Starting from Square Two by Caren Lissner Page A

there. Otherwise I’ll miss out.”
    Gert thought that maybe she could subtly help Erika. She still saw some good in her. “Do you have any contact with Ben?” she asked.
    Erika’s eyebrows narrowed a bit. She looked straight at Gertfor the first time that night. Behind her, at the far end of the room, a group of guys was coming in wearing baseball caps. There were too many overgrown frat boys in town. Gert couldn’t imagine dating one of them. Marc actually had been in a fraternity, but at least he didn’t act like he was still in one after graduation.
    â€œI find a reason to e-mail him every few months,” Erika said, “just so he knows I still exist. I’m actually due to send another one. There’s an exhibit coming to the Whitney that I know he’d like, so I was thinking of e-mailing him about that.”
    Gert felt bad for Erika as she listened to her talk about Ben. Erika always became more animated when she talked about him.
    â€œA few months ago,” Erika said, “I bumped into one of his friends, this guy Don, so I e-mailed Ben to tell him. Ben usually writes back after a few days, but he keeps it short and emotionless. It’s like a new rejection every time. Last time he was like, ‘Hi. That’s great you saw Don. I hope you have a great new year.’ The end. There’s never any hint that we spent five years together.”
    â€œMaybe he doesn’t want to seem like he’s leading you on,” Gert said.
    Erika’s face tightened. “Why does he have to worry about ‘seeming’?” she asked. “We shared five years. It’s almost as if Challa’s looking over his shoulder and might leave him if she caught him showing any emotion toward me. Can’t he at least miss me a little bit?”
    Gert didn’t know what to say.
    â€œHey,” Erika said, becoming excited again. She looked at Gert and Hallie. “You guys both have dates on Saturday. Gert has Todd and…”
    â€œI have Bugs Bunny Boy,” Hallie said. “ You can go on the date if you want.”
    Gert thought of Todd and felt a bit nervous.
    Erika looked at Hallie. “Look on the bright side,” she said. “At least Bugs Bunny Boy isn’t half as bad as that guy you wentout with who spent your whole first date talking about why there shouldn’t be a Black History Month unless there’s a White History Month.”
    Hallie laughed. “True,” she said. “But Bugs Bunny Boy is neck and neck with the British guy who I really liked and slept with and then he told me that he was moving back to Britain in two weeks.”
    Erika shook her head.
    â€œAnd at least Bugs Bunny Boy isn’t as bad,” Hallie added, “as the guy who, the minute he met me for dinner, pointed at the tiny white spot on my blouse and said, ‘Oh, you got some deodorant on there.’”
    â€œYeah,” Erika said, “and Bugs Bunny Boy is definitely not as bad as the guy who was annoyed that you had a cough, so every time you coughed, he coughed, because he wanted to show you how irritating it was.”
    Gert wondered if they were making all these guys up, or if dating was really this bad.
    Suddenly all three heads swung to the left. One of the frat boys, tall and good-looking, was standing next to Hallie.
    â€œAny of you girls have a light?” he asked in an unplaceable accent. His friends were behind him, waiting for him.
    Gert looked up. She kept matches in her purse because Marc had always told her to. It seemed a little silly, now that she thought about it. She held out the pack.
    â€œI guess that’ll do, right?” the guy said, smiling.
    He looked like he was about to leave, but Erika called out, “So, what’s your name?”
    The guy seemed startled for a second. “Rick,” he said. He had five-o’clock shadow. It was attractive.
    â€œI’m Erika,” Erika said,