I shake my head. “I really don’t know how he feels,” I admit. I remember his words when we made love. He’d told me he loved me, but were those just words? “And besides, it would never work… he lives in Copenhagen.”
“You should call him,” Corrie suggests. “Talk things over. You never know.”
“I did,” I confess. “I was stupid, and I sent him a message. I told him all about my divorce and how I was madly in love with him, and it was such a stupid move.”
“Why?!” Corrie asks. “What happened?”
“He never replied,” I tell her. “It’s been almost two weeks.”
Her face falls. “Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry,” she says softly. “The guy sounds like a dick.”
“Well, maybe he didn’t get the message,” Maeve chimes in. “Maybe she should send him another one.”
“C’mon, Maeve,” Corrie scoffs. “She’s not doing that. Should she fly over there too, and get on all fours at his door, and beg?!”
“Anyway, who cares,” I say, trying to put on a brave face. “I’m moving on. I’m going to take some new art classes, and maybe volunteer at one of the galleries, and spend more time with the kids… when I have them.”
“How are the kids?” Kayla asks. “Are they okay?”
I smile at her. “They’re fine right now. We haven’t officially told them. By the way, this is still under wraps,” I tell them. “No one knows but you guys, so don’t tell anyone.”
They all nod in unison.
“I’ve bought some books about divorce, and we’ll read those together. John and I are on the same page, and we’ll do this right. We’ll both show them more love than they’ve ever had.”
Maeve is crying now, and Kayla is on the verge.
“I’m okay, I swear,” I assure them. “We’ll all be fine.”
Maeve reaches in for a hug.
Corrie pipes up. “Hey, you and I can paint the town red,” she says. “And I can show you all the best dating sites.”
“I’ve heard your stories, Corrie,” I tell her. “I’m definitely not ready for dating. I don’t know if I’ll ever be.”
“Sure, you say that now, but just wait until you get really horny, and you’ve had enough of your vibrator.”
“Coooorrie,” Maeve scolds in hushed tones.
I shift my gaze to the people next to us, and they turn their heads swiftly. They’ve been spying but I really couldn’t care less.
“I just hurt so much right now,” I say. “He never got back to me, and I know it’s over. We’ll never speak again, never see each other again. And I wonder if I made it all up in my head. Maybe I never meant as much to him as he did to me.”
“You did,” Maeve says. “I know you did.”
Corrie shifts in her seat. “Men can be such assholes.”
“You’ll get past this,” Kayla tells me. “You’re beautiful, smart, and strong.”
I finally take a sip of my tea, and quietly thank the Lord for my friends.
Chapter Forty-Five
LIFE IS BETTER.
Everything’s going smoothly. John is furnishing his new apartment, and has been more absent lately — the kids haven’t even noticed. I’m deep in the middle of my annual spring cleaning, organizing and getting rid of tons of stuff. I’ll probably have about ten boxes for Goodwill. I’ve been packing John’s things too, and that’s been kind of tough.
I’ve finally taken the elephant painting out of my closet, and hung it over the fireplace in my studio — it looks perfect there. The purple accents in the painting tie in perfectly with my purple loveseat. I’ve also sat the little mermaid on my windowsill. She lives there now, looking down at the pool down below. It’s quite fitting, I think. Speaking of the pool, we’ll be opening it soon, and with spring finally here and the summer coming, I know my mood will lift.
