Tina patted her shoulder. “At least you have pie.”
Rhonda scoffed. “Definitely better than the beach.”
Anne took a sip of water. “Just think. You would’ve had to wear a bikini top the whole time.”
Rhonda held up a hand. “Not so! I know for a fact there’s a topless beach on St. Maarten. We need to plan a trip.”
Jenna chewed the flaky pie crust as the ice cream melted on her tongue. Plan a trip. The idea was almost laughable. She hadn’t made vacation plans outside of Alberta in over a year. Since John announced his retirement, she hadn’t even taken a sick day.
Anne dropped her hand over hers. “How are you holding up?”
Jenna swallowed and forced a smile. “Fine.” It was the answer she’d given for the past three weeks anytime her friends had checked in after she’d shown up on the patio puffy-eyed and sniffling asking them to drive her home. She’d been too far gone that night to explain everything on the drive, but they’d had a hot tub friend therapy session a few days later.
All of them agreed it had been the right move to tell Gentry the truth, but after seeing the hurt on his face, Jenna wasn’t convinced. He’d walked away from the truck, and they hadn’t said a word to each other since. No texts. Nothing. As much as she’d tried not to get reattached with him popping in and out of her life, she hadn’t been able to help it. Now she was like a muscle that had been pried off the side of a rock. She floated aimlessly in the surf with her insides rubbed raw.
“I loved the feature on the Snowballs, Jens. On HEC. I don’t think I got a chance to tell you that.” Tina popped the last piece of roll into her mouth. “Were the execs happy with it?”
Jenna nodded. “Thrilled. They want to continue posting updates throughout the rest of the season. Highlight the other Calgary teams.”
Anne beamed at her. “Which means you’ve got to have that job in the bag. Has John given an official date yet?”
“No, but it has to be soon. He wants to have someone in place by the end of the season.” Jenna set her fork down and pulled her phone from where it sat wedged under her thigh. “Hey, can I use your study for a sec? This is my parents calling.”
Anne waved her off, and Jenna jogged down the hall before picking up.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Merry Christmas!” her mom and dad exclaimed in unison.
Jenna laughed. “Merry Christmas. Are you heading out to any full moon parties in the desert or sticking around home tonight?”
“It’s not a full moon, Jenna. You should know the lunar cycle by now,” her mom teased. “What are you up to today? With Anne and Tina?”
“Yep, and Rhonda. Just finished pie.”
“What kind?” her dad asked.
“Apple cranberry. You would love it.”
She could hear his smile through the phone. “Add in some rhubarb and I’m sold.”
Jenna sat down in Anne’s secretary chair. “Did you get my gift? I got the earrings and the gift cards, thank you guys.”
“Oh, I did, and it’s lovely! I can’t wait to wear the skirt when we go to the market on Thursday, and your dad loves the reel.”
“Well, he should since he told me exactly which one to buy.” Jenna put her foot on the edge of the desk and twirled the chair back and forth. “Have you talked to Travis? How are they doing.”
Her parents were silent a beat before her mom answered, “Good, they’re good. We—there’s actually something we need to tell you.”
Jenna’s heart dropped like a stone. There’s something I need to tell you, and before you jump to conclusions I need you to listen to the whole story. She felt numb remembering how her mother had explained her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment plan. “Is it back?”
“Is what back?”
“Your cancer, mom.”
Her mother laughed. “No, Jenna, it’s nothing like that.” She breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s just that . . . we talked with Travis this morning, and they have news.”
Her ears perked up. “News? Are they moving back to Canada?”
