“I’m not,” Julia protested. And then she had an idea.

“Dorie,” she said, holding out her hand. “Give me your cell phone.”

“What do you want with it?” Dorie asked, handing it over.

Julia opened a kitchen drawer and found a pencil and pad of paper. She flipped Dorie’s cell phone open and scrolled down the call history until she found the number she was looking for.

“What on earth do you think you are you doing?” Ellis asked.

“Just a little detecting,” Julia said smugly, snapping the phone closed. She held up the piece of paper. “This is our friend’s cell phone number.”

“So?” Ellis said.

“So now that I’ve got it, I’m going to see what I can do to find out who that phone of hers is registered to.”

“For Pete’s sake,” Dorie said. “Don’t you have anything better to do with yourself?”

“Not really,” Julia admitted, tucking the phone number in her pocket. “Anyway, let’s hit the beach while the sun is still shining. I can look this up later.”

25

An hour later, Julia, Ellis, and Dorie were stretched out on the beach.

“Dorie,” Ellis said, tapping her friend’s ankle. “Turn over. Your back is getting blistered already.”

“I know,” Dorie said, propping herself up on an elbow. “I think it must be all the hormones.” She stood up and adjusted the beach umbrella, tilting it forward until the upper half of her body was now in its shade. She sat back down and fixed her chair’s headrest so that she was propped up at a forty-five-degree angle. Finally, she slathered more sunscreen on her legs, and uncapped a bottle of water from the cooler.

“That’s better,” she said, after emptying half the bottle in one prolonged gulp. She settled back onto her chair and picked up her magazine again.

“Dorie?” Ellis began. “I’m not trying to be nosy, but did I hear you talking on your phone this morning?”

“Yep,” Dorie said. “You guys will be proud of me. I called Stephen and I told him about the baby.”

“You did?” Ellis squealed.

“What?” Julia asked, removing her iPod ear buds. “What’s she saying?”

“She called Stephen and told him about the baby!” Ellis said excitedly.

“For real?” Julia asked. “Good for you. What’d he say?”

“He was … taken aback,” Dorie said. “And even more so when I told him we’re getting a divorce.”

“This came as a shock to him?” Julia asked. “What planet is he living on?”

“The planet denial,” Dorie said simply. “He claims he still loves me. But he’s totally not ready to give up Matt.”

“He told you that?” Ellis asked.

“In so many words,” Dorie said. “God. He is just so screwed up, he doesn’t know which way to turn.”

“Not your problem anymore,” Julia said. “You’ve got yourself and the baby to think about. He’s just going to have to get over himself and act like a grown-up.”

“You don’t know him like I do,” Dorie said. “I know I shouldn’t but I feel so sorry for him. You guys, his father died. Like, a week ago! And he didn’t even call. I yelled at him, and he just said he didn’t think I would care. Can you believe that? Henry was my father-in-law! So then I really screamed at him, and I made him admit that he took Matt out to Omaha for the funeral. I was such a bitch! So he told me to fuck off. I don’t think I have ever heard him use that kind of language before. God. You should have heard me. I totally sounded just like my mother. It was depressing.”

“It was the hormones!” Julia said loyally. “Anyway, whatever you said to him, he totally had it coming.”

“You said it yourself,” Ellis said. “He’s all screwed up. So what next?”

“Well, I’m going to have to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to the divorce,” Dorie said. “He doesn’t want anything. He says it’s all his fault, and he says I can have everything, including the house.”

“So take it,” Julia advised. “He’s the one who screwed around on you. You deserve it.”

“No,” Dorie said, shaking her head. “We bought the house together. I told him we’ll sell the house and split the proceeds. Neither of us can afford to keep it on our own. Although Stephen doesn’t know that. I always took care of all the finances. He doesn’t have a clue about that kind of stuff.”

“If you sell the house, where will you live?” Ellis asked.

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Dorie said slowly. “I guess I could move in with my mom.…”

“Phyllis?” Julia said, “Are you nuts? Why would you subject yourself to that kind of torture?”

“She is my mother,” Dorie said. “And her house is only five minutes away from school. It’s in a much nicer neighborhood than I could afford on my own. I’m pretty sure she’d let me have Nash’s old garage apartment, since he’s basically living at Granny’s house on East Forty-eighth. It’s got a little studio kitchen and a bathroom. It’s nothing fancy, but that way we wouldn’t actually be under the same roof with Phyllis. She retired from teaching last year, so maybe, at first anyway, she’d be willing to help with the baby, just until I get day care figured out.”

“Oh, Dorie,” Ellis said sympathetically. “Is that really what you want to do?”

“No,” Dorie admitted. “But I think it’s what I have to do. At least for the short run. I know Phyllis can be pretty difficult sometimes, and I’m dreading telling her about … everything … but she really does love me. She’d never turn her back on me. Or her grandchild. She’s devoted to Willa’s kids.”

“There has to be a better way,” Julia said, flopping back down onto her chair.

“I’d be open to any suggestions,” Dorie said. “But in the meantime, it is what it is.”

“It sucks,” Julia said.

“It really does,” Ellis agreed. “But we’ll think of something. In the meantime, take my advice and start buying lottery tickets. That’s what I’ve been doing ever since I got downsized.”

She took a deep breath. All morning she’d been trying to figure out how to tell Dorie and Julia about her date with Ty without making it seem like it was a big deal. Although it was a big deal for her. A huge deal.

“You guys,” she said slowly. “I know we made a girls-only pact when we got down here. But I’ve got a confession to make.”

“You, a confession?” Dorie said lazily. “What did you do? Steal from the grocery kitty?”

“I already know. Ellis has a boyfriend, Ellis has a boyfriend,” Julia singsonged.

Pink tinged Ellis’s tanned face.

“Really?” Dorie lifted her sun visor. “Somebody you met here?”

“Right here,” Julia said smugly. “On this very beach.”

“You met a guy on the beach? Where was I?” Dorie said.

Julia could stand the suspense no longer. “It’s garage boy,” she said. “Ty Bazemore. Tell the truth, Ellis, you’ve got a date with Ty, right?”

“Reaallly?” Dorie sighed happily. “That’s great, Ellie-Belly.”

“Please don’t call me that,” Ellis said. “Especially within earshot of Ty.”

“I wouldn’t,” Dorie assured her. “Although there’s no telling what Julia might do.”

“I would never do anything to screw up a romance for Ellis,” Julia said loyally. “Just as long as she shares all the smutty bits with us.”

Ellis rolled her eyes again. “It’s just dinner. I swear, we are not planning to elope. He’s … nicer than I knew. Really a sweet guy.”

Dorie raised her right hand and made the gesture of a benediction. “Then you have our blessing. Anyway, the ‘no boys’ rule wasn’t my idea in the first place. It was Julia’s.”

“I give,” Julia said readily. “Now let’s go get our little girl ready for her big night out. Did anybody bring any condoms?”

Dorie giggled. “Don’t look at me. Apparently I flunked that lesson.”

“Ditto,” Julia said, rolling her eyes.

26

Ellis had just gotten out of the shower and was peering into the tiny, clouded mirror over her dresser when Julia burst into her room.

“What are you wearing for your big night tonight?” Julia asked, flouncing down onto the bed.

Ellis pointed at the yellow floral sundress hanging on the outside of her closet door. “That.”