Julie sat down beside her daughter, as she had her other daughter just a couple of hours before, and held her hand. "Did you tell him that?"
"I tried. But he barely said anything. You should've seen him, down on one knee, looking up at me with the little black velvet box and big puppy dog eyes. It was a beautiful ring. He’d set up a whole picnic. He went to so much trouble and then all I said was no."
"Honey, you have to go with how you feel."
"I know, but I think I broke his heart. I don't know that our relationship can survive this."
The three women leaned back against the sofa, each of them with their own brand of inner turmoil. Janine, full of potato chips and ice cream, continued digging in the carton before leaning her head back against the sofa and sighing. Colleen took another scoop, licked it off the spoon and laid her head back. Julie looked at both of them, really wanting to judge them. Instead, she took the spoon out of Colleen's hand, plunged it into the ice cream and took her own bite before laying her head back against the sofa too.
Why couldn't things ever just be easy?
Janine picked at her food, barely taking more than a few bites in the thirty minutes they had been sitting there. But Julie couldn't worry about her sister right now. Adult relationship problems were way down on her list of priorities as she sat across from Janine, thinking about her own daughter.
“Maybe I should just drive over to her apartment, pick her up and take her to the doctor. She's tiny. I think I can take her."
Janine chuckled softly. "I'm not sure that's going to be the right approach."
Julie took a sip of her sweet tea. Normally, at least her favorite beverage would make her somewhat happy. Right now, nothing was doing the trick.
“I’m just getting more worried with every passing day. I don't know what to do."
“I think you just have to be there. You have to make sure she knows that you support her, and also that Christian knows he can call on you."
Julie rolled her eyes. "The last time Christian called on me, I think I made things worse."
"Hey, ladies,” Dixie said, as she passed by. It was Sunday, so the bookstore was closed, and Dixie looked like she was dressed to impress.
"Hey, lady. Wow, don't you look flashy today," Janine said with a smile.
Dixie was all decked out in a pair of hot pink pants, a frilly white shirt and some of the biggest pieces of jewelry Julie had ever seen. Her make up was perfect, complete with her shimmery pink lipgloss. And her hair, well, it was higher than Julie had ever seen it.
“Okay, you're wearing your best perfume. Where are you headed?" Julie finally asked.
Dixie tried to keep the smile off of her face, but she couldn't. "I have a… little bit of a… date."
"That's great! Why are you being so shy about it, though?" Janine asked.
"Because she has a boyfriend that she doesn't want any of us to meet," Julie muttered under her breath.
Dixie chuckled. "Who says this is the same one?"
Julie looked at her, her mouth dropping open. "You mean this is a different man?"
"Honey, I believe in playing the field! And right now, I've got men on all the bases," she said, cackling.
The thought of Dixie juggling so many dates made Julie smile, both on her face and in her heart. Since getting diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, things had been an up-and-down roller coaster. But once Dixie started going to physical therapy and taking the right mixture of medications, Julie saw the light come back in her eyes.
"Well, well, well… I guess we need to take a lesson from you, don't we?" Janine said.
"Listen, honey, I heard about William's job. I know y'all are going through a rough patch, but my boy loves you. Don't forget that."
Janine smiled and nodded her head. "I'm trying."
Dixie reached down and rubbed Janine's shoulder. “Things will work out. I just know they will."
"Well, if they don't for some reason, I guess you can teach me your ways."
Dixie waved her hand in the air, laughing as she continued walking down the sidewalk. "Better go! Don't want to keep anyone waiting!"
Julie laughed and shook her head. "If we could only be as laid-back as that woman, the world would be a better place."
"True story."
“Hey, what's with this bakery that's opening up next to your studio? Have you met the owners?"
"No," Janine said, finally taking another bite of her sandwich. In fact, I haven't really seen anyone inside other than workers. I'm not even sure when they're supposed to open."
"I'm looking forward to getting some fresh baked poundcake. I hope they have that on the menu. It's the one thing our mother always made well."
"Yeah, she isn't the best cook, is she? But Grandma? That woman made the best biscuits!"
"Yes. And peach cobbler! And chicken and dumplings!"
Janine put her hand on her stomach. "Stop! You're making me want to gorge myself on all of those things."
“Anything else ladies?” Denitra, the server, asked as she walked up to the table.
“No thanks. But, do you happen to know anything about the new bakery opening?”
“Not really. Just that the owner’s coming from Georgia.”
“Well, hopefully they’ll have some good stuff,” Janine said, smiling as Denitra walked away. “I’ll need the comfort food.”
"Look, I may not know what to do about Meg, but I know what you should do about William."
Janine looked at her. "And what is that?"
"Let him go. If y'all are meant to be together, Dixie's right. Things will work out."
"Yeah, well I've never been really good at not being in control."
"Would you rather have a relationship where William feels like you took away his opportunity? Or do you want him to feel like he has some control?"
"Can't I do both?” Janine asked, with a laugh.
“I don't think so."
Chapter Four
William sat behind his desk, trying desperately to keep his focus. He had to finish up the last of his local files before packing up his apartment and making the trip to Texas.
From the moment he had told his boss that he would take the new job, he had second guessed himself. Why was he leaving? He had a great relationship, and his mother who had Parkinson's disease was nearby. There were so many reasons not to go, and he wondered if he was sabotaging himself.
Many times throughout his life, he’d done that. Things would be going good, and he found a way to screw them up. Was he doing that again?
But, there was a deep part of him that didn't want to admit that he might be meant to live his life in that tiny town. Surely he was destined for greater things. After losing his brother at a young age, he felt the need to do as much as he could with his life to make him proud. He was living for both of them. Did having some big career make him successful? Or did living a life he loved achieve the same thing?
The look on Janine’s face when he’d told her about the opportunity had felt like a stab in his heart. He knew he was slamming a wrecking ball through their relationship, but a part of him had hoped that she might say she would come with him.