Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
“Thank goodness you made Erin leave,” Rose stated as she fought to hold back laughter. All Patty could do was nod.
Shannon cleared her throat. “When I realized what I was holding in my hand, I ran back to the master bathroom and stuck my hand in the toilet.”
“Um…why?” Tammy asked.
Looking as if she was about to cry, Shannon said, “I don’t know! What else do you do when you realize you have a handful of poop?!”
“Oddly, that makes sense,” I said, as everyone else nodded in agreement.
“Of course, I washed my hands at least a dozen times. I felt bad for making Logan deal with the girls and LouLou, but I had a handful of…”
“Crap,” Landy stated.
Shannon sighed. “Yeah. And that’s when I looked down and saw the test.”
Tammy reached for my hand and squeezed it.
“Test?” Patty asked cautiously.
Nodding, Shannon said, “I’m pregnant.”
We all looked around at one another. Patty leaned over and whispered to me and Tammy, “I don’t know if we should say we’re sorry or congratulations. That was a lot to unpack, ya know.”
I covered my mouth once again.
Rose stood and reached for Shannon to help her to her feet. “Shannon, do we hug you in like a female solidarity kind of thing, or do we start jumping up and down, hugging you in a celebration kind of thing?”
Shannon looked around at all of us, tears in her eyes. I held my breath as we waited for her to reply.
“Logan and I have been trying, so it’s for sure a celebration!”
We all jumped up and started to hug and congratulate Shannon.
At that point, Erin walked back in. “What’s going on?”
When we stepped aside so Shannon could see Erin, she said, “I’m pregnant!”
Erin screamed and quickly made her way to the group. Well, she moved as quickly as her nine-month-pregnant self could manage.
“This is such amazing news!” Patty was enthused once we all sat back down. “Now, for more good news.” Her gaze turned to me. “Emma? Do you have something you want to share with the group?”
I shook my head. “Um…nope. Not that I can think of.”
Tammy hit her knee against mine. “Yes, she does.”
Shooting a glare at Tammy, I focused back on the group.
They all leaned so far over toward me that I thought for sure they’d all tumble out of their seats. Still, I couldn’t get the words out.
Tammy stood abruptly and cried out, “I can’t take it anymore! Emma and Aiden are together, and he just kissed her in the church!”
Gasps echoed around the room, and I had to do a double take at Patty. Had she wiped a tear away?
Tammy pulled me off my seat and practically shoved me onto the mat. “It’s mat time, Emma.”
My eyes went wide. “I thought it was a volunteer kind of thing!”
“Of course, it is, dear,” Cara said, sitting once again on the mat. Probably to prevent my escape. “Now, why are you so afraid to share such great news with us?”
The sudden feeling of tears pricking at the back of my eyes had me blinking rapidly. Patty noticed, and she quickly joined me and Cara on the floor.
“Emma, what’s wrong? Did my son do something to make you cry? If so, I’ll kill him.”
“She doesn’t really mean that literally, you understand,” Shannon added.
I laughed, but that only caused the tears to slip free.
Patty cupped my face in her hands and gave me a gentle smile. “Talk to us, Emma.”
My chin trembled, and I drew in a shaky breath. “What happens when he finds out I stayed with Ben for ten years? Ten miserable years. He won’t… He’ll think less of me.”
Patty looked confused for a moment. I felt a gentle touch on my shoulder, and Cara moved out of the way for Rose.
“I stayed for over twenty years, Emma. Twenty. It started off with him verbally abusing me. The first slap came when he’d had too much to drink. He cried, I cried…we moved on.”
Patty held my hands as I stared at Rose.
She smiled and looked down at the mat, then back up at me. “You weren’t here when I had my big mat moment. The moment I confessed and told my closest friends that my husband was abusing me.”
I looked around at the other women. “You didn’t know?”
They all shook their heads.
“He never did it when Eleanor was around. And he was very careful about making sure the bruises didn’t show.”
My hand covered my mouth. It was like Rose was telling my story.
“Emma, you’re not the first woman who stayed in a bad relationship. Whether it was physical abuse or emotional or verbal…and unfortunately, you won’t be the last. What you have to do now is give yourself some grace.”
She smiled at her own words as she wiped a tear from my cheek.
“You were strong enough to leave him and make a fresh start. He can no longer hurt you or have control over your life. So now you need to let the control he has over your mind go, once and for all.”