Page 59 of It Happened Back Then
The bell over the door jingles gently, and I see Meadow walk through.
"You know, for someone who swears she hates glitter, you’re awfully covered in it," Meadow says.
“Yeah, well, when your niece says she wants glitter and flower stickers, that’s what you give her.” I dust my hands off and watch little sparkles fill the air.
"You look like a disco ball." She sits in the chair opposite me and places two cups down. “Peppermint tea with ginger. Don’t make that face, it will help with the nausea.”
I raise my half empty mug. "Perfect timing. The peppermint has helped, but ginger?"
"I know it’s gross but trust me."
She looks around at the glue sticks and name tags, then nods at the stack.
"So this is how you’re ignoring it all? Fill your life with wedding shit and pretend you’re not dying inside?"
I shrug, smiling a little. "You always see through me."
"It’s part of the sister contract. Section 4, paragraph 7. Right after ‘must provide wine in emotional emergencies.’"
“Or in this case, tea.” I laugh, for real this time, and take a sip of the hot tea. “He responded to my text.”
“And?”
“And it’s over.”
She scoffs and sits back in the chair. “The fuck it is.”
I laugh. “Lief said the same thing.”
Her eyes grow wide. “You told him? And Bennett is still breathing?”
I nod. “I kind of had to. He brought me hot chocolate; by the way thank you. He didn’t suspect a thing when I wasn’t drinking coffee.” She nods and I continue, “Anyway, we were talking and Bennett responded and I saw the text and got so upset I knocked over the hot chocolate. When Lief saw me crying over the spill, I had to explain it wasn’t really over that.”
“Well, shit. What did the text say?”
I sigh, spinning my phone on the table. I don’t need to pull up the text, I know what it says word for word. “He’s tired of the back-and-forth and he deserves more.”
“I take it he doesn’t know about the baby?” she asks quietly.
I shake my head. “No, I haven’t told him yet. I will. I mean, of course I will, but I needed to just get through the bridal shower. Then I sent the text asking to talk, and he replied with that, so now I’m going to have to just show up.”
We sit in silence for a moment, then Meadow begins to fidget before she speaks.
“We each have our dynamic with each other, right? Like, Lief and January are the oldest two, so they kind of stick together. Then there are the three girls so we stick together. Lief has a protective nature with all of us but each relationship is different because of our personalities.” She spins her coffee cup. “But it’s always been us, right? Like, we’re the youngest two, and while they were doing big-kid stuff, we had each other. What I’m trying to say is, I’m sorry I ran. You know, when I would disappear at times, I just, I didn’t know how to cope. So I needed to be alone.” She shrugs. “It probably wasn’t the best way to deal with shit, but it’s all I knew.”
“We all had different ways of dealing with it. I don’t blame you, Meadow.”
She nods. “I know, but I just felt like I need to say it. I know you’re going through it again, and I want you to know I’m here for you. Always.”
I smile and reach for her hand and squeeze. “I love you, Mead.”
“I love you too.” She stands and stretches before grabbing her coffee cup. “So when are you going to tell him?”
I exhale slowly. "He’s not going to want to see me, but I’m going to go by his cabin tonight."
"He may act like that, but he has a right to know. And if your love is still as strong as it’s been all these years, then you both owe it to yourselves, and this baby, to try.”
"And if it’s too late?"
