Lorelai delicately ran her fingers down my puffy, waterlogged face. “What happened, darlin’?”
My eyes betrayed me and started watering. “I’m fine. I just got slapped with the cold hard truth last night. But that’s a good thing. Better to live the truth than a lie.”
Colette wrapped her arms around me. “Tell us what happened.”
My head fell on her shoulder, and the sobs came next. I seriously thought I would be out of tears by now. “It’s so humiliating. Think prom two point oh.”
“This sounds like we better use the ‘executive’ bathroom,” Lorelai recommended.
“Grab the donuts,” I was able to get that out through my howling. Like I needed more sugar. I was seriously going to have to detox after this ordeal.
My friends got me settled on the ottoman with two donuts and a Diet Pepsi. I must have looked so pathetic. They both knelt in front of me and rubbed my legs, which were still smooth from all my prepping last night. Now I wished I hadn’t put so much effort in for my date that had gone south—more like to hell in a handbasket. I still had no idea what that meant. I should probably google it. Regardless, the date was bad. Like, the worst.
After some more sugar and downing another Diet Pepsi, I was able to recount last night’s events.
Lorelai and Colette gasped and cussed at all the right moments. When I finished my ugly tale, they were both fuming.
“So whose house do we toilet paper first?” Colette asked.
“That’s too kind,” Lorelai responded. “I was thinking more along the lines of doing a billboard to call them out. Or a social media smear campaign.”
I managed a weak laugh. “They aren’t worth it. My only hope is to forget about all of them.”
“Even Brooks?” Lorelai patted my knee.
“I have to,” I choked out.
“What about the voice?” Colette asked.
“With every piece of my soul, I know it was right, but people change.”
Lorelai gave me a crooked smile. “Yes, they do. Maybe your daddy is right. Perhaps Brooks will surprise you.”
I couldn’t afford to think like that. It had already cost me twenty years. “I don’t think so. Besides, I’m done with men. So, what do you ladies say to being my dates? Uteruses before duderuses, right?”
We all broke into fits of laughter.
They each took one of my hands.
“Are you taking us out to dinner first?” Colette asked.
“Of course. You know that means we are at least going to get to first base,” I teased.
“Don’t excite me.” Lorelai giggled. “It will be the most action I’ve seen in years.”
I squeezed their hands. “I love you, ladies. Thank you,” my voice went all pitchy.
“Honey, don’t give up hope on Brooks—the Lord loves to work with the broken,” Lorelai preached.
“What we had can’t be fixed. Honestly, I’m not sure we ever had anything.”
“If that were true, you wouldn’t be so torn up about it,” Colette wisely gave her two cents.
She was right. “Even so, it was all one sided. He never saw me as anything more than his friend.”
“That’s not true,” Lorelai disagreed. “No man sweeps a woman up into his arms for no reason. And I saw the way he looked at you when we met him at the hospital.”
Like I said, I couldn’t go down that road. I took some cleansing breaths. “I have to let him go. Especially now that I snagged the hottest dates for my reunion.” I couldn’t say I wasn’t disappointed that I wouldn’t be dancing the night away with a beautiful man, but at least this way I knew I wouldn’t be stood up. And I was guaranteed to have a great time.
“We are going to throw it down,” Colette roared.
“Hopefully we won’t throw out our backs.” Lorelai snickered.
“I’ll keep the Advil handy,” I offered. I let out a heavy breath. “I think I’m ready to face the day now.”
They smothered me in a Gracie sandwich. “You got this, Gracie,” Lorelai whispered in my ear.
I wasn’t sure about that. My only saving grace, no pun intended, was that I was certain Julian and Brooks would disappear from my life as quickly as they had drifted in.
~*~
So, I was wrong. Again. It was becoming a bad habit. One I really needed to quit. There I was after work, minding my own business and grabbing the mail from the mailbox before I walked into the house, and guess who showed up. Brooks, the prodigal son.
While I checked to see if I’d won a million dollars from Publishers Clearing House, he pulled up next to me in his truck and scared the holy living crap out of me when he said, “Hey.” I jumped out of my skin, and my mail went flying everywhere.
Brooks hopped out of his truck and chased some of the mailers that had blown away in the light breeze. One piece gave him a bit of trouble and flew all the way into his daddy’s yard before he could stomp on it and pick it up. A few weeks ago, I would have laughed at the scene and found him heroic for saving my junk mail, but now all I could think about was why he was here and how much it panged my heart to be in his presence. He was supposed to have disappeared without a word to me, like he had twenty years ago.