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I don’t think he’ll be going anywhere anytime soon.”
    â€œMan, broken bones are the worst,” Annie said as she took a bite of her rare cheeseburger.
    â€œYeah.” Ben nodded in agreement.
    â€œI wouldn’t know. I’ve never broken anything,” said Grace without meaning to sound impertinent.
    â€œWe know, we know,” said Annie. “And you never get sick either. How do you manage that?”
    â€œJust lucky I guess. My foster parents told me I barely scraped a knee when I was little.” Grace folded her legs up into her chair, pulled them close to her chest, and began examining the smooth, flawless skin covering her knees.
    â€œYou weren’t even hurt in that car crash when your parents and brothers died, were you?” asked Annie as she continued to study the guest list in front of her.
    â€œNope. They told me not a scratch. But I was only four. You know I don’t remember much about that,” said Grace matter-of-factly as she took another bite of her salad. As she lifted the fork to her mouth, her hands began tingling and shaking again, starting at her wrists and pulsating right down to her fingertips. Having never been sick or hurt, Grace had avoided doctors her entire life, but this latest thing with her hands was making her rethink her position on the medical profession. When the tingling and shaking first started a few weeks ago, she had assumed it was a side effect of the fatigue brought on by her extra shifts at the club. But the episodes were becoming more frequent now so she might have to give in and find a cheap doctor who would treat a waitress with no health insurance. Grace put her fork down and discreetly wriggled her fingers under the table until the sensation began to disappear.
    â€œOkay. Enough talk of injuries and death. We’re supposed to be planning a party here, remember?” said Ben. After a long pause, he asked, “Are you … uh … are you all still inviting those Reich guys?”
    â€œWorking on it.” Annie seemed to ignore Ben’s tone as she looked over at Grace. “I was able to get their court schedule for this week from the tennis pro and am trying to rearrange some shifts so you and I can work the lunch crowd when they play.”
    â€œAnnie! You are shameless!” Grace could not believe her friend’s boldness. “What if they find out?”
    â€œThey won’t. I promised the tennis pro an invitation to your party if he keeps his mouth shut.”
    â€œOh.” Grace clutched her stomach under the table. Her nausea was definitely returning now and no doctor could cure that. If only Annie would get off this party kick, Grace could stop drowning in Pepto–Bismol.
    â€œI still think it is a bad idea to invite a bunch of strangers to the party. They could be a couple of crazies or something. What if they ruin it?” Ben looked hard at Grace.
    â€œOh, give it a rest, Ben. They’re cute and they’re coming, so get over it. Besides, you had your shot at Grace a long time ago and didn’t take it,” said Annie. “She needs a date to her birthday party and she likes Gregory Reich, so I am going to make this happen. End of discussion.”
    At the mention of her failed attempt with Ben, Grace started intensely examining her knees again, avoiding the inevitable sympathetic look she knew he was giving her across the table. With his piercing aqua blue eyes and broad shoulders, Grace had developed a crush on Ben their senior year of high school but he had made it painfully obvious that the feeling was not mutual. So, after more than a few excruciating months of unrequited love, Grace had placed Ben back into her “friends bucket” and there he had stayed ever since. He had never given her a reason for his rejection, but now, years later, the reason did not matter as much as the lingering effect his rejection had on her psyche. Since then, her mind had