Chapter Thirty-One
“W e missed you last week, dear.”
My mom greeted me at the door, and I gave her a hug. Most times, the scar wasn’t visible anymore; I’d gotten so used to it, I hardly even noticed. But once in a while, like today, when the sun hit her face just right, I could see.
“I missed everyone too, Mom.”
“Hey, Jills,” Perry called from the dining room. “Come and look at these with us.”
I went through the kitchen and into the adjoining room where she and Stephen had a bunch of cards spread out on the table.
My brother eyed me over. “How’re you doing, sis?”
“Great!” I sat down next to them. I had no clue how much he knew about my recent events. “So, what do we have here?”
Frank wandered in, and I stood up to greet him before he resumed his post in the kitchen. It already smelled wonderful, as always. He loved creating these family meals for us, and it showed.
“Our advice from the engagement party.”
“Isn’t it bad luck to read them now or something?” I said.
“Where’d you get that idea?” Perry laughed. “It’s not a wedding dress, although I don’t believe in that superstition either.” She handed me a handful of cards. “We have the usual stuff: Don’t go to bed angry, keep your own interests, find a reason to fall in love every day. Things like that. But some are frickin’ hysterical.”
I looked at one that made me smile. Keep the fights clean and the sex dirty. My mind instantly bounced to Chase. I hadn’t been fair to him, almost felt like I’d thrown his declaration of love back in his face. Maybe not fair, but necessary.
“Jills?” I snapped out it and looked at her. “You okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Your wife won’t say, ‘what?’ because she didn’t hear you,” Stephen read. “She’s only saying that to give you a chance to change your answer.”
“Good thing we’re so perfect together, honey.” Perry gave him a big smack on the cheek. “I do like the ‘always fight naked’ advice.” She waggled her eyebrows. “But I suppose we’d never leave the house then, and we’d always be fighting.”
Perry snuggled up on his lap. “Any wedding stuff I can help you with yet?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Believe me, you’ll be the first to know. You’re not getting out of anything.” She grabbed another card. “Here’s one for you, Jills. Never trust marriage advice from someone who’s done it more than three times. Hmm… I seem to recall telling you something similar about Mabel.”
“Michelle.”
“Right.”
I picked up one that mentioned something about a soulmate but put it back without reading the whole thing. I decided only to stick with the funny ones and forego anything serious or heartfelt. It was a good plan. I ended up having a great time, and it was exactly what I needed. Lots of laugher, and an Alfredo sauce that gave my stomach an orgasm was a winning combination. I’m not sure what I’d do without my family.
Perry pulled me aside afterward. “Is Mike packing his bags? It’s been six days.”
“No, he’s still working it out with Candace.”
“Seriously?” She rolled her eyes. “Boot his ass out tomorrow.”
I brought her into the sunroom, and we sat down on the couch. The others were far enough away, but I wanted more privacy. “It’s really not that bad. He’s gone at the office a lot, and when he is there, it’s been nice reminiscing about Daniel.” I didn’t mention my two-day temper tantrum.
“And what if Chase comes around and sees him living there?” No. I did not want to talk about this. That wouldn’t happen because we were over. “I saw him yesterday.”
It felt like a shock wave crashed over me. “What? Oh, no, Perry. Tell me you didn’t.”
“Settle down.” She placed her hand over mine. “I wasn’t there to pry. The prize, remember?” Like she couldn’t have disregarded that he won. He would have never known. “I went up to the school and gave him a beer stein. No biggie. But I have to tell you, he looked like shit warmed over.”
“Shit’s already warm. Bad metaphor.” My heart would not calm down, racing as fast as it could to the finish line. I wanted to hear everything. Every little detail. But what would that accomplish?
Perry shook her head and rolled her eyes again. “I think you get what I’m trying to say. He looked like you should right now, like he was half dead. At least he’s doing things the right way and mourning you instead of skipping through the tulips.”
“God, Perry. No one died. Neither of us should be in mourning.” I thought of Hazel and wondered how she was doing. “Did you go into the classroom?”
“No, I found out what time he was done, then waited outside. There was this blonde bitch there giving me the stink eye when she saw me talking to him. I wanted to run her over.”
I laughed. “That’s Cassie. She has a thing for him.” Maybe she’d get a chance to do something about it now. Would Chase be receptive? He said he wasn’t interested before, but that could all change now. Little daggers shot into my chest. I hoped the tips were poisoned, so I’d go comfortably numb.
“You’re not hiding it very well, Jills. You can’t stand the thought of anyone else being with him. Not when he was meant for you.”
“Just stop it, Perry, okay? Please?”
“I’m trying to be patient with you, but I think this is all a huge mistake. This is not the time for you to be stubborn and let him get away.”
“The only mistake was letting him into my heart to begin with.”
And the only right thing I did was let him go.