Page 44 of Never Yours

Caleb

ingrid

. . .

The last ten days have been torture, but each hour that passes is one closer to seeing Caleb. When Pop got the call, he assured me I was invited, even if no one called me. There’s a chance they figured out I’m not actually Caleb’s wife. I just hope it didn’t get him into any trouble.

Before my feet even hit the floor, the front door opens, and Cass sings, “Ingrid! Today’s the day!” I’m used to her waltzing in here whenever she pleases, it’s the one thing I’ve come to expect these past months.

Smitten leaps off the bed and runs to the front door to greet her well before I ever could. I’m bloated, and fat, and uncomfortable, and severely under-caffeinated. I finally make my way to the kitchen, and Cassidy has two coffees in a carrier sitting on the counter.

“Fuck, you’re a goddess,” I moan, taking one of them. She snatches it back from me. “Hey!”

“Let me just check… Nope, that’s mine.” Handing me the other, she asks, “What are you going to wear?”

“A tent.”

“Ingrid,” she warns. “You’re beautiful, will you stop that?”

I double down. “A four-person tent should do it.”

Cass groans. “That’s it, we’re going shopping on the way to the airport.”

“Good idea. Might find a deal on a circus tent that I can grow into.”

She marches into the bedroom and into the closet, pulling out a form-fitting, black dress I bought the other day. “Here. This one.”

“Absolutely not.”

Tossing it onto the bed, she frowns. “Why not?”

“My tits practically spill out of it.”

Cass glances down to my giant breasts that refuse to be contained and back up. “I fail to see the problem.”

I roll my eyes and strip out of my drawstring pajama bottoms and one of Caleb’s tees. It no longer smells like him, neither do his pillows, but it helps me feel close to him. I pull on the dress, look in the mirror, and sigh. My tits do look good, but my body isn’t the same as when Caleb last saw me.

“You look amazing,” she coos, then rests her chin on my shoulder looking in the mirror with me. “Did you write to him today?”

“No, I just got up. I’m going to see him later, I don’t think I need to write to him.”

She pulls out my leather-bound notebook and a pen from the bedside table. “Last letter.”

I take them and walk back into the kitchen, taking a seat at the island.

Dear Caleb,

Hope this finds you well? What am I supposed to say to the man I’m going to see later? This whole thing feels ridiculous. It’s been almost six months to the day since I saw you and these letters have served as more of a diary entry for me. I think your dad was onto something. If Cass doesn’t tell you about them, I’ll probably just hide this notebook in a drawer somewhere. Never to be seen again.

I’m nervous to see you after everything. Cass says I’m beautiful, but I feel like a whale. I just hope you’re attracted to large sea mammals. Black is flattering, but there’s no hiding the fact that I’m not the same woman I was months ago.

It doesn’t change the fact that not a day has gone by that I haven’t missed you. Our time together was short, but it felt like a lifetime. We have a million things to talk about, but today, can we just enjoy each other? Just for a day?

I’ve made a bucket list that I’ll share with you one day.

If you still want me.

xoxo,

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