Breeze off the Ocean Read Online Free Page B

with the dishes, Micki went to the phone in the living room to call Cindy.
    “Hello.” Cindy’s bubbly voice sang across the wire after the fourth ring.
    “Hi, Cindy, how are you?”
    “Micki!” The exclamation was like a small explosion. “Where are you? Are you here in Ocean City? How are you? When did you get home? Are you home?” The questions followed each other in such rapid succession Micki laughingly shouted to get a word in.
    “Cindy, if you will take time to breathe, I’ll explain the wheres and whys.” The small silence that followed these words allowed Micki to continue briefly. “I am home, yes, and—”
    “Then don’t bother to go any further,” Cindy broke in. “Jump in your car and come to the house, I’m dying to see you.” She hesitated, then asked apologetically, “Or did you have other plans for this morning?”
    “As a matter of fact,” Micki laughed, “my only plans for today were to come and see you, if you had no other plans. Does that make any sense at all?”
    “Perfect sense,” Cindy declared happily. “So why are you still on the phone? Get truckin’, woman.” She hung up before Micki could even tell her she would.
    Still smiling, Micki went to the kitchen to tell Regina where she was going, adding she had no idea when she’d be back.
    “Oh, that will work out perfectly.” Regina’s smile was still somewhat tentative. “I have a lunch date with Betty Grant and we’d planned to do some shopping after lunch. How is Cindy feeling now?”
    The question startled Micki, wiped the smile off her face.
    “She sounded fine,” she answered slowly, then asked anxiously, “Why? Has she been ill?”
    “No, no,” Regina soothed. “Not ill, but she did have a few bad moments at the beginning of her pregnancy, you know.”
    Everything inside Micki seemed to freeze with an emotion she couldn’t begin to put a name to. Cindy pregnant? Why hadn’t she told her?
    Regina glanced up from the dish she was drying; her face grew puzzled at Micki’s stillness. “Is something wrong?” she asked with concern.
    “No.” Micki shook her head and forced the smile back to her stiff lips. “I—I didn’t know Cindy was pregnant.”
    “Didn’t know?” For a second Regina’s eyes were totally blank, then they widened with dismay. “Oh, damn,” she groaned. “Cindy must have wanted to surprise you and now I’ve ruined it for her.”
    “You couldn’t know, and I’ll play dumb when she tells me.” Micki wet her parched lips as she turned toward the doorway. “Cindy will have her surprise.” Moving swiftly through the doorway, she added, “I’ll see you when I see you.”
    Inside her room Micki leaned back against the door and closed her eyes, a soft moan catching at her throat. Hugging her midriff tightly as if to contain the pain inside, she dug her teeth into her lower lip. For a few moments the remembered torment was so real she wanted to cry out against it. Oh, God, she thought sickly, would the hurt never go away? Breathing deeply, exactly as she had the night before, she forced herself to a measure of calmness. She had to get dressed, go see Cindy, and act surprised and happy about her pregnancy. She was happy for Cindy.
    By the time Micki backed her car out of the driveway, she had her emotions under control. Driving slowly through the mid-morning traffic, she glanced around quickly. The tourist season was in full swing. People of all ages, shapes, and sizes were on their way to the beach. Cyclists pedaled their way toward their destination. The streets were crowded with cars; people coming into the city, people going out of the city, and some just driving around pursuing their business, and over all, the gulls soared and dipped and sang their raucous songs. Micki loved it. She always had and as she drove through it she felt the stiffness ease out of her body.
    It was not a very long drive, as the house Cindy and Benny had bought was located just south of where the