Lost Along the Way(96)

“Please hang up the—”

“Hi, Steve!” Jane said. Meg realized she was holding her breath listening to Jane speak, a vein in her neck pulsing so strongly she could actually hear it. “No, she’s fine. Everything is great. Well, I spent last night taking naked pictures with Cara’s soon-to-be ex-husband, but other than that things are great. Don’t worry, though, Meg was only the getaway driver; she had nothing to do with the pictures, or the drugs, or the blackmail. We’ve been taking good care of her, as promised!”

Meg unwillingly cracked a smile just picturing Steve’s face on the other end of the line as he tried desperately to understand what Jane was talking about.

“Anyway, it’s a long story. You know what would be great? Why don’t you come out for dinner tonight? We’re celebrating and we’ll fill you in on everything when you get out here. Meg really wants to see you. I think it’s time you guys talk things out. I don’t want to overstep here—you know how much I hate to meddle in other people’s problems—but in this case, I think it’s warranted. It doesn’t matter what time, six, seven, whenever. What do you say? It’ll be nice.”

“Tell him I hope he comes,” Meg said. “Tell him . . . tell him I’d like him to come.”

“Did you hear that?” Jane asked. “Don’t make her ask twice. Please come. Great. We will see you around six!” Jane hung up. “Maybe I should be a relationship counselor.”

“What did he say?” Meg asked.

“He’s coming. He’s looking forward to it. He wants to hear the story. You can still save this. You can still get your life back. I’d kill to be in your position.”

“I—I don’t know what to do,” Meg stammered. Who got this nervous over seeing her own husband?

“I just told you what to do. Meg, please don’t make him come all the way out east hoping to reconcile with you and flake on him. That’s just cruel.”

“No, that’s not what I mean. I meant I have nothing to wear.”

“Oh, well. That’s a different story, then. I don’t think he’ll care what you wear. I think he only cares about what you have to say. Let’s focus on that.”

“Do you really think I can do this?”

“I think we can do anything we want to do. You just have to be brave enough to put yourself out there. Do you want me to get naked and straddle him when he gets to the house? I’ll do that for you too, if you want.”

“Keep your clothes on or I will end you,” Meg said, her insides churning at the mere thought of it.

“That’s my girl.”

There were so many questions bouncing around Meg’s brain: What if Steve changed his mind and didn’t show? Or worse, what if he drove all the way out there, but then decided that he didn’t want to listen to what she had to say? She knew that he was running out of patience and she couldn’t blame him. It didn’t take a genius to understand that this was probably going to be her last chance to save her marriage, and that if she couldn’t convince him that she was ready to move on from everything, he’d probably move on without her. As soon as they returned home, they headed straight for Meg’s room. Cara, Nick, and Jane sat on her bed for over an hour, watching as she tore through everything in her closet, ultimately deciding on nothing. She felt like she was back in college, getting ready to go on a first date or something, instead of preparing to meet her husband for the first time in almost a year. She never thought she’d have these feelings again, the butterflies that overtake you when you’re really excited and nervous and hopeful and scared all at the same time.

Two hours later, Steve knocked softly on the door. It takes a special kind of man to be willing to knock before entering his own house, but Meg had always known he was special. She smoothed her hands over her hair before she opened the door, suddenly having to resist the urge to cry. Cara, Jane, and Nick had scurried upstairs to give her some privacy, but she knew they were all piled on top of each other at the top of the stairs, eavesdropping without feeling the least bit guilty like only best friends can. Meg wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Hey,” Steve said when she opened the door. He held a bottle of wine in one hand and a bunch of flowers in the other. “I heard you were having a dinner party. You look great,” he added quietly.

“So do you,” she answered. There weren’t words to say how sorry she was for everything, so she didn’t even try. Instead, she flung herself on him. “Welcome home,” she managed to choke out before she started to cry.

An hour later they sat around her farmhouse kitchen table, Meg and Steve on one side, Cara and Jane on the other, with Nick at the head. They ate tequila-and-chili-spiced chicken and sipped champagne as they celebrated too many things to count. Meg watched Steve eat slowly, savoring the first home-cooked meal she’d made for him in a very long time, and listened to Nick and the girls fill him in on their adventure. Steve waited until the very end before he said a word. Meg knew his brain was swimming with all the details they’d just thrown at him, and that made complete sense. Meg had done more in the past week than she’d done in the past year. Part of her had come back to life.

“You guys did all of this in the last twenty-four hours?” Steve asked.

“Yup,” they said in unison.