Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs Page B

one fluid motion she flipped open her cell phone and pushed Gus’s number, while simultaneously ripping open a bag of peanutM&M’s. Her penchant for sweets had never fully impacted her figure: she’d always had a good metabolism, thank God, even at thirty-six years of age. That, and she’d put a treadmill in the guest room instead of a bed. Wasn’t like anyone was going to be visiting her, anyway.
    “Hey, lady, it appears you’ve set the foodie world aflame,” Hannah said to Gus’s hello. “You’ve apparently reached sex symbol status.” With surgical precision, she separated the blue candies from the other colors as she talked. It was a habit left over from long ago, when silly quirks, affected for their own sake, were indulged and entertained. The truth was that all the colors tasted the same to her now.
    “Thank God it’s you—I’m so mad I could poke out Alan Holt’s eye,” said Gus. “Did you eat lunch?”
    “Yes.”
    “I’m sure you did. You’re going to end up with a sugar problem—diabetes or whatnot. I’m not going to let this go on.” Hannah remained silent. It was true that Gus had once—just once—tried to clear out the goodies in the house. The result was the only fight the women had ever had and it left Hannah hysterical, crying on the kitchen floor. It was just that Gus couldn’t help herself: she always had to fix, fix, fix things until she thought they were just right.
    Mercifully, Gus launched right into sharing the details of her lunch with Alan, from the folds of the napkins to the talk of Carmen’s outfits for the show.
    “And I’m supposed to be in a meeting in two hours with Miss Spain,” she concluded. “I had to get away so I’ve made up an errand. I’ve gathered up a little gypsy salami, some smoked provolone, and a jar of black Puglian olives to drop off at the girls’ apartment.”
    “Bad idea.” Hannah slipped a candy into her mouth, only to suck and taste the coating. She’d never chew in Gus’s ear.
    “No, it’s great. Who wouldn’t want to come home to a loaded refrigerator? ” Gus’s breathing was a little louder now, the combination of fast walking, a loaded bag of yummy delights, and wearing a heavy winter jacket under the warming spring weather.
    “Gus, no good ever came of a parent letting herself into her daughters’ home without asking.”
    “It’s not like that,” said Gus. “Besides, Sabrina wouldn’t mind.”
    “Aimee certainly will,” insisted Hannah.
    “Oh, I’m at the building,” Gus said, her voice triumphant. “I might even have time to whip up some brownies while I’m upstairs. Won’t that be lovely?” Hannah knew her friend well enough to know she wasn’t really asking a question.
    The morning had been blissful: clear and sunny. Well, at least it looked that way out the window. Sabrina hadn’t made it out of bed, save for one discreettrip to the bathroom. Her love was still new enough that she liked to pretend she didn’t need to use such things as toilets and deodorant. She’d brushed away her bad breath and shaved, but didn’t shower lest her boyfriendcatch on that her silky smooth bikini line was something other than natural. She’d snuck back into bed without disturbing him, treating him to a breakfast that had been a series of perfect nibbles: fingers and lips and eyelids and earlobes. Who wouldn’t love playing hooky for this? They’d had some juice afterward, returned for a long nap that spilled into the afternoon.Sabrina lay on her right side and watched her boyfriend’s chest rise and fall with his shallow breathing. She put some strands of her deep black hair against his light blond fur, marveling at the difference. He was beautiful.They were beautiful.
    The beginnings of a relationship were what she liked most, when every moment felt tinged with bright possibility, before all the expectation and obligation crept in. She placed her hand lightly on Billy’s white skin, staringat the princess-cut