AllFreeNovel
Share Us
There.
“Cut ties withme?” Leigh asked.
“Not you. With writing. With the career I had. With Devon. I’m working through things, still not very smoothly, and I . . . I don’t know what my life is supposed to look like now. I need to figure that out.”
She expected she would cry at this point, but she wasn’t. In fact, it felt strangely liberating.
“Have you thought about writing about the healing process? I can see your loyal readers—and people who haven’t read you yet—being drawn to a candid memoir about what you’ve faced and how you’re working through it. It could be a wonderful way for them to connect with you on a whole other, more personal level.”
“You might be right and I’m not ruling out the idea, but this is private. It’s too close, and it’s too soon. I won’t be able to make sense of anything if I write about it in real time—I don’t have any perspective yet.”
“You used to tell me writing helped you gain perspective, to make sense of things.”
“It used to, before. Maybe I will write about it at some point, but for now I need time away. I need to not have an obligation to a publisher. Or to readers. Or to you. Can you talk to Nely, get me released from the contract? Of course, I’ll return the advance they’ve already paid.”
“I’m afraid it’s not quite that simple. The contract was for three books, and they are going to want all three.”
“Well, tell them. Explain the situation again. I can’t pull it out of a hat. I’ll give back the money—what else can they expect?”
“That you fulfill the three-book contract by delivering the third book.”
Their server paused at the table, evidently realizing it wasn’t a good time to ask about dessert. Instead, she deftly removed their plates and left.
“Okay, here’s the thing. I’m not going to deliver a third book, and I will return whatever money they already paid for it. Since my magic has gone away, I need you to work yours.”
With Leigh, sometimes you had to draw a clear line in the sand, and right now Quinn was grateful for the stubbornness—it forced her to clearly state the decision she had danced around in her mind and hesitated to say aloud.
The subtle drop of Leigh’s face told Quinn she got it. “So have you thought about what you’ll do? I’m asking that as a friend, not your agent.”
“To some degree. First, I want to downsize, sell the house. The money will last longer that way and give me time to figure things out.”
“I’m shocked to hear you say that—you love that house.”
“I do. We did. It felt big before, but now it’s a gigantic echo chamber. All that space is full of memories. Happy ones, which just makes me miss him even more.”
“Where will you go?”
“Not far. I want to have access to the city, so somewhere else on the island, or maybe the Hudson Valley, not sure yet.” She put her hand on Leigh’s arm. “I have to meet a good friend for lunch regularly, so it can’t be too far.”
Now Leigh’s eyes looked watery, a rare show of feeling. “I know I’ve pressured you, but it’s only because I know how strong you are. When terrible things happen, we have to keep pressing forward. I hated to see you wallow.”
Wallow?
It was hopeless. Leigh would never fully get it, as much as she thought she did. “You’ve done a lot to try to help, even when I did my best to push you away.”
Leigh dabbed her eyes with the corner of her napkin. “Okay, enough. One more thing, though . . .”
The server brought their check, and Leigh put a credit card down without opening the bill folio. “It’s on me. You’re on a budget now.”
As they walked to their cars, Quinn remembered something. “What were you going to tell me right before we got the check?”
Leigh glanced sideways at her with a crafty grin. “The one more thing was . . . You’ll say it’s too soon, but you know me—I have a thought and I spit it out. Last week at the party, I told you, Jonathan asked how you were. He looked so genuinely concerned, and, I don’t know, he seems different.
“More mature. More settled, maybe? Like he’s not trying to prove anything anymore. So I thought I would have you two over for dinner one night, at somefuturetime when you feel ready. Don’t say anything now, just keep the idea in the back of your mind.”
A smile crept across Quinn’s face as she faced Leigh. “We’ve been in touch. He’s been pretty wonderful, a good friend.”
Leigh nodded approvingly at that.
