It was strange, them living together. Carol was wild and fun, but definitely liked her space. For some reason, the fact that she’d never married, or even seemed mildly interested in dating, had seemed normal for her.
But organized Deva living with Carol? I never thought it would happen. Unlike my marriage, Deva and her husband started out so perfect. High school sweethearts. A sweet proposal. Everything that people say should lead to living happily-ever-after. She’d settled into being married and having kids like it was what she was always meant for. And now, picturing her single and living in the chaos that was Carol’s home? It was hard to imagine. But maybe good for both of them.
“How are they as roommates?”
Beth grinned next to me, flashing those dimples of hers. “Surprisingly, they’re doing great. Deva likes feeling like she has someone to take care of still, with her girls scattered around the world and her ex gone. She was getting lonely in her big house. And Carol has always seemed so happy to live alone, but I swear she’s been giddy since Deva moved in. You know she thrives with an audience.”
“She says that about you,” I said, giving a tired smile.
Beth rolled her eyes and tugged at her long blonde hair, something she’d been doing since we were kids. “I’m glad for them. But I honestly give it another year before Deva starts dating Marquis.”
“Really?” I lifted my head from the headrest, suddenly intrigued. I’d thought she was more likely to get back with her ex than some new guy. “Tell me all about the mysterious Marquis.”
“You know him. Remember? He was short, big glasses, and braces. Sweet, but really quiet.”
“That Marquis?” I was shocked. I tried to match him up with the confident Deva and couldn’t.
“Well, he got taller in high school. In college, he lost his braces and filled out a bit. Now, he’s a handsome guy, and the town doctor. He’s still kind of a shy guy, but there’s no question he’s got a thing for her. I think he’s just waiting for any sign she might be ready.”
I leaned back and closed my eyes. “I’d love to see her with someone like that. He sounds like the opposite of Harry.”
“He is.” She sighed. “But Deva doesn’t even seem to be willing to acknowledge him.”
“Give her time,” I said.
Time. That was what I needed too. I might have been thrown into a new life, but in so many ways I was still the same me. Deva and I were similar in that way. We wanted to move on, but we weren’t there quite yet.
“Shit,” Beth whispered. “Why does he have to be here, now?”
My eyes flashed open and I glanced at my friend. She looked like she'd seen a ghost. Her face was white as a sheet. When I looked past her, I could see a man and woman walking toward us on the sidewalk. “Who is it?” I said in a low voice. Both of our windows were down. I didn’t want him to hear me.
“My ex,” she hissed without ever moving her eyes from where they were fixed ahead of her, not looking at her ex and his new woman or at me, just focused on trying to ignore the whole situation. “He left me for her.”
It hit me. That was Roger? I’d seen pictures, yeah, but the guy had aged more than I imagined. I tried to picture him from their vacation photos over the years, and guessed I could see the resemblance.
“Beth?” The man, admittedly handsome if one liked a dad-bod, bent over and peered into the car. His blue eyes twinkled as though he found something altogether too funny, and he flashed a car salesman smile at her. “Is that you?”
“Yeah.” Beth’s hands fluttered in her lap. “It’s me.” Her voice was high but quiet, as though she was struggling to get the words out as she stared down at her hands without ever making eye contact with him.
I leaned over, making sure to give him my best unimpressed look, and peered up at the woman. The other woman.
Holy shit. She looked like a younger version of Beth, which was insulting in more ways than I could count.
“Of all the bullshit!” I hissed.
No. Absolutely not.
Throwing open my car door, I lurched out of the car and slammed it shut. Fury burned through my veins like lava. “You’ve got a lot of nerve, asshole!”
Her ex, Roger, straightened from where he'd still been leaning over Beth and looked at me all startled and hoity-toity. “Excuse me. Who the hell are you?”
A pang of guilt swept through me that we'd never really met. Sure, I'd seen photos, but they’d gotten together shortly after Deva’s wedding twenty years ago, so I hadn’t met him when I’d come into town for the event. And Rick hadn’t wanted to go back after that, so we hadn’t. Something I regretted with every fiber of my being. He'd controlled so much of my life without me even realizing it. I wasn't going to let this jerkwad make Beth feel bad about herself the way Rick did to me.
I stalked around the hood of the car until I was less than a couple feet from the two of them. “You heard me. You don’t get to speak to her! You cheated, with this…” I waved my hands at the other woman. “Creepy version of Beth. Baby
