Distant Shores

"Jack. " He took another step closer.

She stepped back. "I only take students who really care about their classes. "

He closed the last small distance between them. "I need you. "

She laughed. "Come on. They dont care if you jocks actually learn anything. "

He heard something in her voice that surprised him, a shadow of an accent. Southern, he thought. He liked the rolling, mint-julep sweetness of it. "I care. "

She gazed up at him. As the look went on, she started to blush. "Fine. Ill meet you tomorrow morning at Suzzallo. Ten-forty. "

"Aw, not Suzzallo. Its a goddamn morgue in there. "

"Its a library. "

"How about meeting in the Quad? I could bring coffee?"

"Its not a date. " She glanced at her watch. "Look, Ill be in the room by the water fountain on the second floor of the undergrad library at ten-forty. If you want help, be on time. "

That had been the beginning.

Jack had fallen in love with Elizabeth fast, and it hadnt taken him long to charm her. In those days, hed promised her the moon and the stars, vowed to love her forever. Hed meant it, too. Believed in it.

They hadnt done anything wrong, either one of them.

They simply hadnt understood how long forever was.

NINE

Elizabeth stood in the middle of her walk-in closet, trying to decide what to wear. It seemed that everything she owned was wrong. A row of ornate belts hung from pegs on one wall.

But now, in what she depressingly referred to as the metabolism-free years, they were useless. Her old belts might wrap around one thigh. As her weight had blossomed, shed gone from belts to scarves. She had dozens of hand-painted silk scarves, designed to camouflage a bulkier silhouette, but a flowing scarf didnt seem quite right for the passionless set.

An ankle-length forest-green knit dress caught her eye. Without wasting any more time, she grabbed it and got dressed. At her bureau drawer, she chose a hand-hammered pewter and abalone necklace, a relic from her jewelry period.

"There. Done. " She didnt look in the mirror again. Instead, she walked downstairs, got her handbag off the kitchen table, and left the house.

At the college, she paused momentarily outside the closed classroom door, then went inside.

The faces were familiar this time, and welcoming. Mina, dressed in another floral polyester housedress, stood talking to Fran, who seemed to be listening intently. Cute little Joey, the waitress from the Pig-in-a-Blanket, was talking animatedly to Sarah. Kim stood back at the coffee table, fiddling with a pack of cigarettes.

At Elizabeths entrance, Joey smiled and made a beeline across the room.

"I didnt think youd come back," Joey said, taking a bite of bagel, chewing it like a chipmunk.

Elizabeth was surprised that anyone had thought about her at all. "Why not?"

Joey looked pointedly at Elizabeths left hand. "Big diamond. "

Elizabeth glanced down at her wedding ring--a one-and-a-half-carat solitaire on a wide gold band. She didnt know what to say.

"Most of us were dumped. A few, like me, landed on our heads. On concrete floors. From ten stories. " Joey grinned. "Fortunately, I bounce. "

"All women bounce," Elizabeth answered, surprising herself. "Its either bounce or splat, isnt it? My husband has worked in about eight cities in the past fifteen years. Believe me, Ive done my share of bouncing. "

"Wow. Military?"

"No. " She didnt want to pinpoint his career. The last thing Elizabeth needed was for everyone to know she was married to Jackson Shore. It always sparked a round of how-lucky-you-are conversation, and that definitely wasnt what she needed from these women. But she had to say something. "He has trouble staying focused on one thing. "