Club Fantasy Read Free

myself for admitting this, you might be right about some of the things you said. The thought of your moving away, if only for a short time, is like having part of myself amputated, but I think it’s probably right for both of us.” She smiled. “Not for forever, I hope, but for a while maybe.” She hesitated. “The thought of being here by myself scares the shit out of me and that makes no sense. We’re two independent women.”
    â€œWho are closer than most women ever get.” Jenna picked up her mug and sipped her now cold coffee, flopped back onto the sofa, and propped one ankle on the other knee. She and her sister had made a concerted effort to develop different friendships during college, worried that they were becoming almost clones of each other. “Do you remember Chloe Whitman?”
    She watched as Marcy flipped through her mental filing cabinet. “Sure. She was in our undergraduate class in Albany. I didn’t really know her but you and she were pretty close for a while as I recall. Chloe Whitman. All I remember about her is that she was tiny, with huge brown eyes. I always thought she looked like one of those Keene paintings of the kids whose faces were all eyes.”
    â€œThat’s her. Pretty quiet, with a few girlfriends, myself included. God, the guys used to go crazy, wanting to protect her, spoil her, but she kept pretty much to herself. Anyway, Chloe and I have kept in touch over the years. We had dinner together several times when I was in New York City on business.
    â€œShe e-mailed me about six months ago that her aunt had died and left her a brownstone in Manhattan. She said that she was living there with lots of empty space and invited me to visit sometime. I just got off the phone with her. I asked about staying with her for a while, and she jumped at it. She even looked in the Sunday paper while we talked and found an ad for a temp agency specializing in translators.” She took a deep breath. “She invited me to move in as soon as I can spring myself from AAJ.”
    â€œOh, God, Jen,” Marcy said, her eyes filling. “It’s so fast. My brain says it’s the right thing for both of us, but my soul is bleeding.”
    â€œI know, Sis,” Jenna said, wrapping her arms around her sister. “I know.”
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    Marcy was in pain. Her sister was leaving and she felt as if she needed to mourn. No, that was stupid. Phones work two ways and we’ll visit often. Anyway, she’ll be back. Won’t she? Marcy pushed any negative thoughts down and concentrated on the upside. Jenna was doing something so brave, something Marcy could never have done. She gazed at her twin and marveled at her ability to do something so momentous. Her sister had always been spontaneous, easy and relaxed about changes in plans. “You’re really going to do this, aren’t you?” she asked
    â€œI am. I have to.”
    â€œWhat about your job at AAJ?”
    â€œI’m going to try to get a leave of absence but if they won’t do that, then I’m going to quit.”
    Marcy’s eyes widened. How could Jenna be like that? Marcy found herself envious. She would have been making out budgets, lists of pros and cons. It would have taken her weeks to make a decision. “What about all your friends, the bowling league, your library volunteering? What about all that? You’ll be leaving everything you know. What if you don’t like Chloe in close quarters?”
    Jenna chuckled and patted her sister’s hand. “Stop worrying, Sis. I’ve saved a bit of money over the years so I can be flexible. If I don’t like it there I can move somewhere else, or I can come back home.” She grinned her most charming grin, one Marcy had succumbed to her entire life. “Don’t rent out my room so fast.”
    â€œSorry. I guess I do get carried away.” Marcy shook her head ruefully. “It’s just