Chapter 14 Jade #2
‘Oh, heck no. The hit barely fazed the bully, and he got my husband back ten times more. But the bully never bothered that boy again, and it made me realise my husband was a good person. He stuck up for someone who couldn’t stick up for themselves.
So, I say, find a mate who’s a good person.
’ She adjusted in the seat. ‘Now, last time I was here, I forgot to tell you about my youngest granddaughter. Oh boy, did she get herself into a pickle this week …’
After the final roller was tucked away, Jade moved back to her office to take a break. Mrs Dieterman would be under the dryer for a decent chunk of time, and she could use this time not only to get caught up on paperwork but also to decide what she was going to do about dinner tonight.
She sifted through a stack of mail on her desk when a letter caught her eye and her breath hitched.
Elizabeth. Whatever it was, she didn’t want to see it.
Besides calling, Elizabeth had sent emails, which Jade used all brute force in the universe to delete without reading. But a letter seemed so formal. Legal.
Thinking of their time together still made her belly thicken, although the pain of the break-up had vanished. She didn’t want to open the envelope. But she had to see what the letter said.
She ripped it open.
Jade, I hope all is well with you. I will keep this quick. I have tried countless methods to get a hold of you and cannot. So, a letter it is! Please. I need to talk to you to discuss an urgent matter. Will you call me? Thank you. -Liz
Shit. Jade closed her eyes. Whatever Elizabeth needed, it must actually be important. Jade had to deal with this, whatever it was. And even though she had lingering bitterness towards Elizabeth, she cared for her former in-laws. If this letter was about them, she wanted to know.
Jade picked up the phone. Elizabeth answered in one ring.
‘Elizabeth.’ Jade held her voice firm, professional, and short.
‘It’s so good to hear your voice,’ Elizabeth said, and Jade could tell by the sound of her voice that she was smiling. ‘How are you?’
‘Cut the bullshit. You don’t care. What do you want?’ Maybe a little harsh, but pleasantries were the last thing Jade needed right now.
‘That’s unfair and you know it. I will always care about how you’re doing.’
Several long moments passed without another word, and Jade’s chest heated.
Why was Elizabeth clamming up now? Was she waiting for Jade to ask probing questions and pull it out of her?
Jade didn’t have time for this. She needed to free herself, sage the air, and move back to thinking about Lucy.
‘Just spit it out. What’s so urgent?’ A moment passed, and Jade contemplated actually hanging up the phone this time.
But that might lead to more letters, and Jade would rather deal with this now and be done than prolong it.
‘I hate to do this, but I need a favour. A huge one.’
Jade almost laughed. During their marriage, it was painfully obvious that Elizabeth didn’t need one single thing from Jade.
After the honeymoon period wore off, Jade felt rejected, useless, dismissed.
She was never the top priority – or any priority at all, really.
She slumped on the chair and drummed her fingertips on the desk. ‘What do you need?’
‘I need you to write a statement testifying I’ll be a good mother.’ Elizabeth’s powerhouse voice sounded meek and rushed.
‘You’re fucking kidding me.’
‘Please.’ The pleading was a rarity. Jade had only heard it once or twice during their relationship – the last time was when Jade slammed her car door and took off for Minnesota.
She assumed that Elizabeth would have already gotten a kid by now. Sure, Jade had no idea how long the process took. But well over a year and a half had passed since the ‘I filed for adoption knowing that it meant saying goodbye to you’ bombshell.
None of this made sense. Of all the people in the world who could testify on Elizabeth’s behalf, why choose Jade when they didn’t even part amicably? ‘I don’t understand.’
Elizabeth exhaled a long breath. ‘The first adoption agency had some issues. You remember them, right?’
Remember? It’s why they divorced.
‘Without boring you to death on details, I applied with another agency, and our divorce obviously came up in the background check. And my God, they are thorough. I swear they were about ready to ask me for my blood type and previous sexual partners. Remember when we applied for our first mortgage and how much documentation we had to supply? That times ten.’
Jade couldn’t help but flash back to the place where the newlyweds with knotted stomachs and sweaty palms jumped, skipped, and damn near bulldozed through every hoop imaginable to get a first-time home buyer loan. ‘I’m still not tracking. Why me?’
‘The adoption lawyer felt a statement from you – my ex – declaring I’d be a good mom, that I don’t have any anger or substance abuse issues, et cetera, would strengthen my case.’ The silence that followed was long. ‘Please, Jade. I wouldn’t ask this unless it was absolutely critical.’
Jade wanted to yell You destroyed our marriage for this! She didn’t want to help Elizabeth. Jade owed her nothing. But deep down, somewhere low and uncomfortable, Jade knew that if Elizabeth put half as much effort into being a mom as she did becoming a mom, she’d nail it.
Jade pushed back from the table, her chair screeching against the floor.
Her chest was hot, tight, and her breaths felt like sludge in her lungs.
She needed to leave the space, step into the sunshine, and end this conversation.
After one more quiet plea from Elizabeth, Jade squeezed her eyes shut. ‘I’ll see what I can do.’
Elizabeth sighed. ‘Thank you, sincerely. If there’s anything I can ever do for you—’
‘There’s not.’
A pause followed. ‘Well, thank you again. I hope you’re happy, Jade. Truly. I miss you. More than you know.’
The words depleted the surrounding air. Jade hung up without responding, paced the small office, and fanned her face. Dammit. She needed to purge Elizabeth. After swallowing back a full glass of water, she powered on her laptop and hit the keyboard with the fury of a million bullets.
To whom it may concern,
Elizabeth Fleming and I were married for eight years, together for eleven.
We divorced amicably after a fundamental difference of opinion.
Throughout the marriage, and divorce, Elizabeth always held herself with integrity and fairness.
She displayed empathy and kindness as we went on our separate life paths.
Please use this as the strongest recommendation I can provide in support of Elizabeth’s application for adoption.
Sincerely, Jade Hudson
She slammed the laptop shut, wrapped her arms around her bent legs, and dropped her head onto her knees.
So many moments passed that Jade started to get a kink in her neck. She breathed out, exhaling the final string tying herself to Elizabeth, inhaling what felt like a new, clean slate, the beginning of something different. Soon, a grin spread at the lightness in her chest.
She was officially free. She grabbed her phone and typed.
Jade: Just to set expectations, is this your nice way of asking if I’ll pop you in the butt again?
Lucy: Well, when you put it like that …
Lucy: I wanted to thank you for coming to my booty rescue last night. And if that leads to another popping, well, then so be it.
Jade: Are you still scared to do it on your own?
Lucy: Yes.
Lucy: But that’s not why I am asking you for dinner.
The spring in Jade’s chest amplified into a full backflip, topped with a somersault. But then it nose-dived.
She could do dinner. She was an adult, just like Lucy.
They both had to eat, and it might be nice not to eat alone.
They had great conversation, and she liked Lucy’s company.
Jade even liked her dog, and she was not a dog person.
And this whole interaction with Elizabeth had not rattled Jade, at least not as much as she thought.
Right? Yes, she was pretty sure. She felt better, not worse, and maybe having dinner would be just what she needed to prove, to herself, to the universe, that this ‘Elizabeth’ chapter in her life was officially closed.
Jade: Dinner sounds great. Pick you up at 6?
A few hours later, after Jade’s last client left for the day, she tore out of the salon and flew down the road.
Pulling up to the stoplight, she tapped her fingers against the steering wheel.
Her skin still itched from the haircut earlier in the morning.
She needed a hot shower and a fresh change of clothes before her date tonight.
It’s not a date. It’s not a date.
She couldn’t date Lucy. Lucy was about to get pregnant, for God’s sake. If an award existed for the literal worst time ever to fall for someone, pretty sure it would be on the cusp of that someone getting knocked up.
But she could have dinner, stare at Lucy’s cherry lips, and indulge in her bubbly personality. And then shake it all off and commit to being friends.
Damn her legs tingling with the idea of spending more time with Lucy. Later, Jade needed to have a serious sit down with her body and tell it to stop doing all this fluttery bullshit. Because one thing was absolutely clear – she could not allow her feelings to mess with her good judgement.