The Restaurant(54)

Paul sat next to Emma. Mandy smiled at the two of them. They were constantly together. Emma swore there was nothing there, that she wasn’t ready to date and they were strictly friends. But Mandy saw the way Paul looked at her and she suspected Emma was equally fond of him. She just wasn’t ready to admit it yet, not even to herself.

Jill was happier than she’d ever seen her. Things seemed to be working out well with Billy. Mandy had been worried for her at first in case it didn’t work out and things were awkward between them, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Is Billy coming here this weekend?” Mandy thought Jill had mentioned that he might be coming for a visit soon.

“He is. And after that, the next time I go to New York, we’re going to tell the office that we’re together.”

“Really? Are you sure about that?” Mandy thought it still seemed soon.

“It’s been almost six months now. We both think it’s time and I don’t think it’s going to be a shock to some people in the office.”

“Well, good then. You can celebrate with after-work drinks.”

Jill laughed. “I’m sure we will. I think they’ll be happy for us. We still work well together, so nothing is changing.”

Emma turned her attention to the two of them while Paul was deep in conversation with Gary and Jason.

“How are things going with your therapist? Are you still seeing her?” Emma asked.

Mandy nodded. “I really like her a lot. We meet every other week now. It’s good to have someone to talk things through.”

“You can always talk to us too,” Jill reminded her. “Have you made any decisions on what you want to do about Cory yet?”

Mandy bit her lip. Just thinking about it stressed her out. “I still keep hoping the whole situation will go away. Which I know is silly. I guess I’ve been avoiding doing anything. I know I probably need to at least talk to a lawyer soon and learn what my options are.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” Jill agreed.

“Do you know of anyone to call?” Emma asked.

“I do. There’s a woman who is the mother of one of the girls in Brooke’s class. She’s a divorce lawyer and I really like her. I was thinking I might talk to her at some point.”

“What about Cory?” Jill asked. “Is he still asking to come back?”

Mandy nodded. “Every time I talk to him about the kids. I think he thinks one of these times I’ll say yes if he just keeps asking.”

Jill said nothing, but the expression on her face said everything and Mandy laughed out loud. “I know, he’s a real piece of work.”

“I heard from my lawyer yesterday, and my divorce will be final next week. Seems strange,” Emma said.

“Really? That’s a good thing, though, right?” Mandy asked. Emma didn’t talk much about her divorce and Mandy had no idea it was that close to being finalized.

“I suppose. I wasn’t in any hurry to do it, but Peter was. He wants to marry Tom.”

“Jeez.” Jill shook her head.

“I’m sorry, Emma. It’s a lousy situation for you,” Mandy said.

Emma sighed. “It was. I think I’m almost over it now. It will actually be a relief that it’s going to be finalized. I can close that chapter of my life and move on.”

Mandy nodded. “That’s a good way to think about it.” She wished that she had the same kind of clarity with her own situation. She knew she needed to start the divorce process, but she was still resisting it, and was not quite ready to go there yet.

Jill squeezed her arm. “Don’t feel any pressure to do anything you aren’t ready to do yet. If you want to talk to a lawyer, great. If you want to wait, that’s fine too. Whenever you’re ready.”

Mandy smiled gratefully. “Thank you. I’m getting there. Slowly.”

She’d been putting all of her energy into the restaurant these past few months and it had helped to keep her mind off Cory and their marriage. But she knew that soon, she needed to figure out what she wanted.

Mandy finished her glass of wine, said goodbye to the others and headed home. The kids were with Cory, so the house was quiet and peaceful. She changed into her most comfy pajamas, grabbed a good book and curled up in bed to read for a while. After a few pages, she drifted off to sleep and slept late the next morning.

She woke to the sound of the front door opening and Brooke and Blake’s voices as they ran upstairs to find her. She looked at the clock. She’d slept in, but it was still early, not quite nine. Cory didn’t usually bring them home this early.

Brooke and Blake ran into her bedroom and jumped on her bed.

“I can’t believe you’re still in bed!” Brooke exclaimed.

“Lazybones!” Blake said and giggled.

Mandy smiled. “You’re right. I slept in. I worked hard last night. What are you guys doing home so early? Did Dad have to work?”

Brooke nodded. “He said he had to go into the office. Daisy was going in with him.”

Mandy felt a chill run through her. “Daisy? Was she meeting your dad at the office, you mean?”

“No, she stayed over last night too. They were up late laughing. Daisy works with Daddy.”

Mandy nodded. “That’s right, she does. Was Patrick there too?” Patrick and Daisy had their own house on Nantucket, so she was pretty sure the answer was no.