Читать книгу And Then There Is Love - Lori Buckman - Страница 6

As usual Carol sneaked in a half hour late. She stored her large Coach knock-off behind the bar in the lounge and looked up sheepishly as Barbara, her perfectly sleek, mahogany hair shimmering halfway down her back, came out of the office. She attempted to smooth down her own cloud of curly blond hair and she rubbed at her arms. “It’s so cold in—“ She took in her friend’s disheveled appearance, “You look like shit. You don’t even match.”

Barbara idly touched the swollen pads under her eyes. “Well, morning to you, too.”

“I’m sorry, Barb.” She held her index finger up and hurried to the bar. She rummaged in her purse and drew out a compact of rose blusher and a tube of light pink lipstick. “Here, I know they’re not your colors but they’re better than nothing.” She handed them to her and examined her friend’s face more closely. She ushered Barbara to a bar stool and sat on its neighbor. “At least now we know that two Cosmo’s and a glass of white wine are your limit.”

“Most women’s limit.”

Carol ignored her but widened her eyes and asked eagerly, “So afterwards… Did you go home with him?”

“Him, who?”

Her friend rolled her eyes, “Your yummy date!”

Not liking what she saw in the mirror, Barbara blotted the frosted lipstick with a cocktail napkin. “No, at least I don’t think so. Oh God, I hope not.”

“If I had had a key to your place I could have helped you to your bed. Instead, he must have,” she raised and lowered her eyebrows.

Barbara’s eyes concentrated and then widened, “No, he couldn’t have!”

Carol suggested with a wink, “Maybe he was a little, just a little, honorable.”

“I couldn’t be that lucky, Carol. Well, just in case my next blind date is a less honorable man…I’ll get you that key.” The night before was gradually becoming clear. “And I think he—”

“Carl…”

“Carl…that guy…was far from yummy. I keep remembering a honker of a nose.” She concentrated on remembering more. “He kept speaking in a hushed tone to that Nick-guy. He even turned his chair toward him.” She wrinkled her nose. “He had those plugs in his scalp – they were so noticeable. And even though he was slim everywhere else, he had that ridiculous, squishy paunch – it was like a partially deflated balloon. I don’t know why you asked him. Even Nick would have been better.”

“He’s the best friend of my cousin’s ex-roommate’s brother.”

Barbara looked heavenward as she concentrated. “Oh I see, a very close friend of yours.” Carol gave her a short laugh but her friend put a hand on one hip and scowled, “And ever notice that to you every guy’s yummy?” She slid off the stool and poured herself some strong, but now burned, coffee, wrinkled her nose at the smell and offered it to her friend who refused the cup. “Sometimes I wonder why we’re such good friends.”

Carol sat still and looked shocked, “If I weren’t in such an excellent mood, I’d be pretty upset with you for saying that.” She attempted to smooth down her hair, went behind the bar and picked up a clipboard to take an inventory of the bottles of liquor. She was usually at the maître d’s station but she helped out the three bartenders when any one of them was ill. With her back to Barbara, she said, “We’re friends because between you and me, we don’t let any guys fall through the cracks.” She shrugged, stowed the clipboard under the computer, turned around and poured some sludge in her cup, adding eight sugar cubes.

“So that’s the way you see it?”

As she nodded, Carol’s blond hair bounced up and down and her spoon clinked as she stirred until her friend began to feel her headache sneak back in. Her friend said simply, “Yeah, you’re gorgeous.” Barbara rolled her eyes at the compliment that she doubted was true. “You attract them and I get to reel some of them in. Great partnership, don’t you think?”

“So, I’m just the eye candy?” Barbara placed the back of her hand to her forehead and said melodramatically, “I feel so used.”

Her friend pantomimed playing Barbara’s swan song on a tiny violin.

Barbara returned the blusher and the atrocious shade of lipstick to her friend who leaned forward and ran her tongue over her bottom lip as she appraised her friend’s looks. “At least you look a little more human.”