Always the Last to Know(115)

I went out on the patio and thought maybe I’d call the girls, but then decided against it. Juliet had her own family, and I’d just seen her two nights ago at her place. Besides, this is what the future would look like. Quiet and peaceful, maybe a little bit lonely. But beautiful, too, out here on the patio, a glass of wine in my hand.

“You home?” came Caro’s voice.

“On the patio,” I called.

“I brought wine.”

“I already have some, but grab yourself a glass, hon.”

She came out a minute later and sat next to me. “How are you? Did it go all right at Rose Hill?”

“Oh, sure. He seems to like it there a lot.”

“But how are you, Barb?”

I smiled, feeling tears prick my eyes just a little bit. “Doing good. How about you? I feel like we haven’t talked about you in ages.”

She sighed and settled back. “Ted and I are done for good now.”

“Is that right? What happened?”

She shrugged. “Is it callous of me to say I don’t know and don’t care enough to analyze it? We didn’t have anything to say to each other these past few years, and I thought, why am I bothering? It’s not like we’re married.”

“Is he sad?”

“No. He’s dating a forty-eight-year-old.”

“Oh, that’s just gross, now.”

“Tell me about it.” She sighed. “I might get a condo, Barb. The house seems so big these days.”

“Move in with me.”

She smiled. “That’d be so much fun, wouldn’t it?”

I sat up straighter. “Caro. Move in with me.”

She shifted to face me. “Don’t you want to be alone?” she asked. “After all this time? Date somebody, maybe? Join Tinder? Get laid?”

I laughed. “Does that sound like me?” I thought a minute. “I’ve been thinking a lot about marriage these days, Caro. What it means, what love is, commitment, all that.”

“Sure you have. It’s been a rough few months.”

“The thing is . . . well, I’m not a lesbian, you know? I don’t think so, anyway. No, I’m not. You’re beautiful, of course, don’t take it personally.”

She threw back her head and laughed.

My throat grew tight. I always loved her laugh, her smile, those dimples and the way her eyes crinkled, making her look forty years younger. “Caro, I think you’re the love of my life. No one’s been there for me like you have. You’re the best friend I ever had, the person I can really talk to. You can make me laugh at everything, even my husband cheating on me.” I reached over and took her hand. “I can’t think of anything nicer than us sharing a house.”

“I have always loved your house more than mine,” she said. “You know what? I’ll think about it. We could do it on a trial basis, maybe. Let me run it past my boys and see what they think.”

“That sounds great.”

We kept holding hands, listening to the birds as they sang their evening songs, sipping our wine.

“The love of your life, huh?” she said.

“Well, it’s sure not John.”

She laughed. “Then I guess you’re the love of mine, too.”

“Girl power, as the kids say,” I said.

“Friends till the end.”

“I do love you.”

She squeezed my hand. “I love you, too.” She clinked her glass against mine. “Here’s to housemates. Who cares what the boys think? I’m bringing my purple chair, though.”

“You better. I love that chair.”

We chatted until it grew dark and the mosquitoes found us, and then moved inside.

Life partner. Longtime companion. Cherished friend.

Such beautiful words.

Love didn’t have to be romantic to encircle you in its arms. It didn’t have to make your heart race or your toes curl. Love could be just this, the sound of laughter on a warm night, the absolute comfort of being exactly who you were with the person who knew you inside and out.





CHAPTER FORTY





Juliet


She’d thought she would hate being the one in charge of the details, the legalities, the administration. She was wrong. It was completely different when it was a thing of your own.

Frost/Alexander opened three weeks after Juliet quit, the week before Memorial Day. Arwen and Juliet might never be friends, but they were a good team—Arwen giving the firm some buzz, Juliet backing that up with her reputation. They hired three other architects on a trial basis and already had six clients. Smaller projects than airport wings and Dubai skyscrapers, but they were just getting started.

The offices were in Mystic, so Juliet could be closer to home. DJK Architects had been housed in a sleek and stark building; Frost/Alexander occupied a four-story Victorian with stained glass and beautiful bookcases. She hired Noah to put in new windows and fix the front porch, but they were already working there. Arwen was moving from her loft in New Haven, and Juliet had recommended a real estate agent. Kathy was spending two weeks in Napa before starting.

“Kathy is a little miffed that you’re senior partner,” Arwen had told her over dinner. “But so be it. We needed your experience. And I have to be honest. You have balls, telling me your name goes first.” She raised an eyebrow. “I respect that.”