And in the end, that was all that mattered.
* * *
At six o’clock, when Jeanette took the roast out of the oven, there was still no sign of Tom. Nor had he called. She was torn between worry and exasperation. Trying not to let on just how upset she was, she put the rest of the meal on the table and plastered a bright smile on her face.
“I think we should go ahead and eat,” she told her parents. “Tom’s obviously been held up.”
“We can wait a while longer if you want to,” her mother said, studying her worriedly.
“No,” Jeanette said more sharply than she’d intended. “The food will be ruined if we wait.”
Her mother gave her a sympathetic look. “Sweetie, nothing’s going to be ruined. The roast will be okay for a little while in the oven, if you set it on warm. Everything else can be heated up in the microwave.”
“No,” Jeanette said stubbornly. “He knew what time we were eating. He should be here.”
“You could call him,” her mother suggested. “He has a cell phone, doesn’t he?”
Jeanette debated with herself about calling, then decided it was ridiculous not to. She started with his office, even though it was past closing time. Even so, Teresa answered.
“Teresa, it’s Jeanette. I’m looking for Tom. Is he still there?”
“He hasn’t been here all afternoon,” Teresa told her. “He had some kind of meeting over in Charleston.”
“Charleston?” Jeanette echoed, letting her shock show.
“He didn’t tell you?”
“No, he didn’t mention a thing,” she said, a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. “Thanks, though. I’ll try him on his cell phone.”
“I’ll leave a message on his desk that you called in case he stops in here,” Teresa promised.
“Thanks.”
She hung up, then dialed Tom’s cell number. When he picked up, there was so much noise on the other end she could hardly hear him.
“Tom, it’s me. Where are you?”
He muttered an expletive, then asked, “What time is it?”
“After six,” she said tightly. “Where are you?”
“I had a meeting in Charleston. It ran longer than I expected and then we went out for a quick drink. Time got away from me.”
“So I gather,” she said. “And if you’ve been drinking, then you shouldn’t be driving, so perhaps you ought to consider staying at your folks’ place tonight.”
“But your parents—”
“Forget it,” she said. “You’ll see them tomorrow, that is if you can tear yourself away from whatever’s going on in Charleston.”
“But I want to tell you about all this,” he said. “Just wait until you hear what’s happened.”
She fell silent and did exactly that—waited.
“Jeanette, you still there?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve been offered a job. It’s exactly what I was hoping for. I just wasn’t expecting it to happen this fast. I can’t wait to tell you all about it.”
“You’ve been offered a job,” she echoed dully. “In Charleston?”
“Yes.”
“And you’ve accepted? Without even discussing it with me?”
“Not formally. I was going to talk to you about it tonight, then give them my answer. It’s the opportunity I’ve always wanted.”
Jeanette could read between the lines. He was going to say yes.
“Congratulations,” she said, barely managing to choke out the word. Everything she’d feared was coming true. He’d chosen something else over her. “By the way, don’t bother rushing back tomorrow. There’s no need for you to waste your time being here for my open house.”
“Hey, hold on a minute. Are you uninviting me?” he asked incredulously.
“That’s exactly what I’m doing. I don’t want you here.”
“It’s because of the job, isn’t it? Dammit, I knew I shouldn’t have blurted the news out like this.”
“How intuitive,” she said sarcastically. “I can see why they’re desperate to hire you.”
The background noise faded as he apparently moved to someplace quieter. “Come on, Jeanette. At least listen to what I have to say. This is going to be a great thing for both of us.”
“No, thanks,” she said. “If you’d mentioned any of this before you went to Charleston, we might have had something to discuss. Since you didn’t, I can only assume that my opinion doesn’t count. You’ve known all along how I felt about taking a backseat in anyone’s life. I thought you got it.”
“I did. I do. Come on, you know I value your opinion. I wanted all the details before we talked about this.”
“It will hardly be much of a discussion if you’ve already made your decision, will it? Trust me, Tom, I do wish you well, but I’m done.”
She hung up before he could reply. Then, despite the ringing of the phone, she put dinner back on the table and managed to choke it down without once bursting into tears in front of her parents. To their credit, neither of them mentioned Tom’s absence, and when the meal ended, her mother shooed her away.
“Let me clean up in here for you,” she told Jeanette. “Maybe then you’ll finally answer that phone that’s been ringing off and on all evening.”
“Not a chance,” Jeanette said, then gave her a hug. “Thanks for not asking a lot of questions, though.”
“It’s not me you need to worry about. If your daddy crosses paths with Tom anytime soon, you can bet there will be questions.”
Jeanette’s lips twitched slightly. “Tell Daddy he can slug him if he wants to.”
Her mother feigned dismay. “Please, I am not going to give him any ideas. He’d like nothing better than to slug a man who’s hurt you.”
“I’m not hurt,” Jeanette said. “I’m furious.”
Her mother patted her hand. “Sometimes it’s real hard to tell the difference.”
* * *
Tom walked into Sullivan’s on Christmas Day, not sure what to expect. Dana Sue had called to repeat the invitation, she’d even included his parents, but there was no question that Jeanette would be here. There was also no question that she still wasn’t speaking to him. The one time she’d actually picked up the phone in the past two days, she’d hung up as soon as she heard his voice.
He knew he’d made a mess of things by
