Chapter 7
Lina: Say no more. I’m on my way.
Piper: Thank God Jack and I are in town. I wouldn’t have wanted to be away for this. It sounds big.
Bailey: Of course. Be right over there. Piper, do you want me to pick up your preggo ass?
Lina: Haha.
Piper: Obviously. Avery, you had better have snacks. It’s time for my second dinner.
I laugh. I love them so much. My best friends. My sisters.
Me: I’ll make you some breakfast.
Bailey: Mmm breakfast is my favorite.
Me: I know it is.
Lina: I’ll just have a smoothie.
When I tell my friends what I’m about to say, they’ll need more than a smoothie and breakfast to help digest the news.
Poor Piper won’t be able to have a drink either.
Glancing over at my fully stocked wine fridge and then quickly at the whiskey on the counter, I mentally prepare myself for what I’m about to tell them.
Me: See you all soon.
I peel myself off the hardwood floors, wipe my eyes, and deeply breathe. I haven’t told anyone I’ve been secretly married, and I have no idea how to begin the conversation.
I walk into the kitchen, take out an old-fashioned glass, flip off the top to my favorite bourbon, and pour slightly more than I usually would. The first sip travels through my body, blanketing me with heat and comfort.
Shockingly, another tear slips out. Jasper’s emotional hold on me after all these years is infuriating. I have to let him go. I have to let us go.
I stand in my kitchen for an unclear amount of time, filtering through memories of getting hit with that fucking volleyball. Little did I know that summer changed the person I was, and not just because I lost my parents—but because that man changed my brain chemistry.
The building buzzer downstairs goes off. I sprint to my double front doors and let the girls in.
Lina barges through and immediately finds the glass of whiskey on the counter in the kitchen. “Damn, you’ve already started?” She walks over, takes a sip, and grimaces. “I don’t know how you drink this shit.”
“I don’t know how you drink those dirty martinis,” I playfully retort.
“Touché.” She places her hand on her hip. “Bailey and Piper were right behind me.”
“You look so tan from your trip,” I say.
Lina gives me a coy smile. “Bora Bora, baby. And I’m surprised I got any sun at all. Carter and I spent most of the time in our little over-water hut.” She pauses, running her tongue along her teeth. “We fucked everywhere.”
I laugh. “I’m not surprised!”
Just then, Bailey and Piper walk in, wearing workout clothes similar to Lina’s. “Alright, it’s ten o’clock at night, and you’re dressed like you just returned from a fancy dinner. What gives?” Piper comments.
“Should we sit down?” I say, gesturing over to the couch.
Bailey’s eyes narrow. “I have known you for a long time, and you’re never this formal. Your text got me worried, but your demeanor is unsettling.”
Bailey knows me too well. We lived together for four years in college and then again while I was attending flight attendant school. Lina and Piper have concerned expressions.
“Look, I’m safe. But this is a secret that I’ve been keeping for a long time, and I’m finally ready to tell you guys.”
Without a word, all three of my friends slowly enter the living area.
“Wait, I was promised breakfast.” Piper frowns, bringing her legs up and tucking them to the side.
Bailey laughs. “We’ll make your food, but we must hear this first.”
“Okay, but don’t forget I’m growing a human over here,” Piper says.
“We know,” Lina whispers, resting her head on Piper’s shoulder. “Spill it, Avery.”
I sit on the edge of the couch, leaving some distance between me and my friends. I try to gather my thoughts mentally from the words before they hit the air, but the silence is deafening.
“Dave proposed to me tonight.” Sucking in a heavy breath, I prepare to release the secret that I’ve kept safely inside my heart for years. “But I’m already married.”
The color drains from Bailey’s face. “Wait, what?”
Piper’s jaw drops. “I’m sorry. Did I hear you—”
“What?” Lina interrupts, her pupils dilating.
“I know you’ll have many questions, but I need to get this out first.” Rubbing my sweaty palms along the tops of my legs, I take their silence as my cue to begin.
“You guys know my parents passed away when I was seventeen, and I moved to Coconut Grove with my aunt Helen until I started college, right?”
Bailey chews on her lip, and both Lina and Piper slowly nod. I know they’re all fighting back unhinged reactions, but they’ll need to fight their urges longer.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I continue, “So, Jasper and I got married that summer—” Bailey opens her mouth to speak, but I bring one finger to her lips, silencing her.
“We’ve never actually divorced either.” Cocking my head to the side, I wait for their flurry of reactions and questions, but all three of them remain quiet. “Okay, I’m finished.”
Bailey glances at Piper, and then Piper’s eyes dart over to Lina’s.
Lina smashes her lips together and then makes a popping sound while separating them. “Alright, so that’s a lot of information.”
“I need a drink.” Bailey lifts off the couch and heads for the kitchen. She pulls the cork out of the wine, brings it to her mouth, and takes a swig directly from the bottle.
Piper, now the more level-headed one, surprisingly smiles at me. “Well, um, so can we get into how you actually got married and kept it a secret from everyone for years?”
I sigh, feeling the weight of keeping this from my friends for so long. “It’s a very long and emotional story, but the most important thing is that it was hard to keep from you guys.”
Bailey stands in my kitchen with a bottle of wine in one hand and her eyes as wide as saucers. “I can’t believe you kept this from us.” She pauses. “From me.”
I nod. “I’m sorry. You know how I am about opening up.”
“Hyperindependence is not always a good thing, Avery,” Lina adds thoughtfully. “I’ve heard it’s a trauma response.”
Piper pauses, gliding her hand over her growing belly. “We can spend time grilling Avery at a different time.” She shoots me a side-eye, telling me she’s not going to let me get away without a better explanation. “The important thing to address right now is why are you two still married?”
“Dave the Dentist proposed?” Lina laughs, interrupting my train of thought and breaking the intensity of the situation.I roll my eyes. “Yes, he did.”
Lina chuckles under her breath, stifling a laugh.
I jerk my head around. “Seriously?”
She senses my frustration and calms her amusement. “I’m sorry. You know we think he’s a nice guy, but is he for you?”
I roll my eyes again, more drastically this time, and flip my hair in her direction. “He’s a good match for me. I’m not willing to discuss that with you all right now.”
“Fair enough. But the question still stands,” Bailey asks, gripping the neck of the bottle in one hand. “Why didn’t you and Jasper ever divorce?”
I stare at the floor with my mind completely blank. I’m still unsure. I don’t know how to answer her question, so I respond in the most honest way I can. “I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?” Piper challenges.
Lina arches a brow. “This is why.” Then she grabs my wrist and flips it around. “She’s still in love with him.”
“I forgot about your tattoo.” Piper rests her chin on her palm.
I jerk my hand away and stand. “I get that you guys want to go all therapy session on me, but I just need to talk this out.”
Lina walks over to Bailey, removes the wine bottle from her hand, and takes a drink. “Sorry, Avery. We get it.”
“What do you need right now? Advice or love?” Piper asks sympathetically.
I exhale. “Thank you. I have every intention of marrying Dave. But I need to fly to Coconut Grove to see Jasper. I need a divorce.”
Piper grimaces. “Are you even ready for that?”
“You haven’t seen him in what, like seven years or so?” Bailey adds.
“Eight,” I mutter.
Lina’s back behind me. She rubs my shoulder comfortingly. “Do you want me to go with you?”
I shake my head. “This is something I need to do by myself,” I say, then bend and rest my hands on my knees. “I’m just incredibly nervous about it.”
Bailey rests a warm hand on my back, too, just as a glass of whiskey comes into my view. I take it from her hand and gulp the rest of the two ounces.
Piper shuffles over and places her comforting hand on my back as well. “We’ll be here for you, whatever you need.”
“You’re really going to marry Dave the Dentist?” Lina smirks. Bailey, Piper, and I all shoot Lina with the same side-eye. “Okay, okay, one thing at a time. No matter what, you need that divorce.”
“And you both have never tried to contact each other this whole time?” Bailey asks, trying to make sense in her own head why Jasper and I would have let this go on for so long.
I shrug my shoulders. “I’ve never been ready to face him, I guess. It was easier to pretend like it never happened.”
Lina nods. “I get that. Especially since it seems he hasn’t initiated anything either.”
“Yeah. I don’t know if that makes it better or worse?” Bailey gnaws on her lip nervously.
My head hurts. I have a plan and know I must do it as soon as possible. Thank goodness I have saved quite a bit of vacation time.
“Thank you.” I smile, grabbing Lina and Piper’s hands while Bailey wraps her arms around me. “Now, let’s make some breakfast.”
“Yes, queen!” Piper chants, pulling away to clap excitedly.
“And then we need to figure out how we can get you a divorce,” Lina calls out, grabbing my laptop and taking a seat at the bar. “It shouldn’t be that hard, right?”
Piper scrunches her nose, straining to get into the chair next to Lina. “Don’t forget, she needs a place to stay too.”
I remove a pan from the cupboard while Bailey grabs eggs and cheese from the refrigerator. “You know, we could run the world, right?”
Lina glances up from the top of my computer. “Obviously.”
Bailey and I cook breakfast at almost midnight while Lina and Piper take care of my travel arrangements.
Thank god for these women.