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Is he serious?“There’s nothing to talk about, Noah.”
“We’ve never even had a civilized conversation about what happened.”
“You cheated on me. I caught you with your dick in a woman’s mouth. There’s nothing more to discuss.”
“I made a mistake. A big one. I miss you, Jos. Can’t we talk about it? I’ll do whatever you want to get you to forgive me.”
“It’s not about forgiveness, Noah. It’s about trust.”
“We can rebuild it.”
“No. We can’t. Trust is fragile, like a mirror. Once it’s broken, it’s shattered. Even if you put all the pieces back together, you always see the cracks. It’s never the same. Besides, I’ve learned a lot about myself over the last few months. And I don’t think we were as good of a fit as I made myself believe.”
“That’s not true. We were perfect together.”
It made sense that Noah thought that. I’d never given him any indication that I wasn’t happy before that night in the hospital parking lot. And truthfully, I’d thought I was happy too. But being in therapy and spending time with a man who asked me what I wanted had made me realize I was selling myself short. In a weird way, I was grateful Noah had cheated. Otherwise, I might have settled.
“I have to run. You should use the trip. Go by yourself and do some reflecting.”
“I’m not going without you. I’d be miserable. You can go alone, if you want. I still have your passport. You left it here when I was booking everything.”
I shook my head. “I’m not going to go either, Noah. But I do need my passport.”
“I’ll mail it to you, with the itinerary for the trip, in case you change your mind.”
“I’m not home.”
“I know. You still share your location with me on your iPhone. You don’t know how many times I’ve been tempted to get in the car and drive down to Forty-Six Rosewood Lane to talk to you.”
Oh gosh. I’d obviously given him that access during better times. Now I felt almost violated. I knew what I’d be doing the minute I hung up. “I gotta run, Noah.”
“Can I call you again?”
“I’m sorry. I’d rather you didn’t.”
Not surprising, Noah hung up without saying goodbye after that. He was never tolerant when he didn’t get his way. It was probably only a matter of time before he started to angry spew, so it was for the best. Plus, I needed to get on the road or I’d be late. Though it would have to wait another minute or two—until I figured out how to stop Noah from seeing my location.
***
“There she is!” Opal engulfed me in a hug the minute the hostess brought me to the table. It was only one minute after seven, but I was the last to arrive. “Let me make the introductions. You already met Bettina at her twin sister Bernadette’s house party. And Frannie here works at the post office, so you know her.”
I nodded to both of them. “Hi. It’s good to see you.”
Opal motioned to the last person at the table—the only face I didn’t recognize. “And this here is Elsie Wren.”
The woman stood and extended her hand. “Lovely to meet you. Your father was a dear friend of mine. I was very sad to hear about his passing.”
“Thank you.”
As soon as we sat, the waiter brought over a bottle of wine. Opal looked to me. “We ordered a merlot. Is that okay with you? If not, they have others by the glass.”
“Merlot is great. Thank you.”
Opal leaned over and whispered, “Heard you had some wine this weekend?”
I was pretty shocked that Fox would share that we went away together. When she saw my face, she cackled.
“No, the big galoot didn’t tell me. Porter started dating a schoolteacher recently. Rita—as in Rita’s Beanery and Bettina here’s little sister—happens to live next door to the woman. Porter told the teacher who told Rita who told Bernadette who told Bettina who told me.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe Porter kept it a secret from me. But anywho…” She patted my hand. “I’m happy for you. Fox is a pain in my ass, but he’s a good, loyal man. I love the grumpy butthead. But don’t you go telling him that.”
