Page 98 of Missing

But not tonight, tonight I’d fill her in on the details.Wellmost of them. And we’d giggle like schoolgirls. Only we’d do it over wine instead of coffee or tea.

Mary was thrilled Doug and I had worked things out; and didn’t miss the opportunity to remind me not to jump to conclusions the next time we had an argument.

I could have saved myself, all of us, a lot of heartache and tears if I’d just listened to Doug that first night instead of stubbornly refusing to let him speak.Lesson learned.

“How is Chase doing with the changes?”

“He’s thrilled to see Doug almost every day. Though I’m sure that’ll wear off in time.” I laughed. Chase had the same level of excitement when he saw Dough each night as he had whenever we went to the SSI office. The novelty of it would dissipate, eventually.At least I hope so.

“I’m sure it will.” Mary had a shit-eating grin on her face.

“What?”

“You look happy. Content.” She picked up her wine and held it up for me to tap mine against. After I did, she said, “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you this happy.”

“I was happy before,” I countered.

“It’s different, you’re more than just happy,” she tapped her finger on the rim of her wine glass as she searched for the right words, “you seem more at peace now.”

We were on our second glass of wine when Meg, Emily, and Anne arrived.

I had to start at the beginning and share a less detailed version of what happened at the ice cream shop. Meg had heard Chase’s version, which apparently was riddled with exaggerations and out-of-order events.

As expected, everyone oohed and aahed when I told them about the bouquet and unexpected declaration of love. I left out the sterile part, as promised. I hadn’t even told Mary. So far, Chase hadn’t mentioned that bit, and I prayed every night he never would.

We talked as we filled our plates with Meg’s now famous mac and cheese, snacks, and veggies, then migrated to the table. Emily looked a little wistful as we talked about my long pre-engagement. We all knew she was desperately in love with Jamie, and wanted to marry him, but was being patient while he worked through his fears.

Jamie lost his wife, Isabelle, not long after I lost Phil. But where Phil’s death was an accident, Isabelle’s wasn’t. She’d been murdered and Jamie was the first police officer on site. The sight still haunted him.

Thank God I didn’t have to go through anything like that.

Meg updated us on her house situation. She and Jack were still living with Jamie, but planned to move out before the holidays.

“If everything goes according to plan,” she said with a sigh.

They’d found the perfect plot of land, but the house needed some serious work to be livable. They decided to have it gutted by a professional, who was also doing all the construction. Jack and Meg would do the cosmetic stuff, like painting, themselves. With a lot help from all of us. They warned us we’d be recruited for painting, decorating, and unpacking, which we were all more than happy to do. I even volunteered Chase, though there wasn’t much he could do.

They’d received a lot of items for their home as wedding gifts, most of which were currently stored in Madi’s old room since there wasn’t enough space at Jamie’s.

“Do you think Jamie will ask you to move in, once they move out?” Mary asked.

Emily shrugged, then blushed when Meg said, “She practically lives there now. She has a key and a parking spot.”

“She never comes home anymore.” Anne added, “Not that I’m complaining.” She reached over and squeezed Emily’s hand. Anne loved Jamie and was excited they were dating.

“I don’t know, he hasn’t said much about it. It might be weird for him to ask me to move in with him.” Emily shrugged. “He built that home with Isabelle.”

“But you’ll say yes if he asks.” Meg stated the question like it was a forgone conclusion.

“Duh. Like you said, I’m there most nights, anyway. Half my clothes are already there.”

“And quite a few of your books.” They laughed as Meg held up her wineglass and Emily tapped hers to it.

They shared a deep passion for reading, and realizing they shared the same tastes, started swapping books. I liked to read, but only read four to six books a year.Like a normal person. These two, they read that many in a month. Not normal.

They often joked about writing a romance novel together, and they’d bounced ideas around a few times, but so far, they hadn’t put pen to paper.

That’s one book I’ll buy instead of getting at the library.

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