17. Meg
CHAPTER 17
MEG
B eing up so early, Meg figured she would make breakfast for everyone. Her mom had disappeared back to bed for another hour or so, and then her dad had wandered out. And everything seemed kind of normal again. Not that any of this felt super normal… but it felt nice .
Maybe they weren’t all going to be holding hands and skipping through daisies anytime soon. But after having that conversation with her mom, there was a weight off of Meg’s chest that she hadn’t known was there. A forgiveness that smoothed out plenty of rough edges in their relationship in one fell swoop. And because her thoughts were constantly returning to Nash, she started thinking about forgiving him . Maybe she should be brave and be the one to reach out, to rip off the Band-Aid and actually talk about things. The more time she spent away from the ranch, the more she wanted to go running straight back.
The number of life-changing realizations Meg was having this week were starting to give her a headache.
Sitting at the table, having breakfast with her dad, Meg marveled over the fact that he still read a physical newspaper.
“I didn’t know you could still buy newspapers?” she said. “Who sells them? A merchant by the side of the road? A small boy shouting the headlines and asking for a penny?”
“I have a subscription,” said Vic, not once taking his eyes from the page. “Would you like the crossword pages or not?”
Of course he had a subscription. That would be the most economical way to get newspapers, after all. Meg held out her hand despite herself. It wasn’t like she had anything better to do. Vic extracted the pages neatly and passed them over to Meg. Rebecca emerged at some point, looking ready for the day, and they all sat together like it was some sort of postcard for a strong family unit.
“I love you very much, Meggy,” said Rebecca. “But this is… strange.”
“We’ve been having a very enjoyable morning,” Vic said, peering at his wife through his eyeglasses, ready to deflect a potential fight.
“No, it is strange,” Meg said. “Enjoyable and strange.”
“As long as you two are agreeing,” Vic said, sounding exasperated. “That’s all I can really ask for, isn’t it.”
Meg got bored with the crossword she was working on and flipped over the page to find a different one. Her heart sank through the floor.
There was a half-page advertisement for the hillside buildings, complete with the photos she and Nash had taken. They looked great; they really did. It looked exactly how they had envisioned. Nash had clearly taken steps to get things advertised in order to get bookings coming in. The thought that she wasn’t there helping stabbed Meg through the ribs. She wasn’t mad at him though, not anymore. Now she was mad at herself. She could easily reach out, call or text or drive back there. She just didn’t know how. And seeing everything they had worked on together printed out in front of her was like the universe giving her the most literal sign it could think of.
Her mom looked at her over the top of her coffee cup, her eyebrow raised as usual, this time with curiosity.
“Meg?”
“Still need to catch up on some sleep, I think,” Meg said with a half-hearted attempt at a smile. She left the newspaper page on the table and retreated to her room.
She flopped down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Even though the advertisement was still out in the kitchen, she could clearly see it, imprinted into her mind like her brain had photocopied it. The photos had turned out great. It looked bright and fresh and inviting, just what they had been going for.
Going back to the ranch was out of the question. Her knees felt unstable at the thought of it. Not to mention she knew that if she were to make the drive out of town towards the ranch, she would find any excuse she could to turn her truck around and drive back in the opposite direction.
But she should call him… right? Or text. Something. The more time that passed, the more Meg had been able to really think about Nash’s perspective in all of this, which is what she should have been doing a whole lot sooner. He’d been a stupid kid, trying to protect her, trying to do what was best for her. Meg was the one with a chip on her shoulder about getting bossed around.
And since the conversation with her mom… well, that had added a whole new layer to it as well. Her parents weren’t the villains; they never had been. Meg had known that deep down. But seeing how upset it had made her mom to learn just how badly it had affected her over the years… it made Meg a million times more forgiving than she had ever been before.
She had just managed to repair everything with Nash, to reconnect. So what now? She was going to throw it all away because he’d gone about things the wrong way when he was still just a confused kid? That was petty, if nothing else.
So yeah, the more time that passed, the more she realized that she needed him in her life, maybe more than ever. The problem was that the more time that passed it was becoming harder and harder to reach out, to smooth things over and try and fix it all over again. She was scared; there was no use in denying it. Maybe she was just a coward, and maybe she was an emotionally unavailable workaholic. Maybe she was both. Probably both.
Meg crept back out of her room towards noon, mentally exhausted from turning over everything in her head all morning. She needed lunch, and if that involved pasta, bread or potatoes, even better. Her dad joined her, quiet as always but seemingly happy just to spend some time with her. It didn’t help Meg’s mood, thinking about how her mom must have told him about their talk. Hurting either of her parents hadn’t been her intention.
“I have made a decision,” Rebecca said, entering the room and making her announcement with fanfare.
Both Meg and Vic looked up from what they were doing and blinked at her before shooting a glance at each other. Vic just shrugged because apparently, he had no idea what was happening either. Meg couldn’t help herself and took the bait.
“A decision?” she asked, feeling like she was poking a beehive with a stick.
“Yes. We are going to go on a girls’ trip together.” Rebecca nodded like she was adding a full stop to her sentence.
“Oh, okay,” Meg said, trying to inject as much enthusiasm as she could muster into her voice. Not that she thought it was a bad idea; it was just a little out of left field, was all. But after last night, the last thing Meg wanted to do was reject an olive branch that was extended towards her.
“When are we going to do that?” she asked while her dad watched on, silent and amused.
“Today,” Rebecca said, with another nod of her head.
“Today?”
“This afternoon, to be more precise.”
“That’s… sudden.”
“You need a pick-me-up,” her mom said, smoothing her already smooth hair. “And there’s no better pick-me-up than a girls’ trip. It will be good for the both of us. Work has been simply tiresome this past month.”
“Well, I’m sorry to hear that, Mom. So a getaway, okay. But, uh, where are we going?”
“Think of it as a surprise. I’ve sorted the whole thing,” she said with a flap of her hand. “I’ll drive. You don’t have to worry about a thing. Check-in is at two. Pack your bag, and we’ll head off.”
“I only have work clothes. Farm clothes. I don’t have anything nice with me, Mom.”
“Nonsense. I saw that lovely dress in the laundry yesterday. It’s all ironed and hanging up for you. No need to thank me.”
“Okay…”
Without further ado, Rebecca flounced out of the room, presumably to go and pack her own bag for their trip. Meg and her dad shared another look. He seemed just as clueless as she was.
“She’s in a good mood,” he said dryly. “I guess you’re going on a vacation?”
“I guess so,” said Meg. “And I guess I’m wearing that dress. I can’t believe she ironed it…”
“I don’t think I’ve seen her use an iron in twenty years. So, yes, dear, I think you should wear the dress.”
“I’ll eat before I change, then,” Meg said, determined to at least finish her lunch before her mother could spirit her away to God knew where.