Chapter 53

“I haven’t any idea what you mean,” I replied. “And no, sweetie. ‘Durth’ is not a word. Nice try.”

Belinda muttered to herself about walking dictionaries and put “turd” in another spot with a pointed stare in my direction. I stuck out my tongue at her.

“What you are is scared, love,” Laura said after putting down a word that gave her a fifty-point lead, damn her. “You’ve been screwed over so many times, you’re afraid to try again. And he’s your first love who hurt you, and you still carry that around with you. There’s so much baggage tied up with you and him, no airline could carry it. What you have to do is separate the past from the present and see what this is—a chance to get things rightthis time.”

I sighed. “That’s what he said.”

“Neither of you should pressure yourselves into absolutes with promises of tomorrow,” Belinda added. “Fuck, today is hard enough.”