Читать книгу A Younger Man - Linda Turner - Страница 7

“Listen up, everyone,” the lead singer of the band called out as he and his fellow musicians finished performing one of the classic hits from 1988. “I’ve just been asked to announce that the buffet line is officially open. So those of you who’ve been trying to bribe your way into the kitchen can put your cash away. Let’s eat!”

He didn’t have to say it twice. Laughing and talking and catching up on the years that had passed since they’d all graduated from high school, the Liberty Hill High School Class of ’88 gravitated en masse toward the buffet that had been set up on the far side of the VFW hall.

Moving to the back of the line with her friends, Natalie Bailey pointed out several of the men who had only been boys in 1988. “Look at the guys. Don’t they look great! What have they been doing with themselves? They don’t look like they’ve aged a day since high school.”

“It’s a rotten fact of life that men get better looking with age,” Rachel said ruefully. “Women just get fat. How is that fair?”

“You’re not fat,” Natalie pointed out with twinkling eyes. “I, on the other hand…”

“Don’t even think about going there,” Abby warned. “You’re a perfect size ten. How many mothers of twins can say that?”

“But I never lost that last five pounds of baby fat,” she replied, looking down at herself with a wry grimace. “It doesn’t seem to matter how many crunches I do or how many diets I try”

“So? It looks great on you,” Lily said. “If you don’t believe me, look around. You’ve been drawing looks all evening.”

Natalie groaned aloud at the thought. “Please, spare me. I’m not looking for a man. All I want—”

“Is to go to college,” her three friends said in unison, grinning.

Natalie had to laugh. “I guess I mentioned that already, huh?”

“Only six or seven times,” Abby said with a chuckle. “So why aren’t you?”

“Don’t use the boys as an excuse,” Rachel said before she could even open her mouth. “They’re five now, aren’t they? They’re starting school. You should, too.”

“I’d love to. But how do you suggest I pay for it? It takes everything I make just to get by—I don’t even have the money to have my car fixed—it’s leaking oil and I just keep putting more in and praying it’ll last. Things would be different if Derek paid child support, but it takes money to go after him, and I don’t have any because—”

“He doesn’t pay child support,” Abby finished for her.

“Exactly,” she agreed. “Like it or not, I’m stuck.”

“What a sleaze,” Lily retorted. “I’m sorry, Nat. I know you loved him once, and he’s the boys’ father, but you worked to put that rat through college and law school. And what does he do? Turn around and find a way to shaft you again. Talk about a deadbeat!”

“He’s the one who’s missing out,” Natalie pointed out. “He’ll never have a relationship with his sons.”

“One of these days, he’ll live to regret that,” Rachel said. “They’re adorable.”

Natalie grinned. “Sometimes they’re like the twins on Desperate Housewives, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything. Even if their father is the biggest loser that ever walked on two legs.”

“Oh, no, you don’t,” Rachel retorted. “That’s my ex! Derek may have walked out on you after you got pregnant with the boys, but at least you had your babies to console you. I spent years trying to get pregnant, and Jason never once told me that he’d had a vasectomy. Do you know how much I hate him for that?”

Natalie could only imagine. “It’s not too late to have children, Rachel,” she said quietly. “You’re only thirty-six. You have plenty of time.”

“Yes, she does,” Abby said with a smile. “And you have plenty of time to go to school.”

“I told you—I don’t have the money.”

“Get a grant. You’re bound to qualify. And your grades were always great in high school. You were in the national honor society, weren’t you? College will be a snap for you.”

Natalie couldn’t believe she was serious. “Are you kidding? I can’t remember the last time I had a chance to read a book. It must have been before the boys were born. That was five years ago!”

“Then you’ve got a lot of catching up to do,” Abby said lightly.

She made it sound so simple. “What about my job? And the boys? Who’s going to be there for them after school if I’ve got a class?”

“What about your mom? I thought she was thinking about moving to Eagle Creek to help you out.”

“She was, but then she married Scot, and he wanted to travel. They’re so happy. How could I ask them to give up traveling for me and the boys?”

“But you need help,” Lily said, frowning. “You’re completely on your own.”

She shrugged, her smile little more than a grimace. “I have a friend who babysits the boys when I’m working at the restaurant. But that’s not all day long.”

“You’ll work it out,” Lily assured her. “Everyone who has kids finds a way to work it out. Just make sure you invite us to your graduation.”

When her friends just grinned at her, Natalie raised a brow. “Oh, really? What about the three of you? You want me to go to school, but I don’t see any of you making changes in your lives. I’ll send you an invitation to my graduation when I get an invitation to Rachel’s baby shower and Abby’s wedding and a signed copy of Lily’s first coffee-table book of her photos. What do you say to that?”

They all recognized a gauntlet had been thrown down. The question was…which one of them would pick it up first?