Free The Last Time I Saw You by Elizabeth Berg

Sullivan, I can’t come to the phone right now because I’m too busy admiring myself in one of my many gilt-framed mirrors.” It just pops out. She guesses she’s through being all wise and kind and generous in spirit. But she can’t help it; gossip is so delicious and, anyway, Candy will never know.
    She hears Judy and Linda laugh, and then Linda says, “Okay, I want to go first. Did you guys ever hear about Candy and George Keethler?”
    “Nooooo,” they say together.
    “Well, I heard they were in his car and she was giving him oral sex—”
    “No way!” Dorothy says, and sees that her fingers have inadvertently flown to her breastbone. She reminds herself to make an appointment for a manicure the day before the reunion, the last appointment of the day. “Candy Sullivan? She would never have done that!”
    “Oh, yes, she did!” Linda says. “She gave BJs! The whole football team knew it! And she was giving one to George Keethler and the car’s engine was on ’cause they needed the heater, and her head bumped into the gearshift and they started rolling and he sat up real fast and she bit it!”
    Judy is laughing, but she says, “How do you know this?”
    “The guys on the football team! George showed the bite mark to them! And Ross Duggan was a friend of my brother’s and he told my brother, and my brother told me. It was when my brother was pissed off at Candy because she wouldn’t go out with him because she had moved on to the college boys. He made me promise not to tell you guys, but I think we’re past the statute of limitations.”
    Out of the corner of her eye, Dorothy is watching a scene on her television show. She reaches for the remote and turns the volume up, just a little. Oh, her life seems suddenly to be an embarrassment of riches. Her daughter and she seem to be getting closer, she’s lost weight, she’s got a beautiful dress in which to seduce Pete Decker, and she’s about to hear more delicious stories about Candy Sullivan. The one she’ll share isn’t nearly as good. She had science class with Candy, and one day the teacher had asked the question “What is matter?” He had called on Candy even though her hand was not up. Dorothy knew the answer and her hand was up, but Mr. Templeton did not call on her. He asked Candy the question, and she answered, “Nothing.” Mr. Templeton’s forehead wrinkled and he said, “Nothing?”
    “Right,” Candy said. “Nothing.” She was wearing a heather pink A-line skirt that day, Dorothy remembers because she loved that skirt, it had a matching cardigan sweater and Candy wore it that day with a floral-print, round-collared Villager blouse and the little cheerleading megaphone necklace that she always wore, all the cheerleaders did, God forbid anyone ever forgot for one moment that they were cheerleaders , and her hair had been all the way down that day, she had the most unbelievably thick blond hair that hung down past the middle of her back. Really beautiful hair.
    Mr. Templeton frowned at Candy and looked over at Dorothy, still waving her hand in the air like she was trying to flag down roadside assistance. “All right, Dorothy,” he said. “What is matter?” And she answered breathlessly, “Matter is anything that takes up space and has weight.”
    “Right,” Mr. Templeton said, and then stared pointedly at Candy. She smiled that unbelievably beautiful smile and said, “Oh! I thought you said, ‘What’s the matter?’”
    “I’ve got a story,” Judy says, and Dorothy turns the sound back down on the television. They’re showing a commercial for food, and Dorothy doesn’t want to hear a word of it. She’s starving to death but a girl can do anything for four more days.

SIX
    “C OOPER ?” C ANDY S ULLIVAN A RMSTRONG SAYS, SOFTLY . N O answer.
    “Coop?” She can tell from the sound of her husband’s breathing that he’s deep in sleep. She won’t wake him. He won’t be able to give her what she wants, anyway. What