“And it isn’t my fault. Pretty sure you were there too!”
“I didn’t say it was your fault!” he snapped, coming to his feet so fast her muscles jumped.
Tam caught himself, his eyes landed on her clenched fists and then lifted to her face, wide and full of apology. Ireland was the first and only time she’d ever felt apprehensive around him. Not afraid, not worried for her safety, just…cautious. Only in Ireland, and now.
He turned away from her and raked a hand back through his hair.
Jo felt a great, yawning pit open at the bottom of her stomach, the kind that wanted to swallow her whole. She’d never had a fairytale – had never wanted one – but the sudden knowledge that her own personal flavor of happy married life had come to an end was crushing. To know that her year of smiles and hand-holds under the table, the entangled nights and constant kisses were over left her feeling empty and raw. Tears filled her eyes and clogged up her throat. Each breath was more painful than the last.
“I’m sorry I said anything,” she said, and slipped out of the room before he could comment.
Jo took a long shower and then retreated to Mike’s old room. She listened to Jordan come home, his voice mingling with those of her parents. They came upstairs in an endless symphony of footfalls and doors closing, water running and toothpaste spitting. Long after the house grew quiet and darkness overtook it, she waited, but Tam never came, and she fell into a fitful, haunted sleep.
**
Ellie bent over the smooth, white cream cheese frosting covered red velvet cake in front of her and lifted her piping bag in what was now a familiar series of movements. She lacked Paige’s artistry – roses and leaves escaped her – but she could lay a nice thick stripe of icing around the top and bottom of the cake and pass it along to Paige for further detailing. It was almost midnight; both of them looked like ghosts, dusted in flour head to toe. Their fingers were cramping and the sweet smell of baked goods was almost nauseating, but Pop of Paige Cakes had received its largest order yet, and seeing as how Paige’s ability to pay her half of the utilities was directly tied to her baking, Ellie wasn’t opposed to the all-night bake-off. Especially not when she had a rather entertaining sequence of events replaying in her mind.
“Guess who I had dinner with,” she said once her friend’s monologue had come to an end.
Paige cracked an egg with a flourish, the inside of it landing in her bowl with a puff of flour and sugar mixture. “Johnny Depp.”
Ellie rolled her eyes. “Coach Walker.”
“Oh. You know, for a PE coach, he doesn’t totally suck. He kind of - ” Her sentence ended in an abrupt gasp and her huge, cornflower blue eyes came tearing up from her bowl. “Wait, what ? You had dinner with him? You went on a date with our teacher ?”
Ellie lowered her bag, shoulders grateful for the break. “Not a date,” she said firmly. “He was on a date and she bailed – probably because he flirts like a trained chimp – and my shift was over so I helped him out with the pizza. But I repeat, not a date .”
“Well that’s boring,” her friend said in a huff. “Only you could turn a possible dangerous liaison into something boring.”
“’Dangerous liaison’?” Ellie chuckled. “Really?”
Paige shrugged. “He’s not my type, you know - ”
“I know.”
“- but he’s kinda cute and he’s older, our teacher…that coulda been exciting, you
“I didn’t say it was your fault!” he snapped, coming to his feet so fast her muscles jumped.
Tam caught himself, his eyes landed on her clenched fists and then lifted to her face, wide and full of apology. Ireland was the first and only time she’d ever felt apprehensive around him. Not afraid, not worried for her safety, just…cautious. Only in Ireland, and now.
He turned away from her and raked a hand back through his hair.
Jo felt a great, yawning pit open at the bottom of her stomach, the kind that wanted to swallow her whole. She’d never had a fairytale – had never wanted one – but the sudden knowledge that her own personal flavor of happy married life had come to an end was crushing. To know that her year of smiles and hand-holds under the table, the entangled nights and constant kisses were over left her feeling empty and raw. Tears filled her eyes and clogged up her throat. Each breath was more painful than the last.
“I’m sorry I said anything,” she said, and slipped out of the room before he could comment.
Jo took a long shower and then retreated to Mike’s old room. She listened to Jordan come home, his voice mingling with those of her parents. They came upstairs in an endless symphony of footfalls and doors closing, water running and toothpaste spitting. Long after the house grew quiet and darkness overtook it, she waited, but Tam never came, and she fell into a fitful, haunted sleep.
**
Ellie bent over the smooth, white cream cheese frosting covered red velvet cake in front of her and lifted her piping bag in what was now a familiar series of movements. She lacked Paige’s artistry – roses and leaves escaped her – but she could lay a nice thick stripe of icing around the top and bottom of the cake and pass it along to Paige for further detailing. It was almost midnight; both of them looked like ghosts, dusted in flour head to toe. Their fingers were cramping and the sweet smell of baked goods was almost nauseating, but Pop of Paige Cakes had received its largest order yet, and seeing as how Paige’s ability to pay her half of the utilities was directly tied to her baking, Ellie wasn’t opposed to the all-night bake-off. Especially not when she had a rather entertaining sequence of events replaying in her mind.
“Guess who I had dinner with,” she said once her friend’s monologue had come to an end.
Paige cracked an egg with a flourish, the inside of it landing in her bowl with a puff of flour and sugar mixture. “Johnny Depp.”
Ellie rolled her eyes. “Coach Walker.”
“Oh. You know, for a PE coach, he doesn’t totally suck. He kind of - ” Her sentence ended in an abrupt gasp and her huge, cornflower blue eyes came tearing up from her bowl. “Wait, what ? You had dinner with him? You went on a date with our teacher ?”
Ellie lowered her bag, shoulders grateful for the break. “Not a date,” she said firmly. “He was on a date and she bailed – probably because he flirts like a trained chimp – and my shift was over so I helped him out with the pizza. But I repeat, not a date .”
“Well that’s boring,” her friend said in a huff. “Only you could turn a possible dangerous liaison into something boring.”
“’Dangerous liaison’?” Ellie chuckled. “Really?”
Paige shrugged. “He’s not my type, you know - ”
“I know.”
“- but he’s kinda cute and he’s older, our teacher…that coulda been exciting, you
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