She hadn’t actually confirmed that she and Teddy would have theirusual dinner date this evening. In fact, she’d avoiding calling in case he saidhe wanted to cancel. She’d worried about him. Several times in the past twodays, she’d stopped short of rearranging her day so she could go over therebetween shoots and check up on them.
As she expected, Jacqueline’s car was in the driveway. And whenshe rang the bell, Jacqueline answered it.
“Hi. I wasn’t sure if Teddy and I were still on for dinner. But Iwanted to check on him anyway, so I took a chance and walked over.”
“Come in.” Jacqueline stepped back. “You and Dad had dinnerplans?”
“Casey and I always have dinner together on Wednesdays,” Teddysaid from the living room. “And of course we’re still on. Get in here.”
“Why didn’t I know this?” Jacqueline followed Casey into theliving room.
He shrugged. “You’re not usually here on Wednesday.”
“I thought we could order in Thai this week, since it’sJacqueline’s favorite.” Casey gave him a wink. She’d effectively shut down anychance Jacqueline would protest.
“That’s low,” Jacqueline murmured.
She pulled out her phone and unlocked the screen. “So I shouldn’tcall and order? I still have that place you like on speed dial, you know.”
“Well, since you’re here.”
Casey gave her a smug grin.
“Jacq, open some of that wine Casey likes.”
Jacqueline looked to Casey for approval.
“I have an early shoot tomorrow. Unless you plan to join me,don’t bother opening a bottle for just one glass.”
Jacqueline headed for the kitchen. By the time Casey placed theorder and hung up her phone, Jacqueline had returned with two glasses ofMoscato. She handed one to Casey.
“Thirty minutes.” Casey sipped, savoring the sweet, fruityflavor. She always kept a couple bottles of her favorite label at Teddy’shouse.
“Great.” Jacqueline’s cell phone rang and she glanced at thedisplay. “I have to take this.” She stepped back into the kitchen as sheanswered in her most professional tone.
Casey settled on one end of the couch and chatted with Teddy,trying to gauge how he was feeling without asking outright. He was more alertthan he’d been in the hospital. In fact, aside from the splint on his wrist,she could almost convince herself he’d returned to normal. But even Teddy’snormal hadn’t been the same in the past several months. A fact she was remindedof ten minutes later when he started to nod off during a lull in theirconversation.
“Should we wake him?” Jacqueline whispered as she returned fromthe kitchen.
“Let him rest. We have a few minutes until the food arrives.”
“Thank you for this.” Jacqueline sat at the other end of thecouch.
“For what?”
“For having dinner with him.”
Casey smiled. “These evenings probably mean as much or more to methan they do to him. You don’t have to thank me for that.”
“Do you—um, does Nina come over with you?”
Casey shrugged. “Sometimes. A couple times. Teddy invited her.”
“Good.”
“Good?”
“Yeah, I mean, I’m glad he’s made her feel welcome.” Jacqueline’sexpression grew pensive, and when she took a breath, Casey suddenly feltanxious about what she might say. But when she did speak, Casey got theimpression she might have changed her mind about what to say at the lastsecond. “How is she, by the way?”
“She’s fine.” They rarely talked about their respective relationships,though she would admit to some curiosity about Jacqueline’s dating habits overthe years.
“Sean says you might be moving in together.”
She nodded. She’d mentioned the possibility to Sean during theirlast phone call. He didn’t offer an opinion one way or the other, and shedidn’t necessarily need one, but she didn’t want him blindsided if it happened.When—when ithappened. “We’ve been talking about it. I suppose once we’d made somedecisions, I planned to tell you.”
“Tell me?”
“Nina thinks—um, we’ve talked about getting a new placetogether.”
“What’s wrong with your house?”
“Nothing’s wrong. We want someplace that’s ours.”
“Yours?”
“Yes. Hers and mine, together. Don’t you remember how much funyou and I had picking out the house together?”
“Yeah. I do.” Jacqueline’s eyes grew serious.
“Well, Nina and I want to experience that, too.”
Jacqueline stared at her, and then her expression darkened. “Youwant to sell the house.”
“Yes.”
“You can’t.”
“I think you lost the right to decide what happens to the housewhen you sold it to me.”
“I hardly had a choice. You kicked me—”
“I didn’t—”
“We couldn’t keep living together once you broke up with me. AndI wasn’t going to have you and Sean move out.”
“We agreed—”
“Yes, I know. I know, damn it. We agreed. Except you didn’t giveme much choice. What else could I do but go along with your decisions once youquit on us.”
“I felt as if I didn’t have a choice either. I’d been losingmyself for a while, Jacq. And when I tried to talk to you—and then after Elle—”
“I don’t want to talk about that.” Jacqueline slammed herwineglass on the coffee table so hard that Casey flinched, surprised the stemdidn’t snap in half.
Teddy came awake with a start and looked at them both, his gazebleary with sleep and confusion. “What’s going on?”
Jacqueline rose more calmly than Casey would have thought she wascapable of, given her previous outburst. She gave Casey a cold look, thenheaded for the front door.
“Jacq,” Teddy called. Then to Casey he said, “What the hellhappened?”
Casey shook her head as the front door slammed shut behindJacqueline. “I think it’ll just be the two of us for dinner.”
*
Jacqueline’s furious strides ate up nearly two blocks before sheslowed enough to realize she had no idea where to go. She couldn’t return tothe house—not yet, anyway. So she kept walking, covering ground she’d barelytraveled in the past eight years but that somehow still felt like a piece ofhome. She’d grown up in this neighborhood, first in her father’s house, andthen in the smaller place she and Casey had bought together.
Did she remember the excitement of picking it out together? Yes,she did. Like it was yesterday. Just as she remembered the first night they’dspent there and how they’d christened the place on an air mattress because theyhadn’t moved their bed yet, and they couldn’t wait another moment
