Read Big Girl Panties for Free Online

and became Mrs. Tommy Blake. They had three kids and never left Fairview, Oregon, but the friendship between Tina and Holly had remained through the years and across the miles. Tina had the bubbly, energetic personality Holly had always longed for and an overactive metabolism to match. While in junior high, she and Holly acquired the nicknames Stick and Stone because they were always together. Tina was Stick—tall and thin and dark. Holly was Stone—short and round. Holly never found the name particularly flattering but tried to embrace it anyway. She found it amusingly ironic since there were times she was sure Tommy would have liked to skip her across a lake. She had been a third wheel way too often for Tommy’s liking and she could tell he was relieved when Holly left for college. Tina was pregnant before Holly’s first semester was over.
    Holly greeted her childhood friend. “Hi, Tina. Hanging in there. How’s tricks?”
    â€œSame as it ever was. I meant to call you earlier, but the baby has a cold. The cough is horrendous. And you should see the stuff that’s coming out of her nose. She’s like some sort of snot machine.” Tina laughed.
    â€œSounds appetizing,” Holly quipped, ignoring the pang of sadness that always came with the word “baby.” She and Bruce had talked about it, but he was diagnosed before they really started trying. After that, it was just a downward spiral. Holly told herself it wasn’t meant to be. She could never decide if in the end it was a good or bad thing. She couldn’t imagine being a single parent with the added burden of seeing a child through the sort of grief she’d endured.
    Tina continued. “Since Monday all she’s done is cling to me, the poor thing. I feel like I haven’t slept in days. How did it go in Toronto?”
    â€œPretty much like I expected. They worked me over, trying to tell me I didn’t have the proxy, but in the end they sold at the original price. I just kept saying, ‘I don’t understand,’ a lot, looking horribly perplexed and showing them the letter they originally sent. I did say, ‘Maybe I should call a lawyer?’ a bunch of times, too. After a while I think they just wanted to get rid of me.”
    â€œBruce would’ve been proud of you,” Tina told her. “What are you going to do with your newfound wealth?”
    â€œIt’s really not all that much,” Holly replied, not bothering to tell her friend that the money meant nothing to her. It didn’t seem appropriate. Tina and Tommy were struggling and money was always tight. Tina stayed at home raising the children while Tommy worked his job at a lumberyard. They were too proud to take money from Holly when she offered it, so Holly settled for sending expensive Visa gift cards for every occasion. “I did have a weird experience on the plane home though.”
    â€œOh no.” Holly could hear the concern in Tina’s voice. “You didn’t freak out on the plane, did you? Did you take the Xanax like I told you?”
    â€œNo, I didn’t take Xanax,” Holly said, regretting having told Tina about the prescription she got after Bruce’s funeral. “I didn’t freak out either. I met a guy.”
    â€œ You did? ” Holly could picture Tina sitting down on a chair and tucking her feet under her, getting ready to interrogate her. “Do tell!”
    Holly was quick to clarify. “Not that much to tell. Although he is awfully easy on the eyes. He’s a personal trainer. I’m going to start working with him. My first session is tomorrow.”
    â€œHoly shit!” Tina squealed with delight. “Is he coming to the house? Like in Desperate Housewives ?”
    Holly thought about the business card still in her wallet. “No. He gave me a card with an address on it. He probably works out of Planet Fitness or Crunch. They’re both in that