CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER ONE

 

Sadie caught her reflection in the mirror, her hairbrush frozen halfway to her suitcase, phone balanced on the crook of her shoulder. So that’s what shock looks like, she thought.

“You’re kidding,” she said into the phone.

“No, Sadie. I’m sorry.”

Sadie swallowed. I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry.

“I hope we can still be friends.”

She choked out a bitter laugh that threatened to dislodge the lump of tears in her throat.

“Sorry, Craig, but I’m still trying to process that first thing you just said.”

“Oh. Right. I’m not very good at this.”

“Sure you are. You were concise. Clear. Succinct. Right to the point. No confusion there.”

“Are you mad?”

“Why would I be mad?”

“You are mad.” Craig, rational Craig, rational, lawyerly Craig, sighed.

“I’m not happy, Craig. Not happy at all. But that’s fine. Good. Great.”

“You should go to Tahoe anyway.”

“You’re damn right I’m going to Tahoe anyway.”

“You really sound angry.”

Sadie took a deep breath. Yes. Anger. Good. Anger would keep the sadness at bay.

“Craig, friend, you just said you made a New Year’s Resolution to get rid of all the excess garbage in your life. Yes?”

“Yeah…”

A car horn sounded outside Sadie’s window.

“And then you said you don’t think you can come to Tahoe because you don’t think we should date anymore, yes?”

“I think you’re taking this wrong—”

“Wrong? Wrong? How can I possibly take the idea of me being garbage wrong?”

The horn sounded again, insistent, one long blat that dislodged the lump in her throat. Instead of tears, though, it unleashed fury.

“What’s that noise?”

“It’s Liz! She’s picking me up right now!”

“I know it’s kind of late notice—”

“Late notice? I think you’re a little early, don’t you? New Year’s isn’t for four more days!”

“Oh. Right. Well, I didn’t want to tell you on New Year’s Day, on the way back.”

“Very generous of you. Any other resolutions I should know about? You quitting smoking?”

“Well, no—”

“Good. Smoke twelve more packs a day. It’ll be good for you.”

Sadie slammed the phone down, shoved an extra bottle of aspirin into her bag, and stalked out the door of her apartment.

“What took you so long?” Liz asked from the driver’s seat.

“Hey,” Dan said. “Need any help with your stuff?”

“No,” Sadie snapped, and tried to tie her skis to the roof of the SUV, twisting and tangling the bungee cords until Dan finally pulled her hands away.

“Whoa, there, chica, don’t kill yourself.” With a few swift moves, he fastened the bungee cords, gave them a test tug, and tossed her luggage in the back. He opened the door for her.

“Where’s Craig?”

“Craig won’t be joining us.”

“Why n—” Dan started to say, but Sadie saw the look Liz flashed him. Don’t go there, it said, and for the first moment in the last twenty minutes, something other than anger seeped into her heart. Thank god for girlfriends.

“Fair enough,” Liz said. “So what are we listening to? No Strings Attached or Celebrity?”

“We are not—”

“Listen, boy-o, when you pay for the car, and when you drive, you can pick the music,” Liz said. “I’m thinkin’ NSA, yes?”

Sadie looked into the rearview mirror and met her friend’s brown eyes. She had to smile at the arched eyebrow. Without another word, Liz slipped the CD into the player, and as JC wailed out the first words to Bye Bye Bye, Sadie felt a full-on grin take over her face.

“But it ain’t no lie, baby, bye, bye, bye!” they wailed as she pulled onto the Bay Bridge.

By the time they hit Oakland, even Dan was singing along.

 

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