Starting Now (Blossom Street #9)(49)

After a while Ava got up and went outside. She sat on the porch and watched her brother and Peter shoot baskets. Both boys ignored her. Peter’s mother came out with a plate of cookies. Peter was an only child and Jackson said he was spoiled. Her brother was jealous. Ava didn’t blame him. For once in their lives they would like for someone to spoil them. No one had ever baked cookies for her and Jackson.

“You okay?” Jackson asked, wandering over to her.

She shrugged. “Yeah.”

Peter’s mother walked across the yard to Ava. “Would you like a cookie, Ava?” she asked.

“She can’t,” Jackson answered for her. “Grandma says she’s getting fat.”

“You’re not fat,” Mrs. Armstrong insisted. “One cookie isn’t going to hurt you.”

“Okay.” Ava reached for the cookie and held it. She didn’t eat it right away, but she would later. She would take tiny bites and savor each one.

Mrs. Armstrong returned to the house and the boys went back to playing basketball. Peter was on the junior high team and Jackson wanted to be, too. Tryouts weren’t for a long time yet, so he had plenty of time to practice.

After a few minutes Ava went inside the house again. She stared at the phone on the wall and couldn’t decide if she should talk to Libby or not. Instead she got out her knitting and sat down with it in front of the television.

Grandma couldn’t afford cable so all they could get were the local channels. The reception wasn’t good, but they watched it because it was all they had. Nothing good was on anyway so Ava concentrated on her knitting.

She wondered if Casey would still be her friend if she found out about the baby. When school started everyone would think she’d gotten really fat over the summer. She hoped no one would guess she was pregnant.

On second thought, maybe she wouldn’t go to school. Maybe she’d wait until her grandmother left for work and then come back to the house. She’d rather do that than have the kids tease her about being fat.

After knitting several rows, Ava set the knitting aside. Before her courage left her, she reached for the phone again and dialed the number Libby had given her.

Instead of saying hello this time, Libby said, “Ava, is that you?”

Her eyes widened. Libby knew it was her phoning.

“Please don’t hang up,” Libby pleaded.

“Okay,” she managed to whisper.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes.” She felt crummy, but she always did, so it wasn’t different from any other day.

“Good.” Libby sounded relieved.

“I’ll be at the yarn store on Tuesday,” Ava told her.

“So will I,” Libby promised.

That was all the reassurance Ava needed. Libby would help her. She could trust Libby, Ava was sure of that. Libby would know what she should do.

Chapter 19

Libby was already on the treadmill when she saw Robin enter the gym. Her friend was fifteen minutes later than usual. Libby suspected she’d purposely arrived late to avoid chatting with Libby in the locker room. Still, Libby was encouraged. At least Robin had shown up. That was a good sign. The treadmill next to her was empty and she hoped Robin would claim it.

Ten minutes after she arrived, Robin stepped out of the locker room in her workout gear. She glanced briefly in Libby’s direction and when she caught Libby eyeing her, she quickly looked away.

So that was the way it was to be.

Robin stepped onto the treadmill next to Libby and started her regular routine. She pretended not to notice Libby, but that was to be expected.

Libby glanced at Robin and after carefully weighing how best to handle this, she decided to test the waters. “Morning.”

Robin muttered some unintelligible reply. Then, as if she’d forgotten them, she inserted her earbuds into her ears and turned on her iPod, tuning Libby out completely.

Libby had an iPod, too. She hadn’t brought it to the gym because she generally chatted with Robin while working out. If Robin had decided to ignore her completely, then perhaps Libby would bring her iPod in the future. Recognizing that there wasn’t anything more she could do, she returned her concentration to her workout, increasing the treadmill speed in order to work out her frustration.

Libby tried not to think about Phillip, but despite all her efforts he continued to pop into her mind at the most inconvenient times. She missed his small encouragements, the chats they’d shared while on his sailboat. And she missed having his arms around her and their kisses. Every time she thought about Phillip, and that was nearly constantly, her heart ached. He’d inspired her, and had been her devoted cheerleader before the interview. He’d been good to her and for her. In her frustration and anger she’d done the one thing that she knew would hurt her most, and broken off their relationship.

And yet Phillip had been the one to give her the idea of her own office. When she opened her door for business, Libby decided, she would hold a small open house and invite him.

No, that probably wouldn’t work. If she knew anything about Phillip, it was the fact that he had his pride. Even if she did invite him he wouldn’t come.

Besides, she needed to concentrate, needed to work out a business plan. The one person she wanted to talk to more than ever was Robin.

They’d never had a falling out before. Sure, over the years they’d drifted apart, but Libby remembered how they had helped each other as study partners while they were in law school. They’d gotten close again and she’d hate to lose that. She just didn’t know how many times she could say she was sorry.