we had our spa, you could soak in the hot tub and have a massage,” Dana Sue reminded her.
Maddie frowned. “My thirty days have barely begun. Stop pressuring me. I really don’t need that on top of everything else today.”
“Just pointing out one of the advantages of going into business with me and Helen,” Dana Sue said mildly. “I could list more.”
“Not necessary. I think I have a handle on most of them,” Maddie admitted.
Dana Sue studied her intently. “Meaning?”
“Nothing,” Maddie said. “Ask me a couple of weeks from now.”
“You know you’re going to agree to this. You’re just being stubborn.”
“Maybe I’m just enjoying keeping the two of you dangling on the end of my hook,” Maddie retorted. “It’s rare that I have the upper hand.”
She finally popped one of the peeled shrimp into her mouth and savored the burst of spices. “Mmm, these are fantastic!”
Dana Sue chuckled. “I’m glad you like them. For a while there, I thought you were just going to mangle them as some sort of bizarre therapy. How about a glass of wine to go with them?”
“Sure. Wine sounds good,” she said as she ate another shrimp, then licked her fingers.
“You know,” Dana Sue said, “I think you’d feel a whole lot better about your life if you had something positive to look forward to. You need to remember how capable and smart you are, that marriage to Bill didn’t define you. I know launching this place kept me sane when I kicked Ronnie out.”
“But you’d been dreaming about opening your own restaurant for years,” Maddie countered. “I’ve never envisioned opening a fitness club.”
“Neither did I,” Dana Sue admitted. “Not till Helen brought up the idea. Then it just seemed to fit with where we all are right now.”
“Just give me some time to catch up,” Maddie pleaded. “I’m afraid if I agree to it now, when everything else is so overwhelming, I’ll just freak out and ruin it.”
“I’ve seen you in a crisis, Maddie. You don’t freak out. You dig in and get the job done. Remember prom when the money we’d been counting on suddenly vanished? You charged out and got donations from every business in town and managed to pull off the best senior prom our school had ever had.”
“That was a long time ago,” Maddie reminded her.
“But you still have that same drive and ingenuity,” Dana Sue insisted. “You just need a new challenge that’s more interesting than the annual hospital ball to kick ’em back into gear.”
Maddie listened to the conviction in her friend’s voice. She wanted desperately to believe her, but after the day she’d had, she didn’t have the energy to do much more than eat shrimp and finish the glass of wine Dana Sue had poured for her. When she’d swallowed the last bite and taken the last sip, she stood up and gave Dana Sue a fierce hug.
“Thanks for being here for me.”
“Anytime. You were there for me when my marriage broke up. This is the least I can do for you.” She studied Maddie worriedly. “You’re not going home to sulk and undo whatever good I’ve done here today, are you?”
Maddie laughed. “No.”
“What, then?”
“I’m going to go home and crunch some numbers and see if all three of us have lost our minds.”
A grin spread across Dana Sue’s face. “Well, hallelujah!”
“I haven’t said yes yet,” Maddie warned.
“But you’re on the verge of it. I’m calling Helen.”
“Don’t. She’ll just come over and pester me. It’ll ruin my concentration.”
“Okay, okay. I won’t call her tonight, but I’m telling her first thing in the morning. Then you’re all coming here after church to celebrate. I’ll bring Annie and you bring your kids and your mom. We’ll turn it into a party.”
“Let’s hold off on any celebrating. It might turn out to be a wake, if I decide the numbers don’t make sense.”
“We can wait but you won’t,” Dana Sue said confidently. “You seem to have forgotten how you helped me to squeeze every last penny till it squealed when I was opening this place. I’m sure you’ll be just as creative with Helen’s capital and my contribution.”
Maddie shuddered. “Creative is not a word I like to hear associated with bookkeeping.”
“Whatever,” Dana Sue responded with a dismissive wave of her hand. “We’re going to open a health club. How wild is that?”
“Pretty wild,” Maddie confirmed.
Maybe flat-out insane.
Cal knew Maddie Townsend the same way he knew all the parents of the kids on the team, which was to say better than most teachers knew the parents of their students but far from well. Maddie had always impressed him by never missing a game and being one of those rare adults who didn’t torment their kids with unrealistic expectations or him with irrational harassment when their sons were on the field. Her husband was the same way.
Today for the first time when she arrived in his office for their scheduled appointment he noticed deep shadows under Maddie’s eyes and a nervous tic in her cheek. Despite the care she’d taken with her appearance, which would have passed inspection at some fancy Junior League function, she seemed uneasy about meeting with him.
“Should we wait for Dr. Townsend?” he asked.
“He’s not able to be here,” she said tightly.
Cal heard a faint note of bitterness in her voice. “Oh? I’ve never known him to miss a game or a meeting.”
“Actually, I didn’t tell him about this one. Tyler asked me not to.”
“I see,” Cal said, though he wasn’t sure he did. “Is there some sort of problem between Ty and his father?”
She regarded him with misery and embarrassment in her eyes. “You may as well know that Dr. Townsend and I are getting a divorce.”
Cal knew his mouth must have gaped at that, because she gave him a wry look.
“I know,” she said. “I was shocked, too, and I lived with him.”
“I’m sorry.” The words seemed inadequate, but what else was there to say?
“Not your problem. Could we just focus on Ty, please?”
“Actually, I’m beginning to see what’s going on with him,” Cal replied. “He’s been having a lot of trouble with school lately. I’m sure his other teachers have been in touch with you about that.”
She
