love, and he’s gone.” She splashed her face a couple of
times and reached for a hand towel. “I’ll move Momma and Busha in here with me
and we’ll be a fine bunch of crazy cat ladies.”
“That would be fine if you didn’t dislike cats so much.”
Rachel was standing behind Petra when she finished drying
her face.
“I’ll preface what I have to say next with I love you. You
have been and always will be my very best friend, but enough with the bullshit
excuses. Forget that nonsense about the women in your family being cursed to
only love once, and fuck Jude.”
Petra turned very slowly, caught off guard. Rachel was
usually the gentle one of the three of them. This wouldn’t have surprised her
at all coming from Bree.
“After all the years you were together, Jude ran you over as
though you were nothing more than a speed bump on the road of his life,
not the life you had together. I know you loved him, and I know it still hurts,
but he’s gone. Honey, it’s time to stop letting his choices control your
happiness.”
Petra bristled and opened her mouth to say something else
but Rachel stopped her by taking her face in her hands and stepping close.
“Petra, Alex is sunshine. He has the biggest, most loving
heart of anyone I know. He goes to work every night and makes sick, frightened
children laugh and smile and then he comes home and does the same for his
friends and family. He is the fucking sun itself Petra, and he deserves you.”
Petra dropped her gaze.
“There’s more to the story,” she said quietly. “About Jude.”
Rachel brushed Petra’s hair out of her face. “What about
Jude?”
“He didn’t just leave.” She stepped backward out of Rachel’s
hands and leaned against the edge of the sink. “We’d been fighting about it for
months.”
She knew her friends might never forgive her for what she
was about to confess, but it needed to be said. She’d let them go on and on
about how unfair it was that he would just pack up and leave because it had
validated her anger. In the process she’d been dishonest not only with her
friends, but with herself as well.
“He’d been talking about joining an organization similar to
Doctors Without Borders since before he passed his medical boards. There were
many times he tried to talk to me, to figure out how we could stay together
while he did what he felt he needed to do, but I didn’t want to hear it. I
can’t leave my Busha, Rachel. She’s getting old and she and Momma are going to
need me here to help.”
Rachel’s nod was almost imperceptible.
“I didn’t tell you because it was humiliating.” Her nose
burned and her eyes watered. “I begged him to stay but he left anyway.”
Rachel wrapped her up in a hug.
“I offered to wait for him.” She drew in a deep breath and
to her relief the tears subsided. “He couldn’t promise me he was coming back,
and he didn’t think it was fair to ask me to wait.” She straightened. “I’m
sorry I haven’t told you this before.”
Rachel’s lips twitched. “Oh, you think we didn’t know there
was more to the story?” She outright smiled then. “Honey, Bree and I were
friends with Jude too. We know he wouldn’t have just cut and run without giving
you some kind of warning.”
She should have been relieved, but the fact that they’d
known she was keeping something from them only compounded the guilt she’d
already been feeling.
“How are the two of you still friends with me?” she asked.
“Your air of mystery is just one of the many things we love
about you. I think it’s safe to say you’re never going to shake us,” Rachel
took Petra’s hands and gave them a little squeeze. “And you never keep your
secrets to yourself for very long. Having your lover of many years leave is
ugly. No one begrudges you wanting to keep a little of your dignity intact.”
That’s when Petra saw it. “Oh my God I’m such a selfish
asshole.”
She brought Rachel’s left hand close.
times and reached for a hand towel. “I’ll move Momma and Busha in here with me
and we’ll be a fine bunch of crazy cat ladies.”
“That would be fine if you didn’t dislike cats so much.”
Rachel was standing behind Petra when she finished drying
her face.
“I’ll preface what I have to say next with I love you. You
have been and always will be my very best friend, but enough with the bullshit
excuses. Forget that nonsense about the women in your family being cursed to
only love once, and fuck Jude.”
Petra turned very slowly, caught off guard. Rachel was
usually the gentle one of the three of them. This wouldn’t have surprised her
at all coming from Bree.
“After all the years you were together, Jude ran you over as
though you were nothing more than a speed bump on the road of his life,
not the life you had together. I know you loved him, and I know it still hurts,
but he’s gone. Honey, it’s time to stop letting his choices control your
happiness.”
Petra bristled and opened her mouth to say something else
but Rachel stopped her by taking her face in her hands and stepping close.
“Petra, Alex is sunshine. He has the biggest, most loving
heart of anyone I know. He goes to work every night and makes sick, frightened
children laugh and smile and then he comes home and does the same for his
friends and family. He is the fucking sun itself Petra, and he deserves you.”
Petra dropped her gaze.
“There’s more to the story,” she said quietly. “About Jude.”
Rachel brushed Petra’s hair out of her face. “What about
Jude?”
“He didn’t just leave.” She stepped backward out of Rachel’s
hands and leaned against the edge of the sink. “We’d been fighting about it for
months.”
She knew her friends might never forgive her for what she
was about to confess, but it needed to be said. She’d let them go on and on
about how unfair it was that he would just pack up and leave because it had
validated her anger. In the process she’d been dishonest not only with her
friends, but with herself as well.
“He’d been talking about joining an organization similar to
Doctors Without Borders since before he passed his medical boards. There were
many times he tried to talk to me, to figure out how we could stay together
while he did what he felt he needed to do, but I didn’t want to hear it. I
can’t leave my Busha, Rachel. She’s getting old and she and Momma are going to
need me here to help.”
Rachel’s nod was almost imperceptible.
“I didn’t tell you because it was humiliating.” Her nose
burned and her eyes watered. “I begged him to stay but he left anyway.”
Rachel wrapped her up in a hug.
“I offered to wait for him.” She drew in a deep breath and
to her relief the tears subsided. “He couldn’t promise me he was coming back,
and he didn’t think it was fair to ask me to wait.” She straightened. “I’m
sorry I haven’t told you this before.”
Rachel’s lips twitched. “Oh, you think we didn’t know there
was more to the story?” She outright smiled then. “Honey, Bree and I were
friends with Jude too. We know he wouldn’t have just cut and run without giving
you some kind of warning.”
She should have been relieved, but the fact that they’d
known she was keeping something from them only compounded the guilt she’d
already been feeling.
“How are the two of you still friends with me?” she asked.
“Your air of mystery is just one of the many things we love
about you. I think it’s safe to say you’re never going to shake us,” Rachel
took Petra’s hands and gave them a little squeeze. “And you never keep your
secrets to yourself for very long. Having your lover of many years leave is
ugly. No one begrudges you wanting to keep a little of your dignity intact.”
That’s when Petra saw it. “Oh my God I’m such a selfish
asshole.”
She brought Rachel’s left hand close.
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