First Impressions

Donna looked up.
    “He’s been seeing quite a lot of Laurie MacAfee.” Seeing Shane’s eyes widen, Donna continued in a rush. “I’m sorry, Shane, so sorry, but I did think you should know. And I figured it might be easier hearing it from me. I think . . . well, I’m afraid it’s serious.”
    “Laurie . . .” Shane broke off and seemed to stare, fascinated, at the water dripping into the pot. “
Laurie MacAfee?
” she managed after a strangled moment.
    “Yes,” Donna said quietly, and she stared down at the table. “Rumor is they’ll be married next summer.” Donna waited, unhappily, for Shane’s reaction. When she heard the burst of wild laughter, she looked up, fearing hysterics.
    “Laurie MacAfee!” Shane pounded her palms on the table and laughed until she thought she would burst. “Oh, it’s wonderful; it’s perfect! Oh God. Oh God, what an
admirable
couple!”
    “Shane . . .” Concerned with the damp eyes and rollicking laughter, Donna searched for the right thing to say.
    “Oh, I wish I had known before so I could have congratulated him.” Almost beside herself with delight, Shane laid her forehead on the table. Taking this as a sign of a broken heart, Donna put a comforting hand on her hair.
    “Shane, you mustn’t take on so.” Her own eyes filled as she gently stroked Shane’s hair. “Cy isn’t for you. You deserve better.”
    The statement sent Shane into a fresh peal of laughter. “
Oh, Donna!
Oh, Donna, do you remember how she always wore those neat little coordinates to school? And she got straight As in home economics.” Shane was forced to take deep breaths before she could continue. “She did a term paper on planning household budgets.”
    “Please, darling, don’t think about it.” Donna cast her eyes around the kitchen, wondering if there were any medicinal brandy in the house.
    “She’ll have her own shoe trees,” Shane said weakly. “I just know it. And she’ll label them so they don’t get them mixed up. Oh, Cy!” On a new round of giggles, she pounded a fist on the table. “Laurie. Laurie MacAfee!”
    Almost frantic with concern, Donna gently lifted Shane’s face. “Shane, I . . .” With a jolt she saw that rather than being devastated, her friend was simply overcome with amusement. For a moment, Donna stared into round dancing eyes. “Well,” she said dryly, “I knew you’d be upset.”
    Shane howled with laughter. “I’m going to give them a Victorian whatnot as a wedding present. Donna,” she added with grinning gratitude, “you’ve made my day. Absolutely made it.”
    “I knew you’d take it badly,” Donna said with a baffled smile. “Just try not to weep in public.”
    “I’ll keep my chin up,” Shane promised, then smiled. “You’re sweet. Did you really think I was carrying a torch for Cy?”
    “I wasn’t sure,” Donna admitted. “You were . . . well, an item for so long, and I knew how crushed you were when the two of you broke up. You’d never talk about it after that.”
    “I needed some time to lick my wounds,” Shane told her. “They’ve been healed over for a long while. I was in love with him, but I got over it. He put a large dent in my pride. I survived.”
    “I could have killed him at the time,” Donna muttered darkly. “Two months before the wedding.”
    “Better than two months after,” Shane pointed out logically. “We would never have made a go of it. But now, Cy and Laurie MacAfee . . .”
    This time they both broke out into laughter.
    “Shane.” Donna gave her a sudden sober look. “A lot of people are going to be thinking you still care for Cy.”
    Shane shrugged it off. “You can’t do anything about what people think.”
    “Or what they say,” Donna murmured.
    “They’ll find something more interesting to talk about before long,” Shane returned carelessly. “Besides, I have too much to do to be worried about it.”
    “So I noticed from the pile of stuff on the porch. What’s under that tarp?”
    “Lumber and materials.”
    “Just what are you going to do with it?”
    “Nothing. Vance Banning’s going to do it. Want some more cocoa.”
    “Vance Banning!” Stunned, then fascinated, Donna leaned forward. “Tell me.”
    “There’s not much to tell. You didn’t answer me,” Shane reminded her.
    “What? No, no, I don’t want any more.” Impatiently, she brushed the offer away. “Shane, what is Vance Banning going to do with your lumber and