Almost Perfect by Susan Mallery Page B

Pia’s friendliness and seeming inability to remember the past with accuracy.
    â€œThere’s a group of us girls who get together,” Pia continued. “Sort of a girls’ night out. Or in, because we meet at someone’s house and drink a lot. It’s fun. I think you’d know a few people who come. We’d love to haveyou.” She pulled a business card out of her purse and turned it over, then grabbed a pen. “Give me your cell.”
    Liz recited the numbers, still feeling as if she were having an out-of-body experience.
    â€œIt’s great you’re back,” Pia told her. “Let’s go to lunch or something and catch up. And think about that signing.”
    The two women parted. Liz continued to walk toward the park by the lake. She was sure she looked completely normal on the outside, while on the inside, she was more than a little confused.
    Pia O’Brian friendly? How was that possible? Liz did believe in a person’s ability to change, but she wasn’t sure she was ready to accept a full-blown miracle.
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    â€œI’ VE NEVER HEARD OF THE Fool’s Gold Mountaineers,” Tyler told Ethan as they found their seats.
    They were both carrying hotdogs and drinks. Ethan kept his eye on the boy to make sure Tyler didn’t trip, but the eleven-year-old didn’t seem to have any trouble navigating through the sparse crowd. They settled three rows up from the field, about a third of the way from home plate to first base.
    â€œThey’re a short season A league team,” Ethan said, then tugged on the brim of Tyler’s new scarlet baseball cap. “You know what that means?”
    â€œThey don’t play a long season?” Tyler asked with a grin.
    â€œVery good. You’ve heard of Triple A and Double A minor league baseball, right?”
    The boy took a bite out of his hotdog and nodded.
    â€œThis is another kind of minor league team. Their season runs from early June to early September. The opener was last week.”
    â€œYou go to a lot of games?”
    â€œI get here when I can.”
    â€œMom and me went to see the Giants play a few times. That was real fun. There were a lot more people than here.”
    â€œFool’s Gold is a lot smaller than San Francisco.”
    Tyler picked up his drink. “Mom takes me to lots of stuff. Museums, which sound really bad, but sometimes are fun. We go to the children’s theater and we saw the Lion King musical twice.” He swallowed some of his soda. “I’m kinda old for Disney, but it was still pretty sweet.”
    Ethan stared at his son and tried not to let himself think about all the years that had been lost. There was no win in that. He told himself to focus on this moment, and let the rest take care of itself.
    At least Tyler seemed ready to accept him. Liz hadn’t turned her son against him—which he probably should appreciate. Of course if she hadn’t kept Tyler from him, it wouldn’t be an issue.
    â€œDo you like school?” he asked.
    â€œUh-huh. I really like math. I’m good at it. Mom says I get that from you.” The boy frowned. “That’s so weird. I never knew who she meant when she said that. But now, I’ll know she means you.”
    Tyler grinned, then took another bite of his hotdog.
    â€œI’m good at sports, too,” he added, when he’d chewed and swallowed. “Mom says she’s a klutz.” He hesitated. “That means she’s not really coordinated.”
    â€œThanks.”
    Tyler beamed. “I didn’t know about you riding bikes and stuff. Now I’m going to ride my bike more.”
    â€œMaybe we can ride together sometime.”
    Tyler’s eyes widened. “Could we? Sweet! But you’ll go really fast and beat me. That’s okay. I’ll get better as I grow. That’s what Mom always tells me. That I’m good now and I’m going to get