance Collins, this is my mother, Madelyn, and my sister, Caroline. You met Steve and Nina. Everyone, you probably know about Lance."
The grins on the women's faces said that yes, they knew all about Lance. Steve's vacant expression said that he was wondering what would happen to the 248b deduction when Congress met next session. For the first time ever, Julia wished the rest of her family was more like Steve.
"Sweetheart," Steve said to Caroline. "Did I hear something break?"
"Oh, Steve, I'm fine," Caroline told him.