Page 137 of When We Had Forever
“Don’t worry,” Kate says gently. “Maybe he’s asleep. There’s no way he won’t text back.”
I startle, realizing the movie has ended. What even happened? Maybe the guy and the girl ended up together. Maybe everybody died. I have no idea.
“I should go to bed,” I say. What I actually mean is,You should go home to your husband so I can cry alone in the bathtub.
Kate seems to sense as much, but she knows me well enough not to argue. “Okay. But you’ll text me from Greece, right? Let me know you’re okay?”
“Yeah. Sure.”
She lingers for a few minutes, concern etched between her brows while she helps me tidy up. The whole time, I swallow repeatedly, trying to stave off tears.
I walk Kate to the door, where she gathers her coat. The lines around her eyes tighten.
“What?” I say cautiously.
She hesitates. “I honestly wasn’t sure whether I should give this to you, and now I’m even less sure. But Tanner asked me to.” She fishes a crisp envelope from her jacket pocket. “It’s your email. He said it was like a one-in-a-million chance that he was even able to get it, but here you go. Apparently you owe him a bottle of Riesling.”
I stare, then snatch the thing and rip it open.
“Does it say what Grayson said it did?” Kate asks while I scan the print.
“Exactly,” I breathe. Not a comma out of place. Or a parenthesis.
I almost wad up Michael’s treacherous, life-altering words, but giving in to anger feels like granting him power. Like letting his lies govern my life, still. And I’m better than that.
So I stuff the paper into the envelope and hand it back. “I don’t want this. But tell Tanner thank you. And I’ll buy him that bottle when I get back.”
She pulls me in and squeezes. I rest against her shoulder, stealing a moment of comfort. God, I’ll miss her.
“Have fun out there,” she murmurs into my hair.
A sniffle escapes me. I knew Grayson had told me the truth that night, but the cold, hard evidence makes me wish I’d processed what that meant sooner. Before he’d changed his mind.
“Thanks,” I say roughly. “I will.”
“And have lots and lots of sex,” she tacks on as I turn away.
“Yep. Bye.” I turn away so she won’t see me fall apart. I’m halfway to the kitchen, just pulling out my phone again and shriveling inside when I glimpse the time—eleven eleven, will the universe never quit mocking me?—when Kate says, “Oh.Oh.”
Irrational hope spikes through me. I stash my phone and back up. Kate hovers just inside the open doorway, motionless.
Sure enough, she’s staring at Grayson, who stands on my welcome mat with his hands jammed in his pockets and rain dripping from his hair.
AFTER
My heart goes crashing into the roof of my mouth. “Hi,” I manage.
Grayson just stands there for a few heartbeats. “Hi,” he finally says. Orphaned hope fills his voice.
Kate shoots me a look over her shoulder. “I’m just...gonna go, okay?”
“Yeah. Um...okay.”
She hesitates in the entryway, seemingly intimidated by the way he fills up the entire doorframe “I’m Kate, by the way.”
His gaze flickers toward her. “Yeah. We’ve met.”
“Oh. Right. Well, guess we’ll catch up later. Or something.” She slips past him, aims a slack-jawed glance from behind his back while dramatically fanning her face, then jumps into her Suburban and peels out.
