Read Seven Year Switch (2010) for Free Online

who wears a red kimono in broad daylight, who wouldn’t be?”
    We stared at each other.
    â€œHow many kids do you have?” I finally said.
    â€œTwo. Both boys.”
    â€œI have one daughter.”
    He gave my ring finger an exaggerated look. “Anybody else in the family?”
    I actually giggled. “Just us,” I said, and for the first time in a long time it didn’t feel like such a bad thing.
    Â 
    WHEN I GOT TO the Great Girlfriend Getaways office, Joni Robertson pushed herself up from her chair to give me a big hug. Her coarse gray hair smelled like violets, and hugging her always made me think of homemade bread just out of the oven.
    She pushed me away to get a good look. “You hangin’ in there, kid?”
    I nodded. “How ’bout you?”
    â€œDon’t ask.” She pushed me away and headed for her desk. She was wearing jeans and a Great Girlfriend Getaways T-shirt with a hip new pair of Skechers Shape-ups. Joni was well into her seventies, solid and vibrant in a matter-of-fact way that sometimes inspired me, and other times made me wonder if I’d ever get there myself.
    I pulled up a chair and took out a small notebook. “Okay, what do you need?”
    She scrolled through some files on her computer. “That snippy little Kiki just quit on me. Can you pick up her four-to-midnight to night? I’ll try to get someone else in place by her next shift.”
    â€œGot it. What else?”
    â€œThat new resort we’re using in St. John wants to exchange Web site banner links. Can you whip up something for them—logo, hyperlink, plus something fun and girlfriendy?”
    I made a note. “Of course.”
    Joni nodded. She scrolled for a while longer, then stopped and looked at me over her zebra-striped reading glasses. “Hey, you don’t want to jump in on that Costa Rican surfing trip, do you? I think we might need another set of hands. It’s only six days.”
    It was positively Pavlovian the way I could feel myself salivate. Six days in Costa Rica. Sun and surf and an optional side trip to the rain forest. I could picture myself sprawled in a hammock on my hotel patio…sipping a drink out by the pool…curled up in my hotel room with a good book.
    I could even see myself hanging ten on a surfboard, not that I’d ever surfed before. But Joni would hire a local expertfor that. He’d be tall and toned, with narrow hips and broad, salty shoulders….
    I shook it off. “You know I can’t,” I said.
    Joni took off her glasses and cleaned them with her T-shirt. “Anastasia can stay with me. She’ll be fine. And so will you.”
    â€œIt’s too much,” I said. I wasn’t sure if I meant it was too much to ask of Joni, or too much for me to handle. Maybe both.
    Joni gave me a long look. “Okay,” she said finally. “Just let me know when you’re ready.”
    â€œThanks,” I said.
    Joni was more than a boss. She was my friend. When Seth abandoned Anastasia and me, I’d pulled away from just about everybody. Maybe I was embarrassed or even ashamed, or maybe I just felt that I no longer had anything in common with ordinary people. Joni filled the gap. Nothing shocked her, and she knew when to push and when to leave me alone.
    I opened my mouth to tell Joni that Seth was back. Then I closed it again. I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear what she would say. I had this strange, irrational feeling, as if even the tiniest movement I made in any direction would trigger a series of events that could only lead to a train wreck.
    I wanted to dig a nice, safe hole in the sand, just big enough to hold my daughter and me. We’d stay there until Seth blew by again, until Anastasia was older and stronger and safely grown up. We’d get through pierced ears and prom, camp and college. Once I was sure Anastasia had picked the right life partner, someone strong and