Page 94 of Meant to Be

“Shedid? When?”

“This weekend. Saturday night.”

I grinned and said, “That’s fantastic.”

“I haven’t said yes yet.”

“Why not?”

“Because I hate Chip. And I don’t want to see him. Or be in his house.”

“Okay. Well…we could have dinner in the city? The three of us?”

“No,” she quickly said. “She doesn’t like to drive—”

“We could send a car for her?”

She shook her head. “No. That’ll cause a problem with Chip. Trust me.”

I hesitated, then said, “Can I make a suggestion?”

She nodded.

“Let’s just meet this challenge head-on.”

She nodded again.

“You got my back—and I got yours,” I said.

—

That Saturday, Ipicked Cate up late in the afternoon, and the two of us set out for Montclair. I could tell she was nervous, so at one point I reached over to put my hand on her thigh. “Can we have a positive attitude here? This’ll be fun!”

“Yeah. You don’t know Chip…. It won’t be fun. But I did invite Wendy…as a buffer.”

“Oh, cool,” I said. “I’m excited to meet her.”

“Yeah,” she said, sounding so glum.

“Positive attitude!” I said. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Itcouldbe fine…or it could be horrible…depending.”

“Depending on what?”

“On Chip’s mood. On how much he’s had to drink. On the weather. Who knows?”

I was really starting to hate the sound of this guy, but figured Cate was probably exaggerating. “It’ll be fine,” I said again, patting her leg, then turning on the radio.

About thirty minutes later, we arrived in Montclair. It was one of those Jersey suburbs with a great, family-friendly reputation, but it was even prettier than I’d expected. As we drove through the quaint downtown area, lined with shops, restaurants, and an old theater, I made a comment about it seeming like an idyllic place to grow up.

“For some, maybe,” she said under her breath.

“You didn’t like it?”

“The town is fine,” she said with a shrug, then pointed out my next right turn.

“Justfine? What didn’t you like about it? Too small? I always wished I grew up in a small town,” I said, babbling a little in my attempt to keep things upbeat.

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