Mary Alice just shook her head as a fresh bout of tears built in her throat. She was so tired of crying over guys. Maybe she’d just get a dog. That seemed more on par with the kind of emotional investment she was prepared to make these days. At least a dog would love her unconditionally.
Margot turned and waved. “Hey Liza? Can you and Mamie come finish this batch up? We’re gonna go take stock of how much we have left to wrap.”
Without waiting for assent, she hustled Mary Alice out of the gym and down the hall to the smaller room being used to store donations. As soon as Presley and Finn trailed them inside, Margot shut the door and locked it. “Spill.”
“Does this have something to do with the fact that you sent someone else to get donations from the hospital yesterday?” Presley asked.
Mary Alice pinched the bridge of her nose and swallowed against the lump in her throat. “I went myself, like I planned. But I wanted to see Chad before we loaded everything up because I was upset, and I just needed…Well, it doesn’t matter what I needed. I saw him kissing another woman.”
“That bastard!” Finn exploded.
“Wait,” Margot interrupted. “You were upset before you went to see him? Why? Did he do something else?”
“No, that wasn’t anything to do with him at all.” She heaved a sigh. “I ran into Judd and Autumn.”
“Were they ugly to you?” Presley asked.
“No, of course not.” Mary Alice lifted her head to look at her friends. “She’s pregnant.”
Their shocked silence was absolute and weighty.
“Oh honey.” Margot wrapped her in a hug. “No wonder you were upset.”
“How far along?” Presley asked gently. “I mean, with the timing and…are you worried they were…together before you broke up?”
&
nbsp; “No.” Of all the accusations she might have leveled at Judd, she knew without a shred of doubt that he’d never cheated on her. “Probably eight weeks. Everything’s on the up and up there. It was just such a shock, and I thought, thank God I’m with someone now who’s on the same page.”
“So, you went to find Chad for comfort,” Margot concluded.
Mary Alice nodded. “And then there he was.”
“He was just in the ER making out with some chick?” Finn asked in disgust.
“Well, no. That would be hideously unprofessional.”
“Tell us exactly what happened,” Presley ordered.
Mary Alice spelled it out. Easy enough to do, since the whole thing was burned into her brain.
“Did you confront him?” Finn demanded.
“No. Not then. I left. He came over after he got off work.”
“And what did he have to say for himself?”
Mary Alice shrugged. “What any guy caught would say. ‘It’s not what you think.’”
“Then what was it?” Margot asked.
“He claimed they’re just friends. There’s long history there, but oh, their engagement was forever ago.”
“He’s kissing on an ex fiancée?” Presley cocked a disbelieving brow.
“That’s what I said. He just told me it was complicated and that he could explain.”
Margot leaned back against a table. “What was his explanation?”