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Chapter
Fifteen
Bea sat straightup in bed, her eyes darting back to the beginning of her text.The purple bubble blurred, and she couldn’t jab at the phone icon because she couldn’t see it.
Don’t call, Joy said next, and Bea pulled back on the anguish and adrenaline speeding through her.One, it’s Saturday morning and no one should be awake this early.Two, I’m okay and don’t want to interrupt your beach trip.Three, I don’t want to talk about itagain.
Bea sniffled and sank back into the pillows.For a rental, they were fluffy and comfortable, and she could see why Grant got great reviews on his beach cottage.
“Again,” she murmured.That single word meant Joy had already spent all of her energy telling everyone else in the Supper Club about her recent separation from her husband.They’d met for lunch or dinner or desserts, and Joy had told them all, and Bea had missed it.
She pressed her eyes closed and let her phone fall to her chest.Stings and burns coated the backs of her eyelids, and Bea couldn’t help the spiraling, out-of-control feeling whizzing through her.
She’d missed out on something major in one of her best friends’ lives.And for what?A walk on the beach?To fly a kite?To dance in the arms of a handsome man at a bonfire?
It all seemed a tad insignificant now, though Bea knew Joy would never want her to feel that way.
I’m so sorry, Bea said, her eyes focusing as her fingers flew.When did you guys get together?I could’ve listened via video.She hoped that didn’t make her sound whiny or accusatory.She didn’t want to be either.She only wanted to provide the same comfort, support, and love Joy had always given to her.I miss you, and I wish I was there to hug you and feed you.
Bea could picture Joy’s bright blue eyes as they danced the way fire did.They’d crinkle along the edges as she laughed, even in the most difficult of circumstances.It’s fine, she’d say.But if you are going to go to the trouble, make the friedmac-and-cheese balls,please.
All the fried macaroni and cheese you want, she added just before Joy’s response came in.
She’d started with a smiley face, and then she’d said,I’ve eaten so much this week.I don’t think I could take another bite, even if you made one of your brisket grilled cheese sandwiches.
Another item Bea was known for in her friend group.A little onion jam, two big slices of cheese—one provolone and one muenster—and a pile of chopped brisket, crisped up with plenty of butter on the bread—mmm.Bea wanted something that rich and savory right now.She wasn’t much of a breakfast eater, so she and Grant had set up a brunch date for that morning, wherein Bea would introduce him to Lauren.
She still hadn’t told him she’d love to meet his sister, and she suddenly had a lot of texts to send.
Oh, the friedmac-and-cheese!Joy said next.I could definitely squeeze in a few bites of that.
Bea giggled, the sound dying almost the moment it escaped.Do you want a sneak peek of my news?She’d texted everyone late, late last night, after she and Lauren had finally stopped talking and gone to bed, asking for an update and that she would have “a lot of news” that night for them.
Cass had answered almost immediately—which was strange for her, as she did retire early—and said,It’s about time, Bea.We’re dying back here in Texas.It’s been a real news drought.
No one else had responded until Joy, and even then, her texts had come to only Bea and not the full group text.
I’m dying for it, Joy said.But I can wait if you don’t want to type it twice or you’d rather share it with everyonelater.
Bea didn’t know what she wanted.Her mind traveled in circles, something it had been doing since Nort had come into their bedroom one night.She could still see everything about those few minutes so clearly.The words he’d said had jumbled over the months, but the resolute, determined tone he’d used still sat solidly in her ears.
He’d been holding a suitcase, and he lifted it.She’d been reading in bed, as usual.He always came to bed after her, and sometimes he’d pick up her eReader from her chest and put it on the nightstand if she’d fallen asleep.She’d only just gotten started on her adventure romance, the heroine whacking her way through a jungle somewhere, when Nort had caught her attention.
“I’m leaving,” he’d said.She did remember those words.The ones after that tumbled around in her mind, and she shoved against them, trying to get the memory to leave.She hated that her mind had seized onto those few minutes and refused to let them go.She’d love to remember something else, like when her middle child, Ted, had won the fifth-grade spelling bee.She couldn’t even remember what word he’d spelled to win, and that would’ve been worth keeping in her head.
I’ll give you the abbreviated version,she said.Cass is going to ask a million questions.Bessie will think it’s so romantic.Lauren is here, and I’m afraid she’ll change her ticket if I tell her too much.Sage will only encourage me.
None of the things she’d said about her friends were bad.She just wanted truthful, and there was no one better at that than Lauren.
But Joy would also be real, and she’d always helped Bea by posing the right questions in a kind way.
I kissed Grant on the beach, she said.She thought of all the other things she could say—it was magical and thrilling, yetI also have no idea what I’m doing.I’m scared.I’m anxious.I don’t live here.
She drew in a deep breath and re-read the few words she had typed.She wouldn’t send the others, as Joy would get the implication of them anyway.She always listened, and even if she wasn’t in the same room, Bea had known her long enough that she didn’t have to type out everything.
He wants me to meet his twin sister.It’s getting serious, I guess, and I don’t know.Is thiscrazy?
Those three words—that one question—summed up all the turmoil, all the swirling, all the confusion so easily.
