“Katie, this is Susan Wayne from Borden’s Gap. Can you talk?”
Katie’s heart skipped a beat. “Yes, I’m driving. It’s good,” she said.
“I won’t detain you, but I wanted to let you know that we were very impressed with you and are offering you the job.”
Katie gasped. “Oh! That’s wonderful! Thank you! Thank you so much. I accept!”
“Great!” Susan said. “You will receive an email with a contract to sign and all of the particulars you’ll need to know, as well as a start date for your job. And since this is such a small community, we took the liberty of giving you the name of the only Realtor in town. She will have information on all of the rental properties and will be happy to help you find a residence. Congratulations. We look forward to working with you.”
“Thank you so much, Mrs. Wayne. This is the best news.”
“Susan, please. Mrs. Wayne is for school.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Katie said.
“Let me know when you get to town. We can set up a time to meet in person, and I’ll give you the tour of the elementary school myself.”
“I will,” Katie said.
The call ended, and Katie was beaming. She laughed, and then she cried a little, and then laughed again. This was really happening. She had a new job! She was moving to Tennessee. She couldn’t wait to tell Lila.
When she pulled into the parking lot at Ruth’s Chris Steak House, the streetlights and night-lights throughout the parking lot were already on.
The scent of the desert mingled with the woodsmoke from the steakhouse grill as she walked across the parking lot toward the building. Sage and hickory teased her palate. And after that phone call, there was much to celebrate. She wasn’t holding back on anything tonight.
Lila was waiting for her inside, and the moment Katie saw her, she started grinning.
Lila stood as Katie came toward her. “What?”
Katie threw her arms around Lila’s neck.
“I got the job. I’m moving to Tennessee!”
Lila squealed, and hugged her again. “Oh my God. You are truly the unsinkable Katie McGrath! I am so proud to call you friend.”
A few people waiting to be seated overheard the exchange and clapped for her joy, while others looked up from their phones, staring. Some recognized her face, while others recognized the name, and every one of them thought, Could I have done the same? Would I have been that brave?
Unaware that she’d been recognized, Katie was still bubbling with joy as she and Lila were finally seated. As soon as they ordered an appetizer and their drinks, Lila leaned forward and grabbed Katie’s hand.
“You are my best friend, and you know it,” Lila said. “I am going to miss the heck out of you, but I’m also so happy for you. You’ve had the year from hell, and it’s about damn time some good stuff started happening for you. And…it’s not like I’ll never see or talk to you again. There’s always FaceTime and Zoom.”
Katie was listening and talking and laughing and sharing food with Lila, but her mind was beginning to wander. A part of her was already gone.
***
So while Katie was focusing on a whole new venture, Megan’s perfect world was beginning to crumble.
Before Mark, her job had often been simple pickups, gathering up the money their street pushers had made and getting it back to her father.
She’d get her oil changed and pick up an envelope full of cash.
She’d meet friends for lunch and get an envelope from a bartender at the restaurant.
She carried thousands of dollars in her purse every day. And then she got married.
Now, she was still making the rounds but had to get rid of what she picked up daily or hide it before Mark got home from work. It was becoming more and more difficult to come up with new reasons for being gone all day, every day, and he was getting suspicious.
And then Mark confronted her, and the world blew up in Megan’s face.
***
It was the middle of June, and just after 4:00 p.m. when Megan pulled into the drive, and even as she was watching the garage door go up, her stomach was already knotting. Mark’s car was in the garage. He was early. She had no idea how long he’d been home, but she’d been gone all day and there was over ten thousand dollars in her purse.
“Shit,” she muttered, and in a panic, she pulled a plastic shopping bag out from under the seat, dumped the money in it, and jumped out and dropped the bag into the deep freeze and covered it with some packages of frozen meat, then snatched a package of frozen pork chops out and took it with her as she went inside.
Mark came strolling into the kitchen as she came in carrying the package of meat.
“Hi, darling,” Megan said, and slid the pork chops on a plate and put them in the microwave for a quick defrost.
Mark stared at her, his hands in his pockets. He still hadn’t said anything, but she felt the vibes of distrust as surely as if he’d already uttered the words.
She washed her hands at the sink, then turned around to give him a hug, and he stopped her.
“Where have you been all day?”
She frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been home since ten this morning. You were gone then. I lay down thinking you’d be back soon and fell asleep. I woke up after lunch and you still weren’t home. I sent you a text. Do you remember what you said?”
Megan’s heart stopped. “I said I was going out to pick up dessert for tonight.”
“Where’s the dessert?” he asked.
She flushed. “They didn’t have what I wanted, so I didn’t get it.”
“Who is he?” Mark asked. “Someone new, or someone in your circle of ‘friends who lunch’?”
Megan gasped. “I’m not cheating on you.”
Mark’s eyes narrowed. “You are lying to me. And this isn’t the first time you’ve said one thing and done another. I don’t like being lied to.”
“I am not cheating on you. I swear it,” Megan said.
Mark just shook his head and walked out of the kitchen, and at that moment, Megan knew the dream was over. She couldn’t protect herself and the business without Mark finding out. If he was suspicious, he might hire someone to follow her, and one thing would lead to another, and people would die.
She took the pork chops out of the microwave and put them in the refrigerator, then went upstairs, got out her suitcases, and started packing.
“What are you doing?” Mark asked.