Free Practice Makes Perfect (Single Father) by Janice Macdonald Page A

talk.”
    George leaned back in his chair. Candlelight flickered on his face. “Yeah?”
    “I was all bummed out about Lucy and…” She laughed. “It’s strange, I can’t even remember what Sarah said, but after she left, I felt a whole lot better.”
    “Huh,” he said. “Interesting.”
    “It was,” Elizabeth said, disappointed. People usually said interesting when they meant just the opposite. “Sarah’s… I mean, she’s not like me. She’s very smart.”
    “You don’t think you’re smart?”
    “Well.” She bit her lip. “I don’t think I’m not smart. It’s a different kind of smart, I guess. She and my ex used to be good friends.”
    “They’re both doctors,” George said. “They would be.”
    “Even before that,” Elizabeth said. “It was as if they had this secret world together. They thought the same way, laughed at the same jokes. But they were just friends…”
    “Right.” George smirked. “Typical chick thing to say. Guys are never just friends with women. They always want something.”
    “I don’t think it was that way with them,” she said, but he was still smirking as if she was naive. “It’s hard to explain—”
    “Is she attractive?”
    Elizabeth considered. “Well, she’s…I don’t know. The intellectual type. No makeup, that sort of thing.” She drained her iced tea. “That was good.”
    “Want another one?” When she nodded, he waved his empty glass at the waitress. “She probably had the hots for your ex,” he said after he’d ordered more drinks. “But he went for the best-looking woman.”
    “Thanks.” Elizabeth smiled. “I did used to be good-looking.”
    “Still are,” George said. “You’re just carrying a few extra pounds, is all. I like that. Can’t stand skin and bones.”
    “Then you wouldn’t find Sarah attractive,” Elizabeth said.
    “Probably wouldn’t.” He smiled and stared into her eyes.
    E LIZABETH WAS IN the bathroom when the phone rang. She ran into the bedroom and answered it on the second ring.
    “Lucy?”
    “No. It’s Sarah. Sorry to call so late. I tried to call Matthew, but he was at the hospital. Anyway, we’re taking Lucy to Agate Beach tomorrow to look for fossils—”
    “Fossils?” Elizabeth sat on the edge of the bed.
    “…anyway, I just wanted to make sure Lucy has boots.”
    Elizabeth thought for a minute. “She’s got this cute pair with fake fur around the tops and—”
    “We’re going to be in the water,” Sarah said. “Actually, I might have an old pair that would fit her. She’s about a size seven, right? If you have a pen, I also have a few other things she’ll need…”
    Elizabeth tried to think where a pen might be. “Okay, found one,” she said. “Go ahead.”
    After hanging up, Elizabeth couldn’t stop thinking about Sarah and how upset she’d been about whatever it was she’d said to Matthew. The difference between Sarah and herself was that Elizabeth was like some uncomplicated kid’s toy, wind it up and it chugs merrily along, but Sarah was like a difficult jigsaw puzzle. You always had to look at the little pieces from different angles, trying to fit them into the picture. Sometimes you’d think a piece was going to fit, but even though you’d try to make it fit, it wouldn’t and you’d get frustrated and want to just knock the whole thing to the floor.
    Still, it was good talking to Sarah. Except, knowing her daughter, she was pretty sure Lucy did not want to spend a day climbing over rocks.
    O N THE MORNING of the beach trip, Matthew woke before the alarm clock, which he’d set half an hour earlier than he usually got up. Sarah had left a message the night before.
    “I just checked the tide tables,” she’d said. “Low tide is at ten-fifteen and, if I remember correctly, it’s a couple of hours’ drive to Agate Beach. So we need to leave no later than eight. Oh, Lucy might enjoy looking for fossils. She’ll need boots. Okay, never mind, I’ll check with