Page 79 of Unbreakable
“Much better now that I’m medicated and back in therapy. I even got Ben to go!”
“Ooh! A modern miracle!” Kitty Gatto sidled over, Guy Stelle’s wife, reaching for Maddie and cooing as Maddie snuggled into her.
“Best godmother ever,” Jessie said. “She loves you so much, Kitty.”
“She knows what’s up,” Kitty said, bouncing Maddie to lull her to sleep. “I only caught the end of that. How’s Ohio treating ya?”
I frowned. “It’s not the same. We miss you guys. The vibes aren’t the same.”
“I’m sure there are good wives there too, though,” Kitty said. Her eyes lit up. “Mara’s there, right? She’s a million times better than Sydney.”
Sydney, Jack Leroy’s ex-wife, had been responsible for creating a rift in the WAGs group, bullying newer wives like Jessie and Kitty. Once she was out of the scene, harmony was restored.
“Oh, yeah. Mara’s the one who got me stoned off my ass at our Halloween party,” I said, turning to side hug Annie Markham, looking pristine in her crisp office outfit. She was thePrinces goalie Nick Oberbeck’s fiancée and a sports agent. “Hi, pretty! You just come from work?”
“Ugh, yes,” she said, stepping out of her high heels and flexing her feet. I’m a taller woman, but Annie’s in a league of her own, probably reaching six feet in her heels. “But I couldn’t miss this.”
“We were just telling Jeanine to hang out with Mara,” Kitty said.
“And what I was getting to, other than her getting me high, was that I really don’t know her that well. My first couple of parties weren’t too great with the Rusties wives.”
Jessie nodded, squeezing me to her. “I was overwhelmed when I started coming to these things. I had trouble with girl friendships. Like I’d had some, but I’ve always struggled to find my people?—”
“Until now,” Kitty said. “Right? You love us, right?”
“That’s what I was going to say, you goober,” Jessie laughed. “You and Jeanine were the ones who made me feel welcome. I was mad Mikey didn’t tell me you were cool sooner. I could have used you on my team.”
“I was on your team!” I objected.
“Yeah, well, I guess I didn’t feel like I fit until I gave it a good shot. Big groups of people are hard for me, but I do really well one on one. I just tried each person until I found my ones.”
“Aw, am I your one?” Kitty asked, leaning her head on Jessie’s shoulder.
I sighed. “It’s true. Most of them are really nice. I overheard a couple talking shit about Jack and Dylan, and I don’t know. It’s weird to not fit after I had it so good with you all here.”
“Give it a shot,” Jessie urged me. “And give Dylan a shot too. The more you dig into life there, the better it’ll feel.”
Rachel had wandered over, listening to the last part of our conversation. “Oh, that’s so interesting. Such good advice.”
“You guys are ganging up on me!” I protested.
“Only because we love you,” Rachel said, putting her arm around me.
THIRTY-TWO
JEANINE
NOW | DECEMBER
Made it home. Love you. Glad I got to see you
Rachel
Come back anytime. I guess I need to come see you next so I can have an excuse to buy a coat
After payinga massive long-term parking bill at the airport, I pulled into the garage at home. The kids would already be in bed, as I had a delay during my layover in Chicago.
This meant I was facing Dylan’s mom with no buffer.
