Katwalk (25 page)

Chapter Fourteen

“Well, hello there. Aren’t
you
looking lovely for a Sunday afternoon? I’m digging that scarf-jewelry combination you’ve got going on.” Brittany made a figure eight with her index finger.

Katrina adjusted the slim swath of silk, this one a dark green, then lightly touched the silver hoop earrings Grace had recently given her in exchange for a painting sh
e’d
done of the High Line above a sea of taxicabs. After apologizing to Justin, sh
e’d
spent a good chunk of the afternoon at the Met, then chatted on the phone with Deb on the way home to shower and change before meeting up with Brittany for an early drink.

Sh
e’d
been tempted to cancel, given how wrecked she still felt from the night before, but she knew there was a good chance this would be the last time sh
e’d
get to see Brittany before her time in New York came to an end. Sh
e’d
briefly considered suggesting some kind of meeting place other than a bar, but since she wasn’t familiar with the area where Brittany lived, sh
e’d
just deferred to her.

She smiled. “Thanks, Brittany. You look great too, although you
always
do. I wish I had your style.”

“Ha. You should see me in the morning. Trust me, it ain’t pretty. So how have you enjoyed your time in New York? Have a seat and tell me all about what you’ve been up to in the past few weeks.” Brittany patted the empty bar stool next to her.

“I’ve got to say, New York has been—”

“Wait, hold that thought.” Brittany held up a finger, then turned to flag down the bartender. “Excuse me, kind sir. Can you please bring over a glass of sangria for my friend here?”

Katrina shook her head. “I’m okay with just a soda tonight.”

“Are you sure? The sangria here is to die for.”

“Thanks, but I’m sure. Could you order me a Sprite, please? I’m just going to run to the ladies’ room.”

Brittany turned toward the bartender. “Did you hear that, hon?”

He winked at her. “Got it.”

“Have you slept with
him
too?” Katrina whispered to Brittany.

“Not yet,” Brittany whispered back. “
Yet
being the operative word.”

When Katrina returned to the bar a few minutes later, Brittany tapped the empty stool next to her. “Now fill me in. What have you been up to since I last saw you?”

Katrina gave her a weary smile. “I’ve done a ridiculous amount of sightseeing, as you can imagine. It’s been sort of exhausting, actually. Somehow I still have a ton of things to check off my list, which only seems to get longer every day.”

Brittany rolled her eyes. “Sightseeing is boring. Making lists is boring. Please tell me you’ve been doing more than that.”

“I have. I’ve been painting some, and I’ve also been taking yoga classes.” She stiffened slightly.
And kissing married men.

Brittany smiled. “Good for you! Very New York of you. So are you loving it here? Aren’t you
so
glad you came?”

“Yes. And I am. It just hasn’t exactly been
. . .
what I expected.”

“What do you mean?”

Katrina shifted on the stool and frowned. All afternoon sh
e’d
debated whether or not to tell Brittany about Reid, and finally, sh
e’d
decided it was best for Brittany to hear it from her. “Well, it’s just that something
. . .
something sort of happened with Reid.”

“What do you mean?”

Katrina took a deep breath. “I mean
. . .
he hit on me.”

“Of course he did.” The look in Brittany’s eyes was matter-of-fact.

“No, I mean,
he tried to sleep with me
.”

“So?”

Katrina’s jaw dropped. “You’re not surprised?”

Brittany shook her head. “Not at all. Why do you think I asked him to come meet us at Super Linda that night?”

“What are you saying?”

Brittany took a sip of her sangria. “I’m saying that it was clear you were in need of some attention of the male persuasion, so I hooked you up.”

“You
planned
that?”

Brittany gave her a strange look. “Am I not being clear enough?
Yes
, I teed one up for you. Reid is hot. I thought yo
u’d
want to hit that for sure.”

“But why would you think
. . .
I mean
. . .
he’s
married
.”

“So?”

“So?”

Brittany took another sip of her drink. “Yes,
so
. What’s the big deal? I told you his deal. It’s not like he’s happily married and yo
u’d
be getting in the way of something. Believe me, he knows exactly what he’s doing.”

“Yes, but . . .”

“But what?”

“But I didn’t think
. . .
I mean
. . .
I thought
. . .
I thought he really liked me.”

“I’m sure he
does
like you. What’s not to like?”

“No, I mean
. . .
I thought he was
. . .
planning to leave her,” she whispered.

Brittany choked back a laugh. “You thought he would leave his wife for you?”

Katrina swallowed. “Not
for
me. But yes, I thought maybe that was in his plans
. . . .
He just seemed to like me so much
. . .
that maybe it planted a seed in his mind
. . .
.” She felt a small tear trickle down her cheek.

Brittany put a hand on Katrina’s shoulder. “Oh, hon.”

Katrina interlaced her hands in her lap and looked down. “I’m an idiot.”

Brittany gave her a sympathetic smile. “
Please
. You’re hardly an idiot. You’re just like you were in the dorms: so book smart, so sweet, but as socially naïve as a country bumpkin. Didn’t you listen to a word I said about married bankers? They’re
pigs
.”

Katrina wiped away a tear. “I heard you. I did
. . .
but I guess I just thought . . .” She felt her head begin to ache again.

“You thought he was different?”

Katrina sighed, more tears forming in the corners of her eyes. She knew she was talking in circles, that her logic didn’t make sense. “He just paid so much attention to me. I’m not used to that.”

Brittany sighed. “Listen, hon, I’m really sorry for putting you in that position. I didn’t realize you didn’t get what was happening. But can I give you a piece of advice?”

Katrina nodded.

“I know this may sound harsh, but you need to learn how to
open your eyes
, at least if you want to survive in New York.”

Katrina forced a smile. “I’m trying.”

Katrina took the subway to First Avenue, then called Deb on the slow walk back to her apartment. Although sh
e’d
told her all about the debacle with Reid earlier in the day, she was confused by Brittany’s advice and needed to hear her friend’s voice again.

As the phone rang, Brittany’s words echoed in her head:

You need to learn how to
open your eyes
, at least if you want to survive in New York.

Open her eyes to what?

Infidelity?

Deception?

Giving up the hope of ever finding real love?

If that’s what opening her eyes meant, maybe coming to New York
had
been a mistake.

Could that really be the case?

“Hey,” Deb said. “I’m on my way out the door.”

Katrina sighed. “Maybe I should just come home.”

“What? Why?”

“I don’t think I’m cut out for New York.”

“Don’t think like that. You’re doing great.”

“You’re just saying that.”

“I’m not just saying that.”

Katrina kicked a pebble on the sidewalk. “Maybe this mess with Reid is the universe’s way of telling me I don’t have what it takes to survive in the big city, that I should just pack my bags and go home.”

“You’re being ridiculous.”

“I’m afraid this place is going to eat me alive, Deb.”

“Only if you let it. Don’t let it.”

“Easy for you to say.”

“Don’t be so melodramatic. We talked about this ad nauseam earlier today. So Reid’s a player. So what? Learn from it and move on. Don’t let him define your experience there. It sounds to me like you’ve met some great people. Haven’t you?”

Katrina glanced behind her in the direction of The HorseBox, the pub sh
e’d
gone to her very first night in town. “Okay. You have a point. I
have
.” Shana, Grace, Josh, Justin. They were all true friends now, no doubt about it.

“See? Screw Reid. Focus on the positive.”

Katrina laughed weakly. “You sound like my yoga teacher.”

“She sounds like a wise woman. And since when do you do yoga?”

“I’ve sort of picked it up since I’ve been here.”

“See? You
are
doing great there. So stop dwelling on the negative.”

“You’re right.”

“Of course I’m right. But I’m also late, so I’ve gotta run. Be strong, my friend.”

“I’m trying to, I promise. And I think I know just what I need right now to help with that.”

“A stiff drink?”

“Ha! Hardly.”

Katrina said good-bye to Deb and hung up the phone, then quickened her pace. If she hustled, she could make Shana’s Sunday-evening class.

“Hi, Kat. What a nice surprise!” Shana kept her voice hushed, in keeping with yoga studio etiquette, but she was clearly delighted to see Katrina.

“I thought I could use some exercise tonight, not to mention one of your stories.”

“Still recovering from last night?”

Katrina nodded. “That, and I’m feeling a little lost right now, like New York is too much for me to handle.”

Shana put a hand on her shoulder. “This is just a rough patch. You’ll get through it.”

“You don’t think I should pack up and go home early?”

Shana laughed quietly. “Now
that
is ridiculous.” She pointed to an open spot in the front corner of the room. “We can talk after class, okay?”

“Okay.”

As Katrina rolled out a mat and sat down, Shana dimmed the lights and lit a candle. She inhaled deeply, then smiled at the students. “If it’s all right, tonight
I’d
like to ask a favor of you.
I’d
like each of you to share why you practice yoga, what keeps you coming back when there are so many other ways you could spend your precious free time. We have a small group, so it shouldn’t take long. This is something I’ve wanted to do for a while, not for my benefit but for yours. We all get something different from yoga, and in my opinion that’s what makes it so beautiful, so
powerful
. It’s the diversity of perspective that brings us all together, and that is truly special. You can keep your eyes closed, and I’ll walk around the room. When I place my hand on your head, feel free to share your thoughts with the class. If you prefer not to participate, that’s fine, and no one will know. Just remain silent, and I’ll move on to the next student.”

Katrina tensed. What would she say when it was her turn?

Shana stood up and lightly tapped her chest. “I’ll begin with my own reasons. I practice yoga because it makes me feel calm and centered, and I
teach
yoga because it brings me joy and makes me feel like I have a purpose in life.”

She began to wander through the room, and the responses followed.

“I love coming to yoga because it’s an escape from the chaos of my life. I love my husband and kids, but sometimes I need some time just for me.”

“Coming to your class makes me remember how lucky I am to be healthy, and that it’s okay to have ice cream for dinner sometimes.”
(Laughter)

“Don’t judge me for saying this, but I like how it keeps my arms and butt toned.”
(More laughter)

“Yoga gives me the peace of mind to follow my own path in life, and a healthy body to do it in, although I’ll never look as good as Shana does in yoga pants.”
(More laughter)