“It’s really not.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. If I get my own place, it feels like abandoning them. Tyler needs support with Stella. She’s just starting to trust us. They said they’d starve without me.”
“And if you stay?”
“We’ll murder each other eventually with paper cuts.”
“How’s Stella handling all the chaos?” Anna asked.
“Making jokes, mostly. But she brushed her teeth in the kitchen sink this morning because I was on a call in the bathroom. That’s not... that’s not okay.”
“You need to figure something out,” Anna said gently.
“I know. I just... I don’t know what.”
“You’ll think of something. You always do. But Meg? Do it soon. Before you’re conducting board meetings from the shower.”
“The shower has terrible acoustics. I checked.”
“Of course you did.” Anna yawned. “I should go. Bea has a studio visit tomorrow. But seriously—fix this. For all your sakes.”
“I will. Somehow.”
“Love you.”
“Love you too.”
After they hung up, Meg sat in the quiet night. The street was peaceful, empty except for the occasional car. Three doors down, her childhood home sat dark, its windows reflecting nothing back. She’d been avoiding looking at it since she’d moved in with Tyler, but tonight she noticed the garden looked maintained. Odd for a house that had been empty since?—
No. She wasn’t going there. Not tonight.
She turned her attention back to her phone.
She pulled up her text thread with Luke.
Still ready for tomorrow? 9:30?
His response came quickly.
Absolutely. Looking forward to the drive.
Thanks again for setting up the meeting with the Cassidy family. Perfect timing.
Happy to help. Margaret’s son is excited about the tide pool restoration project. Win-win.
She smiled at the phone. Luke had arranged to discuss ocean conservation with the resort owner’s son while she presented to the father. Efficient and thoughtful—classic Luke.
Looking forward to the company
She typed, then deleted it. Too much? She tried again:
At least I won’t have to take calls from your truck bathroom.
My truck bathroom has standards. No business calls allowed.
Good to know.
