Page 61 of Come Back to Me

Ten minutes after I called her, Janie pulls up to the curb, jumps out and hugs me tight while I cry on the sidewalk. She doesn’t ask me questions. She doesn’t rush me into the car. Instead, she just holds me and lets me ugly cry. Once my sobs settle enough that I can catch my breath, she helps me into her car and heads toward my house.

“Listen, love,” she says gently, “I’m not sure what happened yet, but I know that you’re not staying at home alone tonight. Let’s go pick up that big chocolate chunk of a dog of yours and you two are going to stay with me tonight.”

I don’t try to argue because, truthfully, I don’t think I can be at home tonight and not be assaulted with memories of Jack. I need to be somewhere that I won’t remember him making love to me and where the pillows don’t smell like him.

When we pull up to the house, Janie comes in with me and takes care of letting Bean out while I get my things packed. I get lost in my thoughts while I’m packing,wondering how I managed to get my heart broken by not one, but two men in less than a year. Maybe I need to give up on love, start knitting and collecting cats to prepare for spinsterhood.

I’m drawn out of my depressing thoughts when my phone rings and I look down and see it’s Jack. I answer, then immediately hang up, not wanting to give him the chance to leave me a voicemail.

A second later, my text message alert dings.

Jack: Annie, please, it’s not what you think. Please pick up and talk to me.

I swipe left on the message and delete it, then change my text messages to “do not disturb” mode.

As Janie walks back upstairs, my phone rings and it’s Jack… again. She looks down at my phone on the table, then up at me. Before I know it, she picks up the phone and answers it, talking before giving Jack a chance to say anything.

“Jack, this is Janie. Don’t speak. I don’t know what happened, but I know my friend is upset and she doesn’t want to talk to you right now. So stand down and give her some damn space.”

Then she hangs up on him. This is what best friends are made of.

A half hour later, we get to her house, and I settle into her guest room and get my pajamas on before going back out to her living room.

“Coffee or wine, babe?” she asks.

“I think it’s a wine kind of night,” I answer, grabbing a tissue to blow my nose.

Once she’s poured us both a generous glass of red, we sit on the couch under a giant comfy blanket. I tell her all abouthow Jack broke my heart tonight. I also tell her about how I ended up calling her from some random street corner because Joel was being a jerk.

“I’m so sorry, Annie. I wish I had something to say that would make it better. I mean, we knew Joel was a wanker, but Jack…” She frowns. “Give me your phone. I’m going to screen your calls and texts for you, so you aren’t tempted to answer him. You’re not in a state of mind for that right now.”

I sniffle and hand my phone over to her, agreeing I probably can’t be trusted with it right now.

“I’m so tired. Do you mind if we head to sleep now?” I ask, wiping my tears.

“Of course not. We can talk more in the morning if you want.”

She walks me to the guest room and, like a doting mother, tucks me in under the huge fluffy comforter. When she’s about to close the door on her way out of the room, I speak up, “Janie… thanks for everything tonight. Love you.”

“No need to thank me, Annie. This is what best friends do for each other. Love you, too.”

When I wakeup the next morning, my eyes hurt. Each time I blink, they rebel in irritation. I assume it’s from all the crying I did last night and into this morning.

I get up and go to the bathroom, then follow the scent of cinnamon to the kitchen. Janie’s made us her delicious French toast and coffee, and we take our plates out to her sunroom to eat.

“Have you thought about maybe taking some time off of work?” she asks. “It’s been a rough few weeks with Teddy, the whole Sadie situation, and now this. I could keep Bean forthe week and maybe you could get a last-minute deal on a spa week or a cruise or something. Somewhere off the grid where only your sister and I know how to reach you,” she explains.

“Gosh, it would be amazing to get away from here… but I could never do something like that. I’m not that spontaneous. I wouldn’t even know where to start,” I answer.

“It’s never too late to change.” She smiles and winks at me.

Before I know it, two hours have passed, and I’ve texted my boss and gotten a week off work. Janie has helped me book a five-day Caribbean cruise leaving out of Florida the day after tomorrow. I’ve got a flight to Florida later today with a full spa day scheduled tomorrow at the hotel I’ll stay at for the next two nights. It pays to have a best friend who is fearless and spontaneous, apparently.

My flight isn’t for four hours so Janie drops me off at home. I hug her and Beanie goodbye and assure Janie I’m fine to get an Uber to the airport after I pack.

Janie promises she’ll let all our friends know that I’m somewhere secret but safe for the next week, so they don’t worry about me. We agree that I’ll take my work phone with me, and I make sure she and Kelly have that number. This way I can leave my personal phone off except for when, and if, I want to check messages, but Kelly and Janie can reach me in emergencies.

Once I’m packed, I head down to the porch with my bags and order my Uber. I knock on the DePaul’s door to let them know I’ll be heading out for a week.

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