Katwalk (20 page)

“I don’t pick up when mine calls,” Grace said. “That works just fine for me.”

Katrina didn’t feel like talking—or even thinking—any more about her mother right then, so she redirected the conversation. “You were right about that Blair,” she said to Shana. “She’s kind of scary.”

“I know, right?” Shana’s shoulders slumped just slightly. “Kind of an energy vampire.”

“Who’s Blair?” Grace asked.

“The owner of the studio,” Shana said.

“Oh, you mean Cruella de Vil?” Grace stuck out her tongue. “Total witch.”

Katrina nearly choked on her salmon roll. “Oh my gosh, she
does
look a little like Cruella de Vil! I feel so mean for saying so, but it’s true.”

“From the stories I’ve heard,
I
sure as hell don’t feel mean for saying so,” Grace said. “After sweeping up the studio, that woman could fly out of there on her own broom.”

Shana put a hand on Grace’s arm. “Be nice, Gracie. That’s my boss you’re talking about.”

“Since when are bosses off limits? Besides, that woman is horrible to you. I don’t know why you still work for her.”

“What else am I supposed to do? Go back to waitressing? The theater thing clearly isn’t working out, and I need to pay my bills somehow. It’s not like I have a lot of options right now.”

Grace pointed a fork at her. “Too bad you don’t have any
stock
options. Then you could tell that bag of bones what to do with her scrawny ass.”

Katrina laughed and gestured to Grace. “I still can’t wrap my head around how such vulgar comments come out of someone who looks like a porcelain doll.”

Grace shrugged. “You should hear my sister. I’m the nice one.”

When Katrina got home later that night, she sat down at her laptop to follow up with her mother’s contacts. Regardless of where her heart lay, she had to be practical and plant some seeds. She hoped that sending out some résumés, maybe even setting up a couple of phone interviews, would ease the creeping sense of anxiety sh
e’d
begun to feel whenever she thought about the future. Like Shana, she knew it was important to have options.

Chapter Eleven

Before Katrina knew it, another Saturday morning had rolled around. She got up early, bought her
New York Times
from the little man at the kiosk, and walked over to the coffeehouse. The weather had grown noticeably colder, and she wished sh
e’d
worn a scarf. Maybe sh
e’d
take a stroll through the Village later and buy a cute knitted one from a street vendor.

Inside the coffeehouse, she didn’t see Justin or Peter anywhere. April was behind the counter, playing with her phone. Though she greeted Katrina with a friendly smile as she approached, she didn’t seem interested in chitchatting.

“Good morning. What can I get you?”

Katrina looked up at the menu board, then glanced at the glass canisters on the counter. She pointed to a tray of muffins topped by a glass cover. “Are those good?”

April smiled. “Delicious. They’re chock full of fat, but they’re to die for, especially the poppy-seed ones.”

“Okay, I’ll try one. And I think I’ll have a hot chocolate too. Large, please.”

“Sure thing.”

As April rang up her order, Katrina smiled to herself.

It’s amazing how good little changes can feel.

She took the muffin and hot chocolate to her favorite table and began reading the paper. Soon she was swept away in a story about yet another corruption case in New York’s state government, which seemed to produce an endless supply of scandals from both sides of the political aisle. Self-proclaimed righteous candidates who rode into office on promises of reform
. . .
then were tossed out on their backsides, facing bribery charges.

Katrina frowned at the paper.

They all pretend to be something they’re not.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

She looked up and saw Justin standing there. “Huh?” She blinked.

“Wow. You were really gone there, and scowling a bit as well.” He took a seat. “You okay?”

She blinked again. Had she been scowling? “Just have a lot on my mind, I guess.”

He chuckled. “Talk about stating the obvious. Anything yo
u’d
like to talk about?”

She didn’t reply.

He waved a hand in front of her. “Earth to Katrina . . .”

She took a deep breath, then looked him in the eye. “Was it hard for you to
. . .
um
. . .
pursue a nontraditional career?”

“Hard for me how?”

She swallowed. “I mean, it’s clearly worked out for you, but were your parents ever disappointed that you didn’t take the safe road? You know, do the corporate thing?”

He laughed. “My dad’s a cardiologist and my mom’s a partner in a law firm. What do
you
think?”

“So I can take that as a yes?”

“You can take that as a yes.”

“How did you deal with it?”

He shrugged. “To be honest, I didn’t feel like I had a choice. After business school, I got a good job at a management consulting firm, but despite all the perks, from the minute I walked into my office, I knew that life wasn’t for me. It was just too
. . .
confining. And every time I met with a big client to discuss how to grow their business, I felt like a phony because I wanted to be building something of my
own
, not helping some faceless organization figure out how to make more millions. And I didn’t want to have to wear a suit to do it. One day I remember thinking I was either going to suffocate in my tie or hang myself with it. I didn’t last long in corporate America after that.”

“Well, I for one am glad you didn’t hang yourself. I wish I had your conviction.”

“You’re a smart cookie. You’ll figure it out. I’m not worried about you.”

“Thanks, Justin. I really appreciate how nice you always are to me.”

“It’s my pleasure. You’re good people, and I like good people.”

She blushed. “Thank you.”

“I like good people, and I’m also good at
reading
people, and you looked like you needed to talk, so here we are, talking.” He discreetly cocked his head in the direction of a woman seated at a table across the room and lowered his voice. “For example, I can read
her
too.”

Katrina lowered her voice too. “Her
what
?”

“Every time she comes in here, she orders a cappuccino. Today, however, she ordered a
skim
cappuccino. From that, I’m inferring she’s trying to lose a few pounds.”

Katrina wrinkled her nose. The woman looked at least thirty pounds overweight, if not more. “That fairly obvious observation makes you good at reading people?”

Justin smiled and scratched the top of his head. “If it gets you to tell me what’s bothering you, then yes.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you this nice to all your customers?”

“No.”

“You’re lying.”

“Yes.”

She laughed. “Okay, okay. If you must know, I’m a little anxious about my job search.”

“You’re looking for work?”

“In theory, yes.”

He cocked his head toward the counter. “Ever made a latte?”

She smiled. “I’m more of a numbers person.”

“What kind of job are you looking for?”

“Accounting.”

“You don’t sound very excited about it. I believe I just heard a sigh.”

“Excited about accounting, or about looking for a job?”

“Both of the above.”

She made a sheepish face. “Is it that obvious?”

“You want an honest answer?”

“Of course.”

“Judging by how you’re acting right now, I think yo
u’d
be happier making lattes.”

She frowned. “I fear you might be right, but I don’t have much of a choice.”

He stood up and squeezed her shoulder. “You always have a choice, Kat.”

Later that morning, Katrina was on her way to Shana’s ten o’clock class when her phone rang. She caught her breath when she saw the name on the display.

Reid.

She hadn’t heard from him in weeks.

She didn’t think sh
e’d
ever hear from him again.

She looked up at the darkening sky, then answered—with zero plan, this time, for how to act.

“Hi, Reid.”

“Hey, stranger. How are you doing?”

“I’m doing well, thanks.” She knew her voice sounded strained, but she couldn’t help it.

“Still breaking hearts all over town?”

She didn’t respond.

What should she say to that?

What
could
she say?

“Kat, you still there?” he said.

“Still here. I’m about to go to a yoga class.”

“What are you doing after yoga? Do you have plans you can’t break?”

She glanced up at the sky again. It was definitely going to rain. “Why do you ask?”

“Can I interest you in a matinee later?”

“A movie?” She hadn’t thought about going to a movie, but a theater would be nice and dry, that was for sure. But she didn’t want to go to a movie with Reid—that was also for sure. She didn’t want to go anywhere with Reid.

“I was thinking more like
The Book of Mormon
.”

She stopped walking. “
The Book of Mormon
? As in in the smash Broadway musical?”

“Yep. You interested?”

She hesitated.

“Do you have tickets? Isn’t that show sold out like forever?” she asked.

“I have two incredible seats if I want them. I have a connection through work. The window is closing though. I need to get back to him by eleven or he’s giving them to someone else.”

She thought about it for a moment. She knew she shouldn’t even be considering seeing him, but seeing
The Book of Mormon
with him was another story. And seeing a Broadway show was certainly on her to-do list. How could she turn this down? It was nearly impossible to get tickets, and those that were available were way out of her budget.

“I don’t know, Reid.”

“Just say yes. We’ll have a blast.”

She didn’t respond.

“Snow White?” he said.

“Why don’t you go with your wife?”

“Don’t ask me that. Will you come?”

She squeezed her eyes shut. Why did it have to be so complicated?

“Can I think about it?”

“How long do you need?”

“My class starts in a few minutes. Can I let you know afterward?”

“Sure.”

Shana smiled as she lit a candle, then sat down in the front of the room and inhaled deeply. She briefly pressed her palms together, then began to read from a small notebook as the students closed their eyes.

“From when we’re little kids, we learn how important it is to say
no
. No to drugs. No to cigarettes. No to strangers. No, no, no. But what about learning to say
yes
?”

Katrina opened her eyes. Had Shana been reading her mind?

Shana continued. “I had a roommate in college who always assumed the worst about people. I could never understand why, but from the get-go, she would think they were trying to con her, or cheat her, or take advantage of her in some way. She was a nice person, a
kind
person, but it took forever to earn her trust, and as a result, she had few friends. She worked hard in school and has a good job now, but she doesn’t have much joy in her life. She’s very good at saying
no
, but she never learned how to say
yes
. Yes to new experiences. Yes to friendly yet unfamiliar faces. Yes to leaving Ohio. Yes to the
unknown
. She’s built a safe little world for herself, and she’s
existing
just fine, but in my opinion she’s not really
living
. And for that I feel sorry for her.”

Katrina shifted on her mat. How did Shana do it? How did she always know?

“I’m not saying we need to jump blindly into every opportunity that comes our way, but I think it’s important to have an open mind. Don’t judge a person or a situation on its face, because you just might be wrong. And if you’re wrong, you might be missing out on something amazing.”

Shana closed her notebook and set it on the small table beside her.

“Now let’s all meet in downward-facing dog.”

After class, as she waited outside the studio for Shana, Katrina called Reid.

“I’ll go.”

“Excellent. I’ll pick you up in a cab at one thirty.”

“Okay, see you then.”

“You’ll see who when?”

As she clicked off her phone, Katrina saw Shana walking up to her.

“Reid. Remember the guy who met us at Whiskey Tavern after soccer?”

“Oh yes, of course. How’s he doing?”

“He’s good, I guess. Haven’t seen him in a while. He just invited me to the matinee of
The Book of Mormon
.”

Shana’s face tightened for a split second at the mention of the show, but her grimace was quickly replaced by a smile, albeit a stiff one. “That sounds fun. I’ve heard it’s an amazing production.”

Katrina put a hand on Shana’s arm. “I’m sure you’ll get your big break one day.”

“I think that ship may have sailed, but thanks, Kat. It’s nice of you to say it.”

“I truly think your day will come. How could it not? You’re a natural in front of an audience.”

“That’s in a yoga class. On a big stage
. . .
let’s just say it’s a different story. Want to grab a bite? I’m starving.” Shana started walking.