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Being the strong woman she was, she composed herself by the time the elevator doors opened. When they did, she walked without turning her head to the lobby doors and pulled out her cell phone. As usual, when she tried to call her husband, Daniel didn’t answer. Normally it didn’t bother her, but today, it did. She didn’t need to lean on him often, but at this moment she absolutely did.
Jeanette walked the few blocks home, keeping her face composed as she weaved through the side streets and into the suburban cul-de-sac where she and Daniel lived. By the time she reached the front door, her sadness was clawing at her throat, and as she opened it, she called for her husband.
“Daniel? Daniel, where are you?” she asked, walking through their house. “Daniel, you won’t believe what just happened—OH MY GOD! DANIEL!”
Jeanette’s normally soft tone reached a rare strangled shout of surprise as she saw her husband of twenty-two years scrambling to pull on his pants. On their couch, looking like a scared mouse, was a woman half her age, trying desperately to pull her blouse on the right way. The composure she’d been able to cling to while losing her job was suddenly gone, with no extra scrap of it to spare, and Jeanette felt herself start to become undone.
“Sweetheart, please, I can explain,” Daniel pleaded, still struggling with his jeans. “This isn’t what it—”
“If you finish that sentence, I will have no choice but to get violent,” Jeanette cut him off, her tone deadly. Her steely glance passed over the woman again, and despite everything, she simply rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“I’m going to go stay at Carmen’s,” she told him, walking toward the stairs, “and your lady friend had better be gone by the time I’m finished packing.”
“Jeanette, please, wait,” Daniel pleaded, ignoring her warning and following her. She turned suddenly on the steps, startling Daniel so much that he nearly lost his balance and fell backward.
“You and I will talk later, Daniel, I promise you that. But you picked a horrible one to get caught being a trash husband. Now please, stay away from me.”
1
“Mom, this is so exciting!” Carmen squealed, pouring Jeanette another glass of white wine.
“It totally is, Miss Jeanette,” Franny, Carmen’s roommate agreed, holding her glass up so she could get a refill.
“Thanks, girls,” Jeanette replied, accepting the fresh, full second glass of wine. “I can’t tell you how much I’ve appreciated your support these last few weeks. Not just letting me crash here, but listening to me whine, making me go out, letting me mother you—probably a little too much.” She added the last part with a grimace, and Carmen and Franny were quick to assure her that it wasn’t too much at all.
It had been a little over a month since the day her world had come to a screeching halt. And, after a decent amount of crying, and just a dash of self-pity, Jeanette was ready to move on. Carmen and Franny had welcomed her with open arms and had immediately offered to let her stay as long as she needed. Although she appreciated the offer very much, she knew she couldn’t just sit and wallow on her daughter’s couch.
She had called her cousins Whitney and Amanda on a lark one night a week or so ago when Franny and Carmen were out on dates and she was dwelling on her sadness alone. It had been years since she’d spoken to them, but only because life had gotten busy. So, when they picked up her Facetime call, she was relieved when they both smiled at her instantly and asked her how she’d been.
“Oh, honey, that is awful!” Amanda gasped, her big, cornflower blue eyes misting over with tears. She was a sweet, sensitive soul, her cousin Amanda. Whitney, her little sister, however, was a little rougher around the edges.
“Do we need to come up there and help make Daniel disappear?” Whitney had asked, completely serious.
Jeanette had felt better talking to the two of them instantly, and soon they were calling one another almost every night. That was how she had found out poor Aunt Miriam had passed recently, and in her trust, had left her beloved bed and breakfast, The Sea Glass Cottage, to them. At first, when they had invited her to move back to the coastal hamlet of Provincetown, Jeanette had politely declined.
But gradually, as Amanda and Whitney told her about the disrepair the old place was in, and how they wanted to revamp it, Jeanette’s interest began to pique. When she’d left Provincetown and married Daniel, she promised herself she wouldn’t go back. Her childhood had been…tricky at best, and her teenage years had been a blur of tears. That was a long time ago, though, and with Amanda and Whitney’s excellent skills of persuasion, Jeanette found herself changing her mind.
Tomorrow, she would be taking a flight from Montréal–Trudeau International Airport to the Boston-Logan International Airport, where Amanda and Whitney would be picking her up. Then, after a two-hour ferry ride, she would be back in Provincetown. It was a massive move, she knew. But somehow, she knew it was necessary.
“You two are still planning to come to visit next month, right?” Jeanette asked Carmen and Franny. “Amanda and Whitney said it’ll be at least two months before the renovations are done and then they don’t get many guests during the winter season, so there will be plenty of room.”
“Absolutely,” Carmen agreed. “I’ve been reading up on Massachusetts, and all of the tourist sites say September is the perfect time to visit.”
“Ooh, do you think we could pay a visit to Salem?” Franny asked, her brown eyes lighting up with excitement. “I’ve always wanted to go there.”
“It’s a bit of a hike, but if you don’t mind, I don’t see why not,” Jeanette replied cheerily.
For the next few hours, the three women talked excitedly about Jeanette’s new adventure as they finished packing her things. She didn’t have a lot. After finding out the real details of Daniel’s affair, Jeanette had lost interest in keeping most of the things from her former life. She’d kept her extensive clothing and shoe collection—bought and paid for on her own dime and the few family heirlooms she’d kept over the years. But everything else stayed behind with Daniel.
She figured she didn’t need much else anyway, at least not for a while. The Sea Glass Cottage had a commercial kitchen that Amanda had said was outdated but fully functional, and since there were no guests, she’d have full range to utilize the common rooms. They were going to allow her to stay in one of the guest rooms through the winter season, but if she chose to stay with them after that, she’d have to stay in one of the employee rooms in the attic area. Jeanette wasn’t sure if she was going to stay permanently yet or not, but she loved that they weren’t rushing her to make a decision.
“Okay, Mom, I think you’re all set,” Carmen said, rolling tape over the last box. “Franny and I will be shipping these out for you right after we drop you off at the airport. Do you need any help with your suitcase?”
Jeanette shook her head as she wrapped one arm around Carmen and the other around Franny.
“Nope, I got that covered. Thank you both so much. Not just for helping me pack, but for letting me come here and being there for me. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”
Both of the young women hugged her back tightly.
