Chapter 24
Knock, knock!” Lucy let herself into Abbey’s house.
After their conversation, Rob called and invited Kaylee to join him and Lola for shopping and a movie in Dundrum. As soon as Kaylee was gone, Lucy rushed to Abbey’s, anxious to share everything that transpired with Aidan.
“Lucy?” Abbey called from the living room.
“Yeah, hope it’s okay to barge in on you.” Lucy dropped her purse on the kitchen counter and shook out of her jacket. “I figured we could have some sister time since Rob and Lola were out of the house. Plus, I presumed you’d call me any minute begging for all the dirty details of my talk with Aidan last night.”
Lucy walked into the living room and froze. Abbey sat on the couch, shoulders hunched forward. A small pile of balled-up tissue lay strewn across the coffee table.
Lucy rushed toward the couch. “Abbey? What’s wrong?”
Abbey sniffed and looked up at her sister. Her eyes were red-rimmed and watery. “Rob and I talked,” she whispered before bursting into tears.
Lucy was dumbfounded. She sat beside Abbey on the couch and waited for her to continue.
Abbey held a scrunched-up tissue and wiped it under her nose.
“Sorry, I’m a mess,” Abbey said, sniffing.
Lucy reached over and placed her hand on Abbey’s knee. “What happened?”
Abbey shrugged. “He came home last night very excited; he got a new promotion. It’s a traveling consultant job. He’ll be traveling to all your corporate clients, telling them how to improve their IT. Or something like that; I don’t speak computer language.”
Lucy nodded. “I know what you’re saying.”
“Good.” Abbey huffed out a laugh. “Anyway, I lost it. I couldn’t hold back any longer. I explained how we hardly ever see him now, and if he took that promotion, we would spend weeks apart.”
Tears filled Abbey’s eyes. “You know what he said?”
Lucy bit her lip and shook her head, not sure she wanted to hear the answer.
“He said he already accepted the promotion.” Abbey’s lip quivered. “He said it wasn’t up for discussion. He starts on Monday, leaving in the afternoon for a week. He didn’t even talk to me first; he just took the promotion and planned a trip without consulting me.”
Lucy’s eyes widened; that was bold, even for Rob.
Tears spilled from her eyes and trailed down her cheeks. “That caused a dam to break, and I snapped. We got in a huge fight. Luckily, the girls weren’t here. They were invited for ice cream at Julia’s house; I hope that’s okay.”
Lucy waved it away. “Of course.”
Abbey shook her head quickly. “Anyway, we fought. I know it was a long time coming, and I should have forced the conversation before, but I was scared. I was scared it would turn into a major blow-up, and it did. It was.”
“Oh, Abbey.”
“I told him everything,” Abbey continued, sniffing. “I asked him if it was too late to change his mind on the promotion. I told him maybe it would be helpful if he was home more.”
Abbey paused, shutting her eyes and releasing a waterfall of tears.
“He said he didn’t want that.” Abbey’s voice shook. “He didn’t want to be home more.”
Lucy blew out a breath, grasping Abbey’s knee, urging her to keep talking.
“I told him if he went, things would only get worse between us. He agreed. So, I asked him if he even wanted to fix things, and he shrugged. He didn’t even give me a proper answer, just a shrug.”
Abbey lost control; her shoulders shook as she cried. “I asked if he even cared about me anymore.” She struggled to cry and speak simultaneously. “He didn’t know.”
Dropping her head into her hands, she cried tiny wails she could no longer hold back.
Lucy felt her insides crumble as tears filled her own eyes. All the pain Abbey had tried to hide was finally at the surface and bubbling over. The truth she longed to hide, mostly from herself, was now out in the open. Lucy felt all the pain and sadness right along with Abbey.
“I’m sorry,” Lucy said, the only words she could think of.
After a few long moments, Abbey sniffed. Lucy handed her a fresh tissue from the box in the center of the table.
“Thanks,” she said quietly. “He left.”
“What?” Lucy asked, shocked. “I just saw him.”
“Last night,” Abbey told her. “He said he couldn’t do this anymore. He admitted things were broken between us but didn’t know if they were worth fixing. I guess he needed more space from me, so he packed a bag and left. He texted this morning that he wanted to spend the day with Lola.”
“He came early to take her to her Rugby match. I’m sorry, Kaylee went home early. I told her she could stay, but she wanted to go. I should have warned you, but I was a mess. I didn’t sleep at all last night.”
“Why didn’t you call me?” Lucy asked. “I would have come for Kaylee and Lola, given you the chance to talk more to Rob.”
“He was done talking at that point.”
“I could have been here for you,” Lucy protested. “You know I would have.”
Abbey shook her head. “You had your own issues to work through.” Abbey took a fresh tissue and blew her nose. “I’ll need to hear all about that, by the way.”
“I’ve done more than my share of talking,” Lucy said. “It’s your turn.”
Abbey pushed up from the couch. “No! It’s enough for me right now. I’ve been crying non-stop all morning, going over and over the argument, wondering if I could have said something different. I need a break from it.”
Before Lucy could protest further, Abbey moved into the kitchen.
“I need coffee and a change of subject.” Abbey pulled two mugs from the cupboard. “I want to hear about your night with Aidan. I’m assuming from the glow on your face and the way you burst in here this morning, your meeting went all night?”
Lucy blushed. “Yes. But, Abbey, I’ve been talking non-stop about my complicated love life while ignoring your struggles. We can talk about me and Aidan later.”
“No!” Abbey said firmly. “I told you, I don’t want to talk about my failing marriage. I don’t want to cry anymore. It’s too new and raw, and it hurts.”
Abbey turned to the coffee machine, absently wiping at her eyes. “Please, Lucy, just for now, can we drop it?”
“Are you sure?” Lucy asked, her eyes full of concern as she looked toward her sister.
“I’m sure,” Abbey said softly, popping a pod into the top of the machine. “I don’t want to cry. I want to laugh and smile and live vicariously through you. Now, tell me every dirty detail, and don’t you dare leave a single thing out.”
Over coffee, Lucy recanted her evening with Aidan, from the nervous pacing to the openly honest conversation that transpired.
“Wow, he really called you out,” Abbey said, impressed. “It’s rare for a man to be that intuned with his emotions, at least in my experience.”
Lucy nodded. “I never even thought about how my actions would affect him. I was pretty selfish.”
Abbey shrugged. “It comes with experience, I guess. But, didn’t I tell you he really liked you all along?”
“I know.” Lucy hung her head. “You said it from the start, and it turned out to be true.”
“Where do you go from here?” Abbey turned serious. “I hope you made some smart decisions.”
Lucy smiled. “We’re going to do this thing the grown-up way. Starting slow.”
Abbey let out a loud laugh. “Slow? You two are way past slow. Did you end the night naked?”
Lucy’s face flushed. “Okay, maybe not that slow.” She sipped her coffee. “I’m no good at relationships. I’ve been with Jeremy for as long as I can remember. I have so much to learn, and I hope Aidan can be patient.”
“He loves you, Lucy.” Abbey gave her a knowing look. “He’s been all in from the start, I’d say. It may take some work to make the relationship last for the long haul, but I think he’ll take the good with the bad as long as he gets to be with you. Just remember to be patient with yourself, give yourself a break if you mess up, and always be willing to apologize for your mistakes.”
“You’ll be the first person I’ll come to for relationship advice, trust me,” Lucy promised.
Abbey stared into her coffee. “I’m not sure I’m the best person for that.”
“You are, Abbey. Simply because things are difficult right now doesn’t mean you failed. You and Rob were together for thirteen years? And who’s to say this arrangement isn’t just a temporary setback?”
Abbey shook her head. “I can’t make him want me, and he doesn’t seem to want me anymore.”
“Things can change with time,” Lucy reminded her. “But that doesn’t mean you should give up living in the meantime.”
Abbey shrugged again. “One day at a time, I guess.”
“Sorry, I know you wanted a good laugh.” Lucy changed the subject. “So, let me tell you about the moment Kaylee walked in on us.”