Sam’s truck was parked in front of my house when I got home from work Thursday. For a second I thought I was hallucinating. Maybe it was someone else’s truck, and my mind substituted it for Sam’s. But when I pulled up alongside the vehicle, it was definitely Sam in the driver’s seat.
I rolled down the passenger side window and called across the car. “Sam? What are you doing?”
“I know I should have called first, but I wanted to come to talk to you in person. They wouldn’t let me in though.”
I rolled my eyes, knowing that my mother was home.
“Follow me, we can talk inside. It’s chilly out here.”
I directed Sam to park her truck in the parking area next to the garage, then pulled my car inside. When I came back out, she was standing by the door looking uncertain. It made my heart squeeze. Everything was going to be okay, I just knew it.
When I received the break-up text on Monday night I’d been devastated. There was no other word for it. I’d been frantic the last couple of days wanting to talk to her, wondering what was wrong. I had a feeling this was about the photos of me and James at the fundraiser. I’d seen them posted all over local news and social media. But it was hard to get to the bottom of things when Sam wouldn’t even talk to me.
She’d asked me for space, but I’d already decided that if I didn’t hear from her on Friday I was heading to her place to confront her. Thankfully it didn’t come to that.
My mother met us as we entered the house, her yes narrowed but she kept her face carefully neutral as she took in Sam’s ancient jeans and dirty work shirt.
“Sam, this is my mother Elaine Laurent. Mother, this is my friend Sam.”
To her credit my mother was polite, her gaze calculating as she tried to figure out what was going on.
“Will your friend be staying for dinner? I can ask Marta to set a place.”
“Maybe another time Mother. I won’t be at dinner either. Sam and I need to talk about some things.”
I put my arm around Sam’s shoulder and turned her towards the staircase so we could make our escape.
“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Laurent,” Sam called politely as we walked away.
We headed upstairs, Sam’s head on swivel as she checked out the marble floors and expensive artwork. It was all a little ostentatious I knew. When I had my own house it would be simpler, more understated.
My suite was at the end of the hall. I led Sam into the sitting room, handing her a bottle of water from the mini fridge and gesturing for her to sit on the couch. She looked down at herself and winced.
“Sorry, I should have cleaned up first. I came right from work.”
I waved my hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. Just sit down and tell me what’s going on.”
We sat on opposite ends of the couch, each of us turned halfway to face the other. Sam took several long drinks of her water, not saying anything. She looked terrible, her face gaunt with dark shadows under her eyes. I knew I looked the same after several days of being too depressed to eat or sleep.
“What happened?” I prodded. “I thought things were going so well between us.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it again.
“Was it the pictures?” I asked. “I swear I didn’t know that my mother had invited that guy to be my date for the evening. But I had no interest in him, I promise you. Nothing happened.”
“I know you wouldn’t cheat on me,” she finally said. “But when I saw those pictures, with you in that pink dress looking all glamorous, it reminded me of all the reasons we don’t fit, how incredibly different our lives are. You go to galas in designer dresses and I go fishing with my dad in ripped up jeans.”
I scooted closer and lifted my hand to her chest, right over her heart.
“None of that matters, Sam. What matters is what’s in here. What does your heart say? Because mine says that you’re the woman I love, the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.”
She stared at me for so long I thought she might leave, but then she gave me a little smile and said, “My heart says the same thing.”
“Then everything else will work out.” I gave her a tender look. “I missed you, baby.”
“I missed you too. So much.”
We moved together, our mouths meeting in a kiss that started off sweet and quickly turned intense. Even though we didn’t typically see a lot of each other during the week, four days apart had felt like a lifetime. I couldn’t wait to claim her, but Sam pulled back.
