Page 47 of August
CHAPTER 16
Elisa sat frozen on her couch again. She’d been frozen the night she and Myra had talked and almost kissed. Then, she’d been frozen after she had sobbed against her door and managed to get herself up and over to the couch. There, she had stopped sobbing and just stared out the front window behind the TV. It was the window with the cheap curtains, and she couldn’t see anything beyond them, but she had still stared until Gwen had texted her to see if she wanted her to come over to help her get ready for her date. That was when Elisa had even remembered that she had a date at all.
Archibald’s comments about the kids wanting to spend their breaks with him and that she’d somehow ruined their lives by moving them two hours away right before they left for school had really gotten to her. For the first time in her life, Elisa felt like she was doing the right thing, and she had messed it up for the two most important people in her world. She had thought about calling the twins like her ex-husband had suggested, but she wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction. She could talk to them in person when they came home, even if it was just to get their stuff and go right back to their dad’s. The fact that he was offering her the guest house had also gotten to her. He thought he was being generous. In his mind, the guest house was a perfect solution: the kids got to live at home, she got to see them, and he got his ex-wife in the backyard alone because he wouldn’t allow her to have a woman there. At least, he had hired a housekeeper, but had she said yes, Elisa doubted he would’ve kept the woman on since he would have expectedherto cook and clean just like she’d done for nearly twenty years.
It had all been too much, and she’d broken. Yet again, Elisa had broken. She’d been trying so hard to be strong for everyone, but it had only taken him five minutes of being herefor her to be in tears. She really did have no clue how she had survived two decades with the man, but she could’ve sworn he had been better when they were younger. She didn’t remember him being this cold and unfeeling. Elisa supposed she had contributed to that in a way. She hadn’t exactly been a loving wife, but he had to own his own actions, too.
The worst part about all of that, though, was that she had let it interfere with her first date with Myra; her first date with a woman. It was supposed to be that life-changing night where there should’ve been actual romance, possibly a walk by the water while she held Myra’s hand and they got to know each other, and maybe a goodnight kiss at her door. Instead, she had kissed Myra on the cheek and essentially closed the door in her face, leaving Myra out on her stoop to probably wonder what had happened.
Elisa couldn’t believe that she’d managed to let her ex-husband ruin her first date with someone else, but his arrival had thrown her. She probably should’ve canceled the date or at least postponed it, but by the time Gwen had sent her the text, reminding her that she even had the date, it had already been too late. Myra had probably been getting ready by then, and so she had done the same, choosing to wear one of her favorite dresses, hoping that would help put her in a better mood. Then, she had hoped that the fact that it was a date withMyrawould get her out of the funk her ex had put her in, but she had managed to make the stupid comment about the truck smelling, which had probably made Myra feel bad. She hadn’t meant that to sound like the smell had been awful. Truthfully, she kind of liked the smell of cigars. Her dad used to smoke them when she was growing up, and whenever she smelled them, it reminded her of him. Then, she had made even more comments about the food truck idea but hoped she recovered a little after.
“I really messed up,” she said to herself.
She stood and checked the time on the cable box under the TV, which the kids had made fun of her for because, according to them, no one had cable anymore. She’d been sucha disaster that Myra had ended the date after crab cakes, and it was still early, so she decided to grab her keys and head next door.
“Elisa?”
“Hi,” she said and offered a shy wave.
“What are you–” Myra stood in her open doorway, now dressed in a T-shirt and a pair of shorts that looked like they had been cut off from a pair of sweatpants.
“Sorry to just stop by. I know I should have texted or called, but you’re right here. I guess that’s the downside of us being neighbors: I can just pop on by whenever.”
“That’s not a downside,” Myra replied, but she crossed her arms over her chest and didn’t invite Elisa into the house.
“I came over to apologize. Can I maybe do that inside?”
“It’s late,” Myra said.
“It’s eight o’clock.”
“I’m up at five, so eight is late for me.”
“Really?”
“I’m usually out of here by five-thirty or six, depending on the day. Seven is late for me,” Myra explained. “But I have decaf, if you want, I guess.”
Elisa smiled softly at her and nodded. Myra moved out of the way, letting Elisa in, and closed the door behind her.
“You’re still wearing your dress,” Myra pointed out as they walked back to the kitchen.
“I haven’t exactly moved from my sofa since I kissed you on the cheek and left you on my porch like a complete and total idiot,” she replied.
“So, it wasn’t just me? Somethingwasgoing on with you tonight?”
“Yes, something was.”
“Is it the woman thing?” Myra asked.
“Huh?”
“Being on a date with a woman for the first time? You kind of pulled away from me at the picnic table, so…”
“God, no, Myra. It wasn’t that,” she said as she stood by the kitchen island while Myra went to make them coffee. “I didn’t even know I did that, honestly, but it wasn’t because of you being a woman.”
“Okay. Well, what was it, then?”
“My ex-husband showed up at my house today,” Elisa shared.
