Page 59 of The Scars We Heal

“Have fun on this trip. Don’t worry about us, we’ll be fine,” she said, putting on her Mom voice.

“I will. Okay, I’d better go. I’ve got about two hours to go, but I will text you when I arrive.”

“All right, honey. Love you.”

I said my goodbyes then hung up. My hands gripped the steering wheel tighter. But this time, it wasn’t out of anxiety or even stress. Maybe anticipation. Now that I’d spoken to my mom and she reassured me again they were fine, I felt like I could actually enjoy the trip fully for what it was. I couldn’t deny that I was excited to spend some time with my sister-in-law. It’d been so long since I’d seen her. Hopefully, after this trip, we’d be able to spend even more time together. This year could be the start of me reaching out to people I hadn’t seen because of my marriage. The start of me doing things I hadn’t had the chance to in the last nine years.

The moment I pulled into Clay and Abby’s driveway, the front door opened and a horde of kids ran out.

“Hey, guys.” I laughed as they swarmed me with hugs.

“Auntie Caitlin is here!” the oldest of them, Penny, yelled into the house.

Abby emerged a moment later.

“Give her some space, guys.” She giggled before having to pry the youngest one off me. One by one they ran back into the house, and the door slammed shut. “Sorry about them. They get excited to see anyone who comes to visit.”

“I mean, that’s fair. I haven’t seen them since Colter and Ellison’s wedding.”

She pursed her lips and nodded, her eyes averting to the ground. They bounced back up to me in an instant. “Let me grab my purse and then we can head out, yeah?”

I nodded. “Sounds good. I’ll be here.”

A few minutes later, she blew a kiss goodbye to her kids and came down the front steps. “Okay, I’m ready! Are you so excited to be getting out of the house and away for a bit?”

I bit the inside of my lip. “Yes, but it’s also definitely weird. I feel like I’ve never gone on a trip without Whit. I keep looking for her to make sure she’s not getting into trouble.”

Abby nodded. “I know the feeling. You’ll get better at it, though. It’s hard to leave your babies when they were literally a part of you for so long, so I get it.”

“Yeah. She’s growing up so fast. She certainly acts like a teenager already.”

“Oh, just you wait. You’ll be begging to get out of the house before long. I’m just glad you have Maggie and everyone there to help you in Silver Creek.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“All right. Shall we head out? I’m itching to try this new place downtown. I’ve heard they have a really good charcuterie board.”

“Lead the way. You’re the expert.” I flashed her a grin, following her to her car.

“I’ll take a glass of your La Spinetta rosé.” Abby pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose as she scoured the wine menu. “And we’ll also do one of your charcuterie boards.”

“I’m just going to do a glass of pinot grigio,” I added, folding up my menu and handing it to our server.

“Thank you so much.” Abby passed along her menu next before crossing her legs and leaning back into her velvet chair.

The wine bar she’d chosen had plush chairs and couches all throughout the space. The seating made it feel more intimate, like you were having drinks in your living room and not in a bar.

“So, update me on everything that’s going on in your life.”

I sighed. “Well, for starters, I’m a single woman again.”

“Amen to that. No offense, Cait, but Adam was a piece of shit.” She emphasized her insult, her voice lilting at the end.

In the early months after we’d filed for divorce, it would have hurt my feelings to hear my family speak of him in that way, but over the last couple months, I think I’d come out of the fog I was in and could finally see him for what he was. A real piece of shit.

“It’s strange how much a person can change over a decade. Or maybe not change at all,” I admitted.

One of her brows shot up.