Lost Along the Way(28)

“What are you talking about?”

“You and me. Let’s leave. I’m hiding from everyone anyway, and you can’t stay here. Not with him. Not anymore.”

“I can’t just walk out on my marriage, Jane,” Cara said. “It’s not that simple.”

“This isn’t a marriage anymore. I’m not saying never come back, but let’s just get out of here together. Let’s do some soul searching, reconnect, get some distance from our problems. Maybe it will help us both figure out what we need to do from here.”

“I have a job, too.” Cara reminded her.

“Your job is flexible and you know it. Do you have any standing appointments?”

“No,” Cara admitted. “I don’t.”

“Then that’s not a reason to stay.”

“I think you’re having a midlife crisis,” Cara said.

“Did your darling husband tell you that when he called you middle-aged?”

“That makes you middle-aged, too,” she quipped.

“Exactly. Come on, I can’t go without you.”

“Yes, you can,” Cara said.

“No, seriously, I can’t. I don’t have a car. Or money. I spent it all on cab fare.”

“Where do you suggest we go? If I check into a hotel somewhere and put it on our credit card, he’ll throw a fit. Not to mention the fact that you’re media bait and the last thing I need is my picture in the newspaper because I’m standing next to you. No. This will only make everything worse.”

“Cara, your mother would want nothing more than for you to get the hell out of this house, and you know it. I never supported your marriage, and now look, I’m back and your mother is gone. I’m sure you’d rather have it the other way around and I don’t blame you. But if you think that she’d be okay with what just happened here this morning, with what’s been happening for the last decade, you’re kidding yourself. So if you don’t want to do it for me, do it for her. And let me help you.”

The mention of her mother made Cara burst into tears. “That was a cheap shot,” she said as she dabbed at her eyes with a tissue she pulled from her pocket.

“I’m sorry. But it’s true,” Jane said.

“I know it is. I shouldn’t have to live like this. I shouldn’t have to be a guest in my own home, and I shouldn’t have to buy one box of rice at a time if I don’t want to.”

“No, you shouldn’t. You should be able to buy every f*cking box of rice in the grocery store if you feel like it.”

“I can’t keep going on like this,” Cara said.

“Does that mean you’ll come?” Jane asked.

“Come where? Where exactly are we going to go?”

“I don’t know. There has to be somewhere. Let’s call Meg. Maybe she’ll have an idea,” Jane said.

“Meg and Steve bought a summer house in Montauk a few years ago,” Cara stammered. “But I don’t know if involving her in any of this is the best idea.”

“They did?” Jane asked, instantly feeling like things were falling into place. “That’s perfect! Why don’t we call Meg and ask her if we can go out there for a few days and regroup? Maybe we can even convince her to come out and stay with us. It’s perfect, Cara. It’s empty out there this time of year. I haven’t seen her in way too long, and I really would like for us all to be together. Will you call and ask her?”

“No,” Cara said firmly. “Forget I said anything. I’m not calling her and we’re not going there.”

“Why not? You can’t tell me that she has no idea any of this is going on. Even if she hasn’t said anything to you about it, I promise you she knows. You don’t need to hide what’s going on from either of us.”

“It’s not that. It’s just that things between us are complicated. I don’t really want to get into it right now, just trust me when I tell you that I think it’s probably best to leave Meg alone.”

It had never occurred to Jane that Cara and Meg would’ve encountered problems of their own, but she tried not to let the shock register on her face. Right now, it was more important for them both to leave town than for her to hear the details of their issues. “We can talk about whatever happened between the two of you later. I promise you, we can work it out. Hey, yesterday you never thought that you and I would be on good terms, and here we are, about to go all Thelma and Louise on our husbands.”

“You say that like it’s a good thing,” Cara said.

“It’s better than the alternative.”

“That’s what Thelma and Louise thought, too,” Cara said. “They both ended up dead.”

“Come on. You won’t call her and ask her if we can use her house? You know what? I’ll call her.”

“She changed her number,” Cara said. “I don’t know how to get hold of her. She doesn’t answer my e-mails. It’s not that I don’t want to call her. It’s that I can’t.”

“Seriously?” Jane asked, stunned.

“Yes.”

“Jeez. Here I thought I was the only one having problems.”

“Not exactly.”