“I’m not going to say I’m sad about that.” She’d been blaming her morning reclusiveness on avoiding her sister, waiting for her to get on the road back to Anchorage. It would be a while before she spoke to Sadie after the stunt she pulled last night. To rub salt into the wound, Sadie hadn’t attempted an apology.
“You girls are going to have to work through your issues one of these days.”
“Not today.”
Mom let out a soft sigh and took a seat beside Laurel. “It’s true, right? You’re still married to Chase?”
With a deep breath, she relayed the same story to Mom that she had with Marc earlier that morning. “I missed a signature, five years ago. Apparently, it wasn’t caught until recently. I’ve only known for a week. Jenkins is back in his office today, and he has the papers. All I have to do is sign that one line I missed, and it will be officially over.”
“Is that what you want?”
No. Laurel had never wanted the divorce. She thought she’d been doing Chase a favor. Thought he deserved someone better. He was right. Secrets were going to ruin everything good in her life. She’d come clean with both her brothers.Mom’s turn. “I need to tell you the reason I left five years ago.”
“I’m all ears, sweetie.” Mom draped her arm around Laurel and listened to every word without an ounce of judgment. Unloading the truth felt wonderfully therapeutic. Despite the heavy nature of her story and the constant stream of soft tears, she felt lighter for sharing it.
“I can’t have kids anymore.” Laurel swiped at her soaked cheeks. “I’ve had too many doctors tell me the same thing to believe any differently.” When she told her mom about the crib Chase made by hand, she started crying all over again.
“You don’t have to sign,” Haylee said, creeping into the room.
“You’re a good eavesdropper,” Laurel said with a laugh. “I thought you were completely against me moving out and abandoning you to the wolves.” Mom snorted at that comment. “You were rather dramatic about it.”
Haylee let out a sigh and plopped down on the bed beside Laurel, sandwiching her in. “You really didn’t go back and read those texts from the other day, did you?”
“There were just so many.”
Haylee bumped her playfully with her shoulder. “You don’t have to sign those papers,” she repeated, resting her head against Laurel’s shoulder like she used to when she was seven.
“But I do.”
Haylee grabbed her left hand, lifting it up in emphasis. “Then why are you wearing your wedding ring?”
“Stupid thing is stuck.”
“How many signs do you need?”
Laurel looked up at the window, but Ed wasn’t there. “Apparently one more.”
* * *
“I’m sorry I pulled you both away from work,” Laurel said to Ava and Kinley as they walked down the block toward Jenkins Law Office that afternoon. She’d used the group text from the other day to summon their support, bribing them with sconesandcoffee. She could handle the pesky signature on her own, but she wanted her best friends close by to help her through the aftermath.
She hated how final this all felt.
It wasn’t fair to go through that painful feeling twice.
“We wouldn’t let you do this alone.” Kinley looped her arm through Laurel’s as they strolled down the residential sidewalk, a block south of the main downtown strip. It was too pleasant a day to drive, but she didn’t want to risk running into Chase by walking past the fire hall.
“I wish you weren’t doing it at all,” Ava admitted, looping her arm too. “But this is your life, not mine. We’re here for you either way.”
The day was too sunny and cheerful for what Laurel was about to do. It should be miserably overcast with a downpour of rain. But even rain would be warmly welcomed in their current drought.A blizzard would be oddly fitting.She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath as they turned the last corner.
One step onto the street and Kinley jerked the trio to an abrupt halt. “Moose!”
Ed stood outside Jenkins Law Office, posted there like a guard who had every right to block the entrance. Laurel couldn’t even bring herself to be surprised when the moose stared right at her. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Isn’t that something,” Ava said.
Laurel had to laugh so she didn’t cry. “This is the same moose you all swear changed your love lives for the better?”
