Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 63195 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63195 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
I stare at the artwork centered over Julia’s fireplace as I talk.
The crinkling of the packaging paper is all the response I get from the other side of the expansive room. It’s so loud that I’m not sure anyone but Maddie even heard me. We’ve been working in relative silence save for the soft sound of music flowing from the kitchen behind us.
“We should go on a girls’ trip,” I offer up and look over my shoulder at Maddie. I shift in my seat and wait for her to meet my gaze.
“Hell yeah,” she answers without hesitation. “What does the newlywed think?” Maddie asks and instantly Jules brightens.
She shrugs as if the word newlywed didn’t make her day and puts the attention back on me as she says, “I’m happy to do whatever you want, Kat.” I hate that Jules is holding back. Every response from her tonight seems muted. She’s happy and she knows I’m not. She’s a newlywed and my marriage is falling apart.
I get it, but she should be happy. She doesn’t have to hold back her joy because I’m falling apart.
“You’re glowing,” I tell her and wait for a response to the compliment, feeling guilty that I haven’t said it sooner. My chest feels tight and I shift into a cross-legged position on the plush carpet as I grab a plastic bottle of water, drinking it down slowly even though it’s room temperature now. The sweeping room of this new build is ridiculous. The entire house still smells of fresh paint. I can imagine they spent several million on it and the movers did most of the work carrying in all the heavy furniture. Jules didn’t trust them with these boxes, though.
Maddie quirks an eyebrow. “You already make a baby?” she asks Jules, her tone devious. I can’t help that my brow raises comically.
“Oh my God, Jules, are you pregnant?” I pile on and Maddie snickers as Jules pulls her tawny hair back and rolls her eyes.
“Shut up,” Jules says playfully and then goes to the granite counter behind us and makes a show of drinking from her glass of wine. Her simple yet chic rose dress flutters as she waves her glass in the air. She’s the epitome of an upper-class socialite.
We exchange amused looks, waiting for her to reply with a straight yes or no.
“Not yet,” Jules finally answers.
“Yet!” Maddie practically shrieks. “First comes love, then comes marriage—”
“Then comes a new home and a fresh start,” Jules says, cutting her off and Sue laughs from her spot in the corner of the living room where she’s been silent all night. Something’s definitely gotten to Sue too.
Although maybe it’s me, maybe I’m why everyone seems off.
“House first, then the baby,” Jules states and then switches the song playing to something more upbeat and less sad. I agree with that decision wholeheartedly.
“Love your house,” Sue comments, not bothering to bring up the idea of a child. “Or is it technically a mansion?” she half jokes.
It’s grand and spacious and much more like Jules’s style than her new husband Mason’s previous home. She got a deal on this property and the amount of space is making me regret buying a place so close to the park. It reminds me how tiny our townhouse is. At least compared to this. Location is everything and we paid handsomely for our little place.
This is also a family home, and I live in a townhouse that’s not meant for anything more than two people … potentially one child, but it would be cramped. I force my lips to stay in place and swallow down the frown and all the feelings threatening to come up.
Full circle I go, all day long. My thoughts always come back to Mason and what we had and everything we could still have.
With a bitter sigh I hope no one heard, I finish my water and get up to grab another drink, shimmying past the three opened boxes and paper sitting on the floor. I made this decision. I need to own up to it and deal with the consequences.
“I’m not sure I can do this girls’ trip,” Sue says seemingly out of nowhere. I’d nearly forgotten about the mention of a trip. I guess that’s how much it means to me.
“It’s just that work …” she adds and then pauses to chew the inside of her cheek. She braces herself on a polished wingback chair before rising and picking up her wineglass. “I’ve got a new boss and he’s a dick with a capital D. There’s no way he’s going to give me time off.”
“It’s not really his position to give it to you,” Maddie says skeptically. “Like, you earn your days. And we haven’t even set a date yet.” The aggressiveness in Maddie’s voice catches me off guard.