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She seems as pleased with my response as I knew she would be. “Guess what else?”
I eye her expectantly. At this point it could be anything.
“You earned yourself a ticket home early.”
All of a sudden I feel like one of those pageant queens whose name has just been called and now I’m forced to act surprised when really I saw it coming all along. I knew my parents would come through. My eyes widen. “I’m going home?”
“That’s right. Now go pack your things.”
I practically hurl myself out of the chair.
“See you soon, Melanie.”
I don’t ask what she means. I probably should have. But revenge comes to us all, eventually. I slap a smile on my face. “Not if I see you first.”
It isn’t Tom who comes to pick me up. It’s Beth. Mrs. Elizabeth sees me out. When she opens the door to Beth’s brand new SUV, the first thing I noticed is she has seat covers.
“Hello.” I scoot into the passenger seat. “Long time no see.”
“Good to see you, Melanie,” she tells me. She sounds like a robot.
“I’m all good down there now. You wouldn’t believe it.”
She sort of does this thing where she half deadpans, half flinches. “That’s great.”
“Really, my vagina looks brand new. They work wonders in that place.”
Beth looks over and offers a small smile, but I can see she doesn’t think it’s funny.
Mrs. Elizabeth touches my hand before closing the door. “Serve your leaders with unwavering devotion,” she says, which I now know is law number six in the code of honor.
“Of course,” I nod.
She puts her hands in the prayer position and bows her head. “See you soon.”
She should really hope not.
“I would like to go to the airport, please.”
Beth puts the car in gear. We drive without speaking. I’m surprised to see we’re actually in Austin. Having been heavily medicated when I was brought in, I had no idea. None of the other women in there did either.
As it turns out, the rejuvenation center is smack dab in the middle of the city.
“I am taking you home,” Beth tells me. “Your husband is anxious to see you.”
“Is he tied up?” I ask as I stare out the window. It’s good to see sunlight and clouds, normal things. Things like traffic and people in clothes that aren’t hospital gowns.
Beth looks over at me. “No. But I wanted a chance to speak with you. How are you feeling?”
“Fine.”
“I hear you did well in there,” she says. When I glance to my left, I notice her expression has turned sympathetic. “I know you feel like everything is up in the air.”
“Not up in the air,” I say. “A mistake.”
She presses her lips together. “It’s normal to think that. With the miscarriage, I’m sure your hormones are all over the place. Don’t worry. These things take time. I know Tom isn’t great at communicating his feelings. But I wanted you to know, he’s still very much committed to making this work.”
“And if I’m not?”
