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. You look stunning, Priya, Gus said, forgetting her own anger for amoment. Your clothes, yes, but it s something else about you that s quitedifferent.You seem brighter somehow. I must thank Hannah, Priya replied, pushing Kiran forward to handGus a platter of badam pista rolls and jalebi. She sent me an email that verymuch changed my life. And I am very happy about it, said her husband, Raj, stepping acrossthe threshold to shake Gus s hand. If it weren t for your show, Mrs.Simp-son, Priya would never have met this Hannah.She doesn t even know it butshe is quite a friend to the Patel family. I hope you tell her that. Gus ushered them inside.Later, she plannedto surprise Priya by giving her the grand tour, just because she knew it wouldmake her feel special.For now, she directed her to the pond, where Hannahwas organizing competitive remote control boat races.But the get-together had its challenges, as well.Sabrina had very elaborately tried to keep Billy and Troy from meetingduring the festivities.She recognized that Troy deserved to be there, andeven wanted him to enjoy himself, but didn t relish any sort of showdown.What she hadn t counted on, however, was that Troy was just as desperate tosteer clear of her fiancé.And then it happened, the moment he had strenuously avoided throughoutthe entire evening.Meeting William Angle.At the door to Gus s powder room. Hi, said the broad-shouldered man. I m Billy. He looked like a deercaught in headlights, but he didn t back away. Troy.There was a drawn-out silence as both men considered their next move.And then Troy did something he never expected or imagined he was capa-ble of. Congratulations, he said.And he meant it."28 4 kat e j ac ob s Thanks, said Billy, who looked as though a weight had lifted. Sabri-na s a great girl.Troy nodded thoughtfully. Yes, he said. She is.Then he strolled casually away, his back straight and stiff.That wasenough for him; he lacked the ability and the inclination to play buddy-buddy with Sabrina s fiancé.He had wanted the girl and he d lost.Thoughthat wasn t quite the end of the story.He hoped she d figured it out, finally,had sorted through her options and made a choice she could stick with.Hecould see Sabrina s future her new future better than he suspected shecould.And he very much hoped it would be happy.Troy had realized, whenthey were at the retreat, that what he once saw as Sabrina s amazing sponta-neity now struck him as indecision and a lack of impulse control.He lovedher.But he didn t want to be with her.The timing had been off.That was all.They d moved in different direc-tions, and by chasing her, he d gotten himself a little lost in the process.Out the kitchen window he could see Sabrina on the patio, animatedlyacting out some anecdote to a laughing Priya and Ellie.He thought to him-self that she seemed both lighter, somehow, than the day she walked intohis office and swept him off his feet, and more serious.Quite by accident sheglanced in his direction and he waved, as if by instinct.She saw him andreturned the gesture, and then turned her head to greet Billy as he rejoinedthe group.Troy wondered, as he watched his former girlfriend, her glossy blackhair pinned loosely atop her head and wearing a cobalt blue sundress, whenenough time and distance would have passed between them, in its naturalway, that they would no longer be on a first-name-only basis.When he dhave to use his last name if ever he called her mother to discuss FarmFreshand Sabrina answered the line. Hello, he imagined himself saying. It s Troy.Troy Park.And there would be a pause and then a warmth in her voice as she saidhello, hello, Troy, remembering as he would the special moments they dshared."co mf o r t f o o d 285" " " Gather round, friends, Alan was saying, as the sky grew dark and theguests were contentedly tired, full of watermelon and punch and Gus s freshstrawberry shortcake piled high with vanilla-flavored whipped cream.Amidall the hubbub, the Eat Drink and Be team had managed to sneak in a liveshow of Oliver showing Troy how to grill fruit and make a sweet yogurt andhoney dipping sauce, Gus mixing cake in the kitchen, and Carmen explain-ing the wonderful spiciness of chorizo, interspersed with real-time actionfrom the party [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ]