Page 6 of Not Another Beach Read
"Yes, it is."
"You brought me an almond croissant. Youdolove me!"
"You knew I did the second you saw I was on your porch. I'm pretty sure that's the only reason I got a hug."
"Oh, get out of here. I hug you every time I see you."
Cat laughed and dropped the bag on the table in front of me. "Have at it," she said.
I rose to get a plate from the cabinet. "You want half?" I asked her.
"Sure, sure, rip off a corner," said Cat. "It'll keep my hands busy."
At the mention, I looked at Cat's hands and was surprised to see that her long nails were bitten down to the quick, which was very unlike Cat. Her nails were, while not often painted, impeccably maintained. Something was really bothering her.
"What's going on with you?" I said, nudging her shin with my foot.
"Well, that's actually why I'm here," she replied, and then looked at me nervously, which was also very unlike her. Cat was one of the most self-assured people I had ever met, and she rarely minced words, so whatever she had to say, she was still weighing in her mind. I thought it best to wait for her to finish ruminating, and tore into my croissant with gusto.
"Are you going to eat that or are you going to asphyxiate it?" I said with my mouth full of croissant. Cat looked up from her hands clasped in her lap. Her top hand turned palm up with the end of the croissant crushed between her thumb and forefinger.
"One more time without food in your mouth, hobbit," she said.
I swallowed, then repeated what I'd said.
"I guess I'm just not very hungry," Cat said.
"Do you want to tell me what's bothering you?" I asked, my eyes once again landing on her hands that were now wringing one another.
"That's actually why I'm here," she said. "I talked to Drew over the weekend."
Oh, for Pete's sake. Now I know exactly why she's here.
"Go on, let's get this over with," I said with a huff, crossing my arms in front of my chest like a petulant toddler who's been told that snack time isn't for another hour.
"Just hear me out," she said, putting her hands up in a sign of 'I come in peace.' "I'm not here to judge you. I want you to really let something set in. Think about how worried Drew must be for him to call me to try and intervene."
"So this is anintervention," I said.
"Not exactly," said Cat. "This is your best friend sitting down with you to see what's going on and then trying to find a way to help you through it."
"I don't need help through anything," I said, exasperation not far from my tone.
"You can't tell me that following members of your community around and taking pictures of them to send to their wives isn't?—"
She stopped and looked up at the ceiling as if searching for the right word to use to describe my behavior. "Odd" is what she settled on, which was exactly how I would describe her choice.
I balled up my napkin and tossed it across the table at her, hoping to lighten the mood. "It's not that odd. People do this all the time."
"Yes, for a living," retorted Cat, tossing the napkin into the center of the table instead of back at me like she would under normal circumstances. "They're trained. They know how to avoid trouble and skirt dangerous situations, whereas you appear to be marching headlong into them."
"You don't know that," I said, indignant.
I stood from the table, my appetite gone. I walked over to the counter and set the remains of my croissant down. I patted the plate twice as if to say I would return soon, which I probably would if I were being honest.
"And I don't need you to assume that I'm not being safe."
"I just don't understand why this is so important to you. I mean, I understand that you have some trauma from when you were cheated on. And I amso sorrythat you had to go throughthat, Elyse. But you can't erase what's happened to you by outing every other cheater in our entire community."
