But really?
Saying it out loud made it real.
She still loved Gwen.
And that was the hardest part.
She loved Gwen’s crooked smile and the way her short curls always stuck up at weird angles in the morning. She loved her deep voice and quiet humor, the way she built LEGO castles with the boys and let Rosie brush her hair for twenty minutes at night while humming the song from the Rapunzel movie without complaint.
But she also remembered… everything else. The silent way Gwen had dealt with the grief of terminating their pregnancy, then Maggie’s mom. Gwen hadn’t been there. She’d poured herself into work. Came home late. Said, “What do you need from me?” and probably meant it, but didn’t just take action.
The grief hadn’t broken Maggie. Loneliness had.
Her phone buzzed. A text from Kiera.
Kiera
Vegas itinerary incoming Hope you’re ready for tequila shots and strippers.
Maggie
Hell yes. I’ve been wanting to see these “pole fitness” moves for a while now.
Kiera
I am not the stripper.
Maggie
I’m changing my RSVP to no, then.
Kiera
I’m telling Gwen you’re harassing me.
A wave of guilt washed over Maggie, and she locked her phone.
Colette was watching her again.
“Oh, I made a note of it on the whiteboard calendar, but I wanted to just remind you I’ll be in Vegas for my friends’ bachelorette the weekend after next,” Maggie said.
“Yeah, I remember. The friends who don’t know about…” Colette gestured vaguely.
“Yeah.”
“I’m assuming Gwen’s not coming to that?” Colette asked.
Maggie smirked. “Gwen hasn’t come on a trip yet. I think she’s technically out of town that weekend, so I’ve already set her mom up for childcare. She’s not invited or anything.”
“It’s weird that you go on trips with two couples and you don’t get to bring your partner,” Colette said.
Maggie shrugged. “Gwen didn’t go to college with us. I feel like it would be weirder if she came.”
Colette quirked a brow but said nothing.
Maggie hadn’t told Kiera and Danica. Or Izzy. Or Pete. Not because she wanted to lie.
Only because she didn’t know how to explain what it meant to still love someone who hadn’t been there when it counted. Someone who was now just… not present. Like a shadow on the wall. Familiar, but faded.
