* * *
After closing up the shop, Kathy went home and took a shower. She wanted to go through her closet to plan what to pack for her weekend. Although she was getting ahead of herself, she had to work extra hours until the weekend to make up for asking Anna to do it all while she was gone. With her suitcase on the bed, she had begun to sift through her underwear drawer when her phone rang.
She answered without checking, assuming it was Kevin. He was the only person who called her this late.
“Hello.”
“Kathy.” Her mom’s cold, clipped voice zipped across the line.
Crap. She should’ve checked. She always needed to brace herself to talk to her mom. She dropped the nightie she was holding and sank to the edge of the bed. “Hi, Mom. What’s up?”
“I wanted to remind you that your cousin Christy’s engagement party is Saturday and I need you to pick me up at three. And I told her mother you would bring ten table centerpieces.”
Kathy clenched her jaw. Nothing like being volunteered to work. For free. “I can arrange the centerpieces, but I can’t go.”
“What? I told you about the party weeks ago.”
Kathy took a slow, deep breath. “You told me about it without giving me any other information, like the exact time and date. I’m sorry, but I never committed to going. I have a business to run and I have plans.”
“You can’t just decide not to go. I accepted the invitation.”
Kathy’s stomach churned. She’d never, ever told her mother no, but she wasn’t about to give up her first weekend away with Kevin for a cousin she didn’t even like. “I’m an adult, Mom. If they wanted to invite me, they should’ve sent me an invitation, and then I could’ve either accepted or declined.”
“Fine then.” Her mother hung up.
Kathy’s heart raced. Her mother hung up on her. That was not a good sign. She stared at the phone and considered calling her back to apologize. Instinct told her to, but if she did, it would be the equivalent of accepting the invitation. And she couldn’t do that.
She hadn’t felt like this since she was a small child, and she watched her parents argue over whether she should be able to take ballet classes. She’d asked if she could and while her mother agreed, her dad thought it was a waste of money. They’d yelled and bickered and then stopped talking to each other for days.
After that, Kathy made sure she never did anything to cause another fight. That horrible memory was enough to last a lifetime. She’d been sure their marriage was over, that they would divorce. Looking back now, she knew she wasn’t at fault and that her parents didn’t belong together, but that feeling never left.
Now it was back.
She dropped her phone to prevent herself from calling her mother, picked up her keys, and drove into downtown. Kevin said he was working late. He said he wanted to be her person. If someone could talk her down and remind her why this weekend was important, it was him. That was what they were supposed to do for each other.
Her hands were still shaking as she pulled into the after-hours parking lot and grabbed a ticket. She didn’t even bother to look at the prices. Never in her life had she felt the need to see another human being as much as she did right now. She felt like she was going to fall apart even though she knew it was impossible.
The security guard checked her in as she passed through the metal detector and she went upstairs. When the doors swished open, she walked to Kevin’s office, but it was empty. Her chest felt hollow as it tightened again. She should’ve called first. She must’ve missed him. And she hadn’t even brought her phone to call him.
She struggled to breathe. A sound behind her caught her attention. She walked a few steps down the hall and then she heard his voice. Kevin. She almost bolted toward him, but he wasn’t alone. Through the glass of the conference room, she saw them together.
He was sitting with a blond woman, sharing a drink, laughing. The woman leaned forward and laid a hand on his arm.
Kathy flashed to a memory of five years ago. Her surprising Kevin when he said he had to work late. Him coming home with a blonde on his arm. Seemed as though Kevin had a type.
And it wasn’t her.
Kathy forced air into her lungs, past the tennis ball–sized lump lodged in her throat. She swallowed, despite the lack of spit in her mouth. Neither of them noticed her, so she did what she did best: she turned and left.
Chapter Eighteen
By the time Kathy hit the highway, she was crying so hard she could barely see. She pulled over onto the shoulder until the worst of it subsided. Since she didn’t have her phone, she decided to just drive to Moira’s house and prayed that her best friend would be home. And that Jimmy wouldn’t be. The last thing she needed was to see another O’Malley.
Rejoining traffic, Kathy focused on breathing steadily and not crashing. She cleared her mind of everything but flowers. She pictured images of daisies and orchids and lilies. Anything but people.
When she got to Moira’s street, she was relieved to see Moira’s car parked in front of the house. She parked behind Moira’s car and went to the front door. Moira answered, took one look at her, and asked, “What the hell happened?”
Kathy fell apart again because she didn’t know where to start. Moira pulled her into the house.
In between halting breaths, Kathy asked if Jimmy was there, and Moira told her he was with his dad.
Moira pulled her over to the couch, sat her down, and then disappeared to the kitchen. She reappeared a few minutes later
