Free Uptown Girl by Olivia Goldsmith Page B

to me. Just drop me. And shame me in front of everyone.’
    Kate took the napkin from Michael’s hand, dipped it into the water and held it up to her friend’s face. ‘Bina, honey,’ she said with all the assurance she could muster. ‘You’ve been going out with Jack for six years. He loves you.’ She wiped mascara from under Bina’s eyes. ‘Blow your nose,’ she said, and Bina did. ‘Look, this is just a temporary thing. Sometimes it happens. Picking a life mate is a serious decision. It isn’t that Jack doesn’t want to marry you. It’s a lot more probable that he just got frightened. I’m sure he’ll call you tomorrow.’
    â€˜Tomorrow he’ll be in Hong Kong. With my ring! I’ll be dumped in Bensonhurst and he’ll be the Christopher Columbus of singleness,’ criedBina, who had a penchant for wildly inappropriate metaphor when under pressure.
    â€˜Maybe you should drink the water,’ Michael said awkwardly, and pressed the glass into her hand.
    Bina looked down at the glass. ‘Is there strychnine in it?’ she asked without lifting her eyes.
    â€˜Uh … no,’ Michael replied.
    In a single smooth motion Bina dumped the water out over her shoulder and down the back of the sofa. ‘Then what good is it to me?’ she said to no one in particular. She fell back onto the sofa and burst into a fresh batch of tears.
    â€˜That was a gesture,’ Elliot said, grabbing a napkin.
    â€˜On Fortuny fabric,’ Brice added. ‘This is so Brooklyn.’
    â€˜I knew I’d love Brooklyn,’ Elliot said.
    Kate looked up over Bina’s head at the two of them and gave them a warning squint, her blue eyes narrowed to lizard slits. She wondered if she could get the girl home to her own apartment and calm her and put her to bed there, but either getting a cab or walking back with Michael seemed impossible. Better to deal with it here and then go home. But first she needed to free the frightened Michael and stare off the spectating twosome, though, to be fair, it was their own home. ‘I’m sorry, guys,’ Kate started, looking up at the three men. ‘It looks like we might have to put off dessert.’
    â€˜Don’t be ridiculous,’ Brice said. ‘In times of pain nothing works better than drowning your problems in profiteroles.’
    Elliot nodded, but Michael began backing toward the door. ‘I think you’re right, Kate,’ he agreed, relief shining from every pore. ‘I’ll just see myself out,’ he added, picking up his briefcase and heading out of the door into the foyer. ‘Have a nice evening,’ he said as he closed the door behind him.
    Kate jumped up. ‘Just a minute, Bina,’ she said, giving another narrow-eyed glance at the guys as a deterrent, and ran to the hallway. She was just in time to see Michael step into the elevator. ‘Hold it!’ she called, got to the button and pressed it. Michael stood in the fake mahogany cab like an insect suspended in amber. ‘You’re leaving like that?’ she demanded.
    â€˜Like what?’ he asked, looking down at himself as if it was an unzipped fly she was commenting on.
    â€˜My friend just had her life shattered and you go out the door saying, “Have a nice evening”?’ Kate had learned not to expect too much of a date in the early stages of their mating dance, but Michael was way out of tempo. ‘Have a nice evening?’ she repeated, mirroring him.
    â€˜Kate,’ Michael began. ‘Bina is your friend, not mine. I don’t really think it’s my place …’
    â€˜â€¦ To be what? Nice, kind, caring? Can’t you just pretend to be sensitive?’ Kate realized she washolding him hostage and took her finger off the button. The door closed slowly across his miserable face. Kate turned away, hoping he would press the door-open button and