Page 71 of Falling Again
Natalie finished the last of her wine, giving a nod of thanks to Ginny. But she knew it would take more than a great merlot to get to the heart of the issue. She needed to talk to Anthony. It wasn’t fair to him that her friends were hearing her side of the story before he did. However, her need to unload was paramount, so Natalie let it all out.
“When we were at the lake house, we made a list of rules. Nothing outlandish, but little benchmarks to keep us communicating and connected when we were back in Buckeye Falls.”
Ginny softened at the thought and smiled. “That’s a really good idea. I’m sure Max and I could have saved ourselves some heartache with a list of rules.”
CeCe snorted. “You type-A planners. I love you both, but you’re crazy. I’m envisioning a laminated list stuck on your refrigerator.”
Natalie pointed a manicured finger at her friend. “You laugh, but if it was right in our faces maybe I wouldn’t be day-drinking in my office.” CeCe raised her hands in defeat, and Natalie soldiered on. “When we got back home after lunch at the diner, Anthony was already on his phone taking hushed calls. We promised we’d keep phone time limited at home and wouldn’t work unless it was absolutely necessary.”
Ginny shrugged, clearly not ready to burn Anthony at the stake. “Are you sure it wasn’t an emergency? Anthony is the mayor.”
“Here’s the thing,” Natalie said, her fist banging down on the desk again. “He won’t tell me what it’s about. He’s acting all secretive. We promised we wouldn’t do that again. And here he is having secret meetings and shutting me out. It’s not fair.” CeCe and Ginny exchanged a look she couldn’t interpret, and it made Natalie uneasy. “What’s that look?”
“What look? Why would we give looks? There are no looks,” Ginny said, her cheeks blanching as she rambled. CeCe rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to respond when a flurry of buzzes and beeps sounded from their cell phones.
CeCe pulled hers out and frowned. “I gotta run. Emergency at the diner, all hands on deck.”
Ginny wiggled her cell phone in front of her and sighed. “Same. Think you can handle the last couple hours here on your own?”
Instinctively, Natalie pulled her phone out of her purse, but she didn’t have any missed notifications. Not even an apology text from Anthony. Deflated, she sank back in her chair and sighed. “I might call it a day and close up early. I can email Evan the specs from home.”
Just as she reached for her computer, both Ginny and CeCe jumped to their feet and shouted, “No!”
“You can’t do that,” Ginny added.
Natalie frowned. “Why not? It’s only a couple hours. I know Evan won’t mind.” Looking to CeCe she confirmed, “If he’s at the diner, then he won’t mind if I email him the details?”
Not waiting for CeCe to reply, Ginny continued. “But what about Lynn from the library? She said she might stop by with some suggestions for the fundraiser and—”
Raising a hand to stop Ginny’s ramblings, Natalie sighed. “It’s two hours. Lynn knows how to reach us. Not to mention, she probably already heard about my display at the diner. She likely assumes I’m running off to the asylum before all the good padded rooms are taken.”
CeCe chuckled, but she didn’t give in. “I’m with Ginny. You need to stay here and keep a brave face. Someone might come by to check on you, and what would they think if you’re gone?”
“That I’m a busy working mother with a private life?”
“No one has a private life in Buckeye Falls, especially you.” Ginny helpfully reminded her. “Please, Nat. Give us an hour or two at the diner. We’ll text if something comes up.”
Natalie wanted nothing more than to run home and bury herself under the duvet, or at least play with her children. A session of princess teatime with Maddie sounded particularly appealing right about now. “But I really want to—”
CeCe stepped closer and emptied the rest of the merlot into Natalie’s cup. “Stay. Finish this and enjoy a few moments of peace. Ginny will text if something comes up, but we’re just helping Max and Evan.
For some reason Natalie didn’t understand, she stayed put. Once her friends were gone, she locked the front door to the office and turned on her favorite Pandora mix for when she had bad PMS. At least right now her horrible mood didn’t come with a side of crippling cramps. Sipping the wine, Natalie let her thoughts drift and hoped that she could come up with a reason for why Anthony had backslid and kept secrets. How could they go from reconnecting to fighting in a matter of hours?
*
“And you’re sure shewon’t follow you?” Anthony asked from his perch at the diner’s counter. Sweat beaded at his forehead, and for the third time in as many minutes he had to wipe his face with his sleeve. He was sweating like it was a million degrees out.
Ginny offered a sweet smile. “It’s covered.”
CeCe came up behind Ginny and added, “We left her with strict orders not to leave the office. I also might have given her a bottle of wine.”
“She’s drunk?” Anthony was dubious.
Waffling her hand back-and-forth, CeCe shook her head. “Tipsy, not drunk. Ginny and I helped with the merlot before we came here.” As if to punctuate CeCe’s point, Ginny hiccupped.
Anthony sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. Since his encounter—correction, huge fight—with Natalie, he feared he was having a stroke. The painful headache had morphed into an exhausting migraine. Before he could say anything else, Trudy and Helen emerged from the kitchen carrying boxes and wearing matching expressions of satisfaction.
“Here,” Trudy said as she hefted a box onto the counter. Inside she pulled out her handbag and tossed a pill bottle at Anthony. “Your migraine meds; take two,” she ordered, following Helen toward the back of the diner.
