leaving the room. She continued straight through the living room and out the front door.
After taking three quick steps into the middle of the breezeway, she spun around. Evelyn leaned against the wall, one ankle crossed over the other, fiddling with the stem of her sunglasses. She looked up, and the sympathy in her soft brown eyes diffused Melanie’s anger. She drew a deep breath and released it slowly.
“I’m sorry if we made you uncomfortable,” she said quietly.
Evelyn shrugged.
“I guess this is weird for all of us, huh?”
“Yeah, I mean, I’ve heard you guys argue, but I always knew you would work it out.”
“Not this time, Ev. I’m sorry.” Strange as it sounded, she did feel as if she owed Evelyn an apology as well—as if Evelyn were the child of their broken home.
“How are you?” Evelyn asked as she took a step closer.
“I’m okay. I just—” She stopped, uncertain how to proceed. She wanted to talk to Evelyn but didn’t want to put her in an awkward position.
“What?”
“I have a lot to adjust to right now.”
Evelyn touched Melanie’s arm. “Why didn’t you tell me you guys were having problems? I don’t expect Kendall to talk to me about her feelings. But you—all of the times I’ve opened up to you about my girl trouble—”
“I know.” She nodded. “You’re right. We went from being happy to being in a rut so gradually, I didn’t notice until it was too late to recover. Then I guess I didn’t want to admit we’d failed.” She never had trouble sharing her feelings, but this time—this failure made her want to draw tightly inside herself. Kendall was her first serious girlfriend, and for a long time she’d thought she’d be the only one.
“I put you guys on a pedestal as an example of my ideal relationship.”
She mentally added another casualty to her recent actions. She’d shattered not only her own world, but Kendall’s as well. And, without even realizing it, she’d first let Evelyn harbor illusions about their “perfect” partnership and then torn those illusions apart with one decision.
“We didn’t belong there. I don’t even know what an ideal relationship is.” She had to believe that after the emotions cleared, they would realize this was best for all of them.
Chapter Six
“I have a date,” Kendall announced as she and Evelyn walked together through the cafeteria-like line at their favorite meat-and-three place. Once a week, they ate there during their shift and indulged in the rich Southern cuisine. “Do you think it’s too soon?”
Four months after her split with Melanie, she still sometimes had trouble not thinking of them as a couple. But in that time, she’d taken steps toward moving on. She’d managed to get the rest of her things from the old place and rent a condo in an affordable neighborhood not far from Evelyn’s. Surprisingly, decorating it by herself brought feelings of satisfaction and pride along with the expected tingle of loneliness.
She’d spent her first holiday season without Melanie in seven years. She had resisted the urge to text Melanie on Christmas and New Year’s Eve. And she’d finally stopped checking Melanie’s Facebook page—well, she’d cut it down to once a week.
“I don’t think there’s a timetable for these things. If you’re ready, then it’s been long enough. Where’d you meet her?” Evelyn asked, after pointing out her choice of vegetables to the woman behind the counter.
The woman holding a spoon of green beans seemed too interested in their conversation, so Kendall waited until they’d both paid and settled at a table to answer. “I met her on one of those online sites.”
Evelyn laughed.
“What? I don’t want to date anyone I already know. The police department can be so—incestuous. And it’s exhausting to think about meeting someone in a bar and trying to figure them out. On the Internet, they spell it all out for you. Sure, most of it may not be true, but I
After taking three quick steps into the middle of the breezeway, she spun around. Evelyn leaned against the wall, one ankle crossed over the other, fiddling with the stem of her sunglasses. She looked up, and the sympathy in her soft brown eyes diffused Melanie’s anger. She drew a deep breath and released it slowly.
“I’m sorry if we made you uncomfortable,” she said quietly.
Evelyn shrugged.
“I guess this is weird for all of us, huh?”
“Yeah, I mean, I’ve heard you guys argue, but I always knew you would work it out.”
“Not this time, Ev. I’m sorry.” Strange as it sounded, she did feel as if she owed Evelyn an apology as well—as if Evelyn were the child of their broken home.
“How are you?” Evelyn asked as she took a step closer.
“I’m okay. I just—” She stopped, uncertain how to proceed. She wanted to talk to Evelyn but didn’t want to put her in an awkward position.
“What?”
“I have a lot to adjust to right now.”
Evelyn touched Melanie’s arm. “Why didn’t you tell me you guys were having problems? I don’t expect Kendall to talk to me about her feelings. But you—all of the times I’ve opened up to you about my girl trouble—”
“I know.” She nodded. “You’re right. We went from being happy to being in a rut so gradually, I didn’t notice until it was too late to recover. Then I guess I didn’t want to admit we’d failed.” She never had trouble sharing her feelings, but this time—this failure made her want to draw tightly inside herself. Kendall was her first serious girlfriend, and for a long time she’d thought she’d be the only one.
“I put you guys on a pedestal as an example of my ideal relationship.”
She mentally added another casualty to her recent actions. She’d shattered not only her own world, but Kendall’s as well. And, without even realizing it, she’d first let Evelyn harbor illusions about their “perfect” partnership and then torn those illusions apart with one decision.
“We didn’t belong there. I don’t even know what an ideal relationship is.” She had to believe that after the emotions cleared, they would realize this was best for all of them.
Chapter Six
“I have a date,” Kendall announced as she and Evelyn walked together through the cafeteria-like line at their favorite meat-and-three place. Once a week, they ate there during their shift and indulged in the rich Southern cuisine. “Do you think it’s too soon?”
Four months after her split with Melanie, she still sometimes had trouble not thinking of them as a couple. But in that time, she’d taken steps toward moving on. She’d managed to get the rest of her things from the old place and rent a condo in an affordable neighborhood not far from Evelyn’s. Surprisingly, decorating it by herself brought feelings of satisfaction and pride along with the expected tingle of loneliness.
She’d spent her first holiday season without Melanie in seven years. She had resisted the urge to text Melanie on Christmas and New Year’s Eve. And she’d finally stopped checking Melanie’s Facebook page—well, she’d cut it down to once a week.
“I don’t think there’s a timetable for these things. If you’re ready, then it’s been long enough. Where’d you meet her?” Evelyn asked, after pointing out her choice of vegetables to the woman behind the counter.
The woman holding a spoon of green beans seemed too interested in their conversation, so Kendall waited until they’d both paid and settled at a table to answer. “I met her on one of those online sites.”
Evelyn laughed.
“What? I don’t want to date anyone I already know. The police department can be so—incestuous. And it’s exhausting to think about meeting someone in a bar and trying to figure them out. On the Internet, they spell it all out for you. Sure, most of it may not be true, but I
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