Free Starting from Square Two by Caren Lissner Page B

know you guys think this is crazy,” Erika said. “But Ben and I honestly had something. I can’t just forget about it.”
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    As the three of them sat on the subway heading toward Gert’s condo, it occurred to Gert that she should have pretended her computer was broken. They would have believed her. There was a nasty computer virus going around called the “Kiss Virus.” It looked like an e-card that said, “KISS…” but when you clicked the link, it said, “…your hard drive goodbye!”
    Gert told herself it wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe Erika would just blow off steam for a few minutes and be done with it. At least Erika and Hallie were helping Gert get out of her apartment. She had to cut them more slack. This was Erika’s strange method of getting closure.
    Gert knew about closure. It was a favorite topic in the support group—those women who wished they’d said more to their husbands before they’d died. Gert had her own fantasies, in fact, about that day, all the ways she should have stopped the chain of events that led to Marc’s death.
    â€œDid you tell Gert about your date?” Erika said to Hallie, pushing a newspaper away on the subway seat.
    â€œOh, it’s barely worth telling,” Hallie said. She turned to Gert. “This guy from work set me up with his friend the other night. He’s into seafood, so we went to a seafood place.”
    â€œSounds good…” Gert said.
    â€œWell, it started off that way,” Hallie said, “but…two things. One, he wore a Tweety Bird shirt. It had an emblem of Tweety on the shirt where an alligator would be.”
    â€œAt least he’s different,” Gert offered.
    â€œYeah, but,” Hallie said, “he’s totally obsessed with Bugs Bunny and Warner Brothers cartoons.”
    â€œThat’s like a secondary male canon thing,” Gert said. “A lot of guys are into Bugs Bunny cartoons. Remember Marc’s best friend, Craig? He had all the tapes.”
    â€œI do remember Craig, and I know some guys are into Bugs Bunny,” Hallie said. “But would they wear Tweety Bird on a first date?”
    â€œI guess not,” Gert admitted.
    â€œI think the more I go out, the more easily I get irritated by guys who don’t make an effort,” Hallie said. “I spend so much energy worrying about impressing them, but they don’t even do the basics to look half-decent.”
    â€œWhat was the second bad thing about him?” Gert asked.
    â€œOh. He kept saying things about us being on a first date, or pointing out that things were awkward, even when I didn’t feel that way,” Hallie said. “Like, our meals came, and the minute I put food in my mouth, he said, ‘So, have you ever gone camping?’ And I said, ‘No, I guess I was never really into that.’ And he was quiet for a second, and then he said, ‘Wow, this is awkward.’”
    â€œThere should be a rule,” Erika said, putting her finger in the air, “that if you actually point out that something is awkward on a date, you immediately get ejected from your chair.”
    Gert was glad that she had felt comfortable with Marc, and then with Todd, right away.
    â€œI guess I’ll go on one more date with him,” Hallie said. “Everyone deserves a second date.”
    â€œNot everyone,” Erika said.
    â€œI’m perfecting a top-secret innovative method to meet men, anyway,” Hallie said. “No more of these horrible blind dates. Both of you will think I’m a genius when you hear my idea.”
    â€œYou said something about this last week,” Erika said. “Tell me already.”
    â€œI’ll tell you soon,” Hallie said. “I promise. I’m working on it. You’ll both love it.”
    Gert didn’t know whether to look forward to it or dread it.
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    Erika was tapping away at the