Page 129 of Yellow
Wrinkling my nose, I made a sound of disappointment but then said, “Okay, I guess that’s fair enough.”
“Oh, that reminds me.” Faith said and lowered her voice. I recognized the scheming tone I loved so much. It was rare for Faith to gossip, but when she had something on her chest or she wanted us to talk about something secret, her tone was a clue.
“What?” I said in the same low voice, signaling that I was ready to pay attention to whatever good stuff she wanted to share.
“That child they say is Adam’s…”
I sat up straight. “Yes, what about her? What did you hear?”
“It’s just a hunch but I don’t think she’s his.”
“Because?”
“Because she doesn’t look like him.”
“Lots of kids don’t look like their parents, and shedoeshave dark eyes and dark hair like him,” I pointed out.
“Yeah, but I studied her picture and I really don’t think she looks anything like Adam.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said, faking disinterest. “I’ve moved on.”
“You have? Are you sure?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Okay. Whatever you say.”
“I’m not even that angry at him anymore. That’s got to be a sign that I’m over him, right?”
“Depends.” Faith hesitated. “As I’ve told you, there’s really five steps when dealing with the heartache of a break-up.”
“We didn’t break up, because we were never a couple to begin with,” I interjected.
“Nevertheless, I think you were in love with him.”
I didn’t deny or confirm it.
“First there’s the what-the-hell-just-happened phase. Also called denial,” Faith explained.
“And the anger phase, right?” I said and remembered throwing my make-up at the mirror in fury about two months ago.
“Yes, and then comes the negotiation phase or the what-if phase.”
I nodded. “Yup, I kept thinking what if I’d said this or that, or what if I had less of a temper, maybe then he would have liked me more.”
“It’s classic. The negotiation phase is when we go on a diet, start exercising, or buy self-help books on how to do all the things we think would make our relationship work.”
I moaned. “Actually, I did a cleanse three weeks ago and worked out like crazy, but my motivation didn’t last long.”
“And then what? Did you fall into a hole of ‘shit-it’s really-over-so-I-might-as-well-eat-ice-cream’?”
“I did. And I slept a lot.”
“Yeah, it’s the fourth phase, also called the depression phase. That’s when the pity-parties take place and you think you’ll never find love again.”
I chuckled. “Yup, for a while there, I wondered if I would end up an eccentric billionaire like that guy Howard Hughes.” I sharpened my tone. “And it certainly didn’t help that you wouldn’t talk to me.”
“You hung up on me,” Faith defended herself.
