AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Elizabeth talked a bit about her last week in South Carolina, and finally told Jane about Will’s visit—and had just confessed to what happenedafterWill had shown up at the bar.
Jane was staring at her, her mouth agape. “You slept with him? Like…had sex with him?”
Elizabeth nodded. “Twice.”
“Wow. And you’re–you’re socalm.”
“It was a week ago.”
“How did it happen? Wait, do you have any wine? We need wine.”
They both rose and went into the house. Elizabeth grabbed a bottle of wine from the rack while Jane went to the kitchen to get glasses.
“Will you go shopping with me tomorrow?” Elizabeth asked. “I need new furniture. I just…I don't want this stuff. Not anymore.”
“Of course I'll go with you. That huge furniture store on the highway is going out of business. I saw the sign yesterday.”
“Great. We'll start there.”
“Retail therapy is good, right?”
Elizabeth nodded emphatically. “Right.”
“And you should come to Boston next weekend so we can go dress shopping,” Jane suggested. “We need to get moving with that.”
They headed back outside with their glasses of wine and sat down again.
“I’m surprised, Lizzy. Like I said, you’re so calm. What’sreallygoing on? What are you thinking? Whatwereyou thinking? It's not like you to do something so—”
“Rash? Impetuous?” Elizabeth paused. “Stupid? Foolish? Pick one.”
“Lizzy, stop. You’re not stupid.” Jane paused. “I would say…impetuous is probably the right word.”
Elizabeth sighed. “I shouldn’t have done it, I know that now. But I just…I miss him. A lot. I shouldn’t, but I do. I was so angry that he showed up, and then in an instant, it didn’t matter. I kept looking at him, at his face... I dream about him so much, it was almost hard to comprehend that he was standing in front of me. And right then, I knew exactly what was going to happen. Iwantedit to happen.” She eyed her sister warily. “I was a little worried about telling you.”
“Why?”
“I thought you would think I was weak.”
“That’s thelastword I would ever use to describe you. You're one of the strongest people I know. And I'm not here to judge you, I'm here to support you, no matter what happens, no matter what you decide.”
Elizabeth squeezed Jane’s hand. “Thanks.”
“So what happened after?”
“We talked the next day, and of course he wanted to know if the sex was because I was giving him another chance…or if I was saying goodbye.”
“And?”
“I know myself well enough to know that if I really wanted him out of my life, I would have told him right then. I think–I think I would have felt that it was time, and I would have been able to say the words. But I couldn't.” Elizabeth shook her head. “I know we haven’t been together long, and I know that what happened… It’s huge, what he did, and for some people, for some couples, it would have been the end, because it’s so much to deal with.” Her eyes filled, and she turned to Jane. “But I can't say goodbye to him, Jane. Part of me wishes so badly that I could, that I could just turn my back on him and walk away…but I can't.”
