A New Kind of Bliss Read Free Page B

boys?”
    “Everybody’s well. My youngest son is in middle school already.”
    “They grow so fast,” Rosalind remarked wistfully.
    “Tell me about it,” I added. Of course, I had no firsthand knowledge of raising children. After a miscarriage I had difficulty conceiving again. In hindsight it had been a hidden blessing, especially after I learned that Al Davis, my dearly beloved husband, was cheating on me. I left him shortly after. At this point in my life, less than ten years away from hot flashes, I felt it was safe to say I wouldn’t be having any children, but my friends’ words reflected my earlier sentiments about my nieces and nephews.
    So Wayne was divorced, too. Knowing that he hadn’t lived that storybook existence like Rosalind comforted me in an odd way. I guess nobody wants to be the only divorcée in the bunch.
    When Rosalind got married people predicted it wouldn’t last as long as, well, pick any short-lived celebrity marriage. She and John Hunter had been the talk of Euliss High School twenty-five years ago because John was white. People in Euliss, both black and white, tend to view interracial dating like smoking on the street—it just wasn’t done, at least not by anyone who had any class. At least that’s how it used to be back in the day, but knowing Euliss, I doubt much has changed.
    Rosalind glanced at her watch. “I see it’s almost eight. I promised my oldest that I’d look at his math homework when I get home.” She turned to me. “Emily, how long will you be in town?”
    “Until Sunday. I hope we can get together before then.”
    She brightened like someone had turned on the lights inside her head. “Why don’t both of you come over for dinner Friday? I’ll put together a small dinner party. Maybe I can introduce you both to some nice people.”
    Wayne chuckled. “No, thanks, at least to being set up. I’m still convinced that the last so-called woman you matched me with at one of your parties either was a transvestite or had a sex change.”
    Rosalind made a face. “We’ve already been over that, Wayne. I thought she’d be good for you. You’ve always gone for tall women. How was I supposed to know? She seemed like a nice girl…who just had really big feet.”
    “So which one was it, Wayne?” I asked. “Transvestite or surgically altered?” I playfully wiggled my eyebrows up and down.
    “I didn’t stick around long enough to find out. The size of those hands and feet were a real turnoff. At the end of the evening I shook her hand and ran for my life. Her grip was stronger than mine.” He laughed.
    “Oh, all right. I’ll give you a simply platonic dinner partner, Wayne. Tanis Montgomery doesn’t live far from me, and I think her husband is out of town.”
    As I thought of Tanis, who’d gone through school with us, it was now my turn to want to make a face. Our mothers were good friends, and there’d always been a competition of sorts between both Tanis and I and our mothers, who were eager to brag about our accomplishments. I’m sorry to say that I was behind in the race.
    “But I’ve got just the man for you, Em,” Rosalind continued. “Aaron Merritt. He’s the most eligible over-forty-five-year-old bachelor in Westchester County.”
    “What’s wrong with him?” I promptly asked, and I wasn’t joking. I figured if he had credentials like that, it had to be because nobody wanted his ass.
    “Well, let’s see. He’s about six one with a nice build, sexy eyes, he’s a doctor, a few years older than us…,” Rosalind began.
    “Back up. He’s a what? ”
    “A doctor. He specializes in oncology at John’s hospital.” Anyone who heard Rosalind refer to “John’s hospital” and didn’t know better would think John’s last name was Hopkins, but John was actually an administrator at the Columbia University complex in upper Manhattan.
    My heart began thumping in excitement, in spite of my efforts to stay calm. But I’d never been one of those