Excerpt

A Page Out of Life

Tara returned her attention to the page in front of her. She spent the next few minutes sketching, then she looked over to see Ashley struggling with her pictures. “How’s it going?” she asked.

“I can’t figure out whether to show this ugly picture of me pregnant or not. I look like a house,” said Ashley, surveying the picture. “Or the side of a barn, however polite you want to be. I had a figure like yours once, but it was a long time ago.”

Tara wasn’t sure what to say. “You were about to give birth. Don’t you think you should give yourself a break? I’d love to have a child.”

“That’s the boiler-plate answer,” said Ashley. “Look at my fat ankles,” she continued with a laugh. “They look like tree trunks.”

Tara had never met anyone like Ashley. She took the picture and surveyed it. “I still don’t get it. See how pretty your face looks.”

Ashley cocked her head to one side, ignoring her compliment. “May I borrow those scissors?”

“Sure,” said Tara. She watched as Ashley started to crop her legs off. “I see you’re determined,” she said. “May I make a suggestion?”

Ashley stopped in mid-cut. “Yes?”

“Before you amputate, you should think about how much Sally might enjoy seeing you pregnant with her,” said Tara. She reached for two other photographs of Ashley holding Sally as a newborn and another baby picture. “Let’s position these three pictures on the page like this. You could cut out a piece of vellum and stick it around you to de-emphasize your shape if it bothers you.” Tara reached for a border. If you place this pink background around the other two pictures, it may offset the problem.”

Ashley smiled. “You’re good at this.”

Tara watched as Ashley pondered her suggestion and started adding her own ideas with stickers. Tara noticed how creative she was as she watched her sketch a huge pink daisy and start cutting. She leaned over and said, “See, you do have a feel for scrapping. That looks terrific.” She watched Ashley’s face light up as her page started coming together.

“You were right. I don’t look half bad.”

Tara looked at her watch and realized that several hours had gone by and she hadn’t thought of Peter or the coming weekend. That was nothing short of a miracle. When the group decided to start packing up, Tara gathered her things. On impulse, she leaned over to Ashley and said, “How about that sandwich place you mentioned. Are you free for lunch tomorrow? You can bring Sally. I’d really like to meet her.”

Ashley nodded. “I’d love it. But I’ve got to check my calendar and call you back to make sure I haven’t forgotten some teacher conference or doctor’s appointment. It’s been known to happen.”

“Sure thing,” said Tara warmly. “I’ll look forward to it.”

“Me too,” said Ashley.

As soon as Tara returned home, she ate a hurried lunch and then decided to phone Libby to make sure that she was all right. She left a message for her friend.

When she turned on her bedroom television later that evening, a breaking news report confirmed her suspicions. Several of Amvale’s top executives were being questioned for securities fraud. While the report didn’t mention Libby’s son, she was almost certain that he was in charge of the firm’s financial operations and was somehow involved. If ever Libby needed a friend, it was now.