The Crying Bridge

The Crying Bridge--Chapter 18

 Evan left early the next morning before Del got out of bed. She was again having trouble this morning with feeling nauseous from the new birth control pills. She knew it would take some time but it was rather aggravating. Maybe I should take the damn thing at bedtime so I'd sleep through the queasiness. Her breasts were a little tender, too, but nothing too bothersome. She finally threw back the blankets and went to the kitchen.

There were no ghostly messages on the dry erase board this morning and Del was happy about that. She poured a little orange juice and made a slice of toast that she drizzled with a little honey. She felt better after eating and dutifully swallowed her daily pill. She dressed for her run and headed out into the already hot morning.

After the hiking yesterday, her muscles were stiff this morning so she promised herself she would do a good twenty minutes of stretching when she returned from her run. On a really great note (at least she thought so) her period had ended. It never lasted for more than three or four days, for which she was very grateful.

She took her run a little more slowly, given her aching muscles, but still felt great when she returned home. She took off her running shoes and pushed the coffee table out of the way. Grabbing a sticky mat, she went through several basic stretches and some yoga poses, too. When she lived in Chicago, she had taken yoga classes twice a week at a nearby studio and private pilates instruction once a week. She had loved both and missed both. She'd have to see if there was a studio or even a health club around here. She loved her morning runs but when the weather turned cold and snowy, she would have to find another means of exercise.

She changed clothes and made the bed as usual and was feeling a little hungry after all the exercise on so small a breakfast, so she grabbed an apple from the bowl on the table. She got a glass of soy milk and without thinking, erased the word closet from the dry erase board. She went outside with her laptop and several books and a legal pad and got right to work.

Around 9:30 the phone rang. When Del answered, Jenny's voice said, "Hey, it's me."

"Jenny...so how did it go last night?"

"It was...weird," Jenny said her voice low and unsure.

"Weird how? Weird in a good way?" Del asked her.

"I guess," Jenny said. "I mean it was nice. I was expecting the usual dinner and a movie thing, but Dan took me to a Thai restaurant and then to a club. Not a loud club, but this really cozy little place that had a live soft jazz band playing. We sat in the back where we could talk easily and that's what we did, for hours."

"That sounds lovely, Jenny," Del said. "So what's wrong? You don't sound like yourself."

"I just wasn't expecting to enjoy it so much," Jenny said. "I feel sort of guilty."

"Because of Greg?" Del asked gently.

"Of course," Jenny replied. "But it was really a great evening. He asked me out again for tonight."

"Did you say yes?"

"Yeah."

"Awesome," Del said. "So...did he kiss you?"

"He did," Jenny said.

"And?"

"And that was weird, too," Jenny said, but admitted, "but I really liked it. Once I got past the idea that I was kissing a man who wasn't my husband, it was a really fantastic kiss."

"Well, that's good," Del told her. "Nothing's worse than a bad kisser."

"Do you think I'll ever stop feeling like a traitor?" Jenny asked miserably.