Page 44 of Second Chances
Jane approached her just as a stray tear managed to escape.
“I’m so happy you found your dress, can you believe it?” Beth said, trying to disguise her heartbreak.
“I know, it’s incredible! I thought we would just come for fun today, just to get the process started but it’s true what they say: when you try on the right dress you know,” Jane responded, but then mouthed, “Are you ok?” to her noiselessly.
Beth gave her a curt nod, but Jane knew that it meant ‘no.’ Beth watched as Jane turned to shield her from view and engaged both Caro and their mom in conversation, directing them towards the building exit. Having just those few solitary moments that Jane provided her was all Beth needed to temporarily put herself back together.
Once outside, her mother pulled her to the side, and Beth feared the worst - that she had remembered Caro’s mention of a date from last night.
“Beth,” Mrs. Bennet began in what she deemed as a whisper. “Caroline and I were speaking about Jane’s bridal shower. You didn’t tell me that she had offered to host it at her house!”Shit.“I guess Caroline has some show or something the following weekend. Anyway, I’m going to finish the invitations and send them out Monday. I assume that works for you?” she finished presumptuously.
“Wow, um sure, that should be fine. I don’t think I have any events until Caro’s show the following weekend, so just let me know what you want me to do.” Beth replied, trying to get her frazzled brain to focus and think about her upcoming schedule.
“Wonderful. Ok, you figure out the details and help Caroline with whatever she needs. We’ll chat soon. Love you,” Mrs. Bennet quickly finished, giving Beth a kiss on the cheek before turning back to say her goodbyes to her eldest daughter and Caroline.
Well, that was a close call.
“Beth, I’ll be in touch this week to finalize everything for the show next weekend,” Caro said as she leaned in to hug Jane good-bye.
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Ciao!”
Finally, it was just Jane and Beth standing on the sidewalk, waiting for their Uber to arrive and take them to the apartment. The thought made Beth’s heart clench painfully as she realized that she no longer thought of their apartment ashome.No - for reasons too painful to think about, her idea ofhomehad taken on a whole new meaning, a meaning that involved a person more so than a place.
Chapter Fourteen
As soon asthe Uber driver closed the car door behind them, Beth’s phone started to buzz again; she knew who to expect was the caller this time. Beth desperately tried to hit the ‘decline call’ button as tears clouded her vision. Now that she was alone with Jane, the mask that she had been fighting to maintain began to quickly crumble around her.Guess she hadn’t learned all that much from Mr. Intolerable after all.
Angrily wiping the tears from her face, she opened up the text messages from him to reply.
-Please leave me alone.
She hit send before she could begin to second guess herself. Her phone buzzed back immediate with his reply.
~I’m sorry. I love you.
So now he was sorry?Now?Not hours ago? Not sorry enough to even leave a voicemail apology. She wished that saying you’re ‘sorry’ just magically fixed everything, but it doesn’t, and neither does ‘I love you’. No, she needed some space, some time to cool off and decide what she was going to do, how much she was willing to compromise on.
-I need some space. Please.
Her anger softened as she thought about how he was probably suffering, too; even though he deserved it, it still hurt her to know that he was hurting. Beth quickly turned her phone off.
God, I’m a mess.
She was so overwhelmed with all of her emotions, many of which conflicted with one another. She wiped her face again as the tears she wasn’t able to control kept falling. She didn’t even know where to start to tell Jane, who, God bless her, was just sitting quietly patient as Beth tried to figure out what to say.
They finally arrived at the apartment; making their way upstairs, Beth opened the door to what felt like a previous life. Just like her parent’s house, the apartment she had shared with Jane felt foreign to her; it no longer felt like her home. It wasn’t that things inside it had changed, but things inside her had; specifically, the thing in her chest that felt like it was being crushed at the moment.
A wave of sadness crept over her, completely different from all her emotions tied up with Darcy, a sadness at feeling like a guest in what used to be her home. Beth froze a few steps into the apartment.
“Are you ok?” Jane asked from behind her.
Beth’s throat was thick as she stared blankly at the two giant bouquets of what had to be fifty roses sitting on the kitchen counter. Unable to hold them back any longer, tears washed down her cheeks in torrents and a sob escaped her.
“Oh, hun,” Jane said, turning her around to hug and comfort her.
Jane slowly maneuvered her into the living room and onto the couch, holding her until the body-wracking sobs subsided. When Beth had finally calmed down enough to breathe steadily, Jane left her with the tissues to go make them some tea. Beth watched as Jane carefully moved the roses off the counter and out of sight for now.
