Love's Second Chance (Second Chances #1)(67)

“I, um…yeah if it’s alright with Richard, then fine.”

“Thanks, Mom.” She ran back up the stairs to pack a bag to be ready when Ashlee came to pick her up.

When the kids were gone, Rebecca closed the door behind her and took a deep breath. She had a few hours to herself. She decided she would pack a lunch and surprise Jack at work since he had left so early. She took a quick shower and threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She blow dried her hair, applied a little make-up, and set out to the kitchen.

She packed homemade chicken salad sandwiches, macaroni salad, chips and soda. The phone rang; it was her neighbor, Ellie, asking if Adam would be interested in having a sleepover with her son, David. Rebecca set up the plans and agreed to drop off some things for Adam at her house.

That was it. Rebecca now had the night off. It didn’t happen very often so, she wanted to make the best of it. Maybe she could convince Jack to take her out on a date—just the two of them. She was beginning to feel a little better. She tried to keep a positive attitude, and she decided that she would make the first move toward attempting to rekindle things with her husband.

She packed up her car and drove across town to Jack’s shop. When she pulled into the parking lot she didn’t spot his truck anywhere. She parked and walked into the waiting room where she was greeted by Dana. Dana spotted Rebecca and immediately stopped typing on the computer.

“Hi Rebecca, Jack’s not here. He said something about a meeting with a new supplier. He won’t be back until after one o’clock. Do you want me to tell him that you were here?”

Rebecca sighed and shook her head. “That’s alright Dana, thanks anyway.”

Rebecca walked back out into the parking lot. She knew she couldn’t automatically jump to conclusions about his whereabouts. If he said he was at a meeting, then he was at a meeting. She sat behind the wheel of her car and her hands trembled from the wrenching feeling in her gut.

She decided to swing by Tasha’s office to share the lunch that she had packed for her husband.

“Well, it’s his loss. This chicken salad is to die for. You are such a good cook. I’m going to have to go to the gym just to work it off.”

“Oh, you are just being nice. So, Richard is taking the girls to New Hampshire this weekend? Is there a special reason?”

“Yeah! Richard has been seeing this girlfriend for a while now. He wants Ashlee to like her because he plans on asking her to marry him.”

“Wow! And you are alright with this?”

“Totally! Why wouldn’t I be? He deserves to be happy. We truly are best friends. If he’s happy, then so am I. I’ve met her a few times, her name is Rochelle. She seems nice. It took her a while to realize that Richard and I are truly just friends, but now she seems to be a fit to our little family unit.”

“You are amazing, Tasha. I don’t know if I could ever do that.” Rebecca laughed despite her sinking feeling.

“So, since you are child-free, how about a girl’s night? Let’s go to dinner and have a few drinks somewhere.”

“I was going to ask Jack if he wanted to go out. Maybe it is just what we need to get things back on track again.”

“Alright, but I think you are wasting your time. If you change your mind, you know where to find me.”

At four in the afternoon, Jack called Rebecca on her cell phone. His voice came off as very robotic and matter-of-fact.

“Yeah, Dana told me that you stopped by earlier. Are the kids alright?”

“Um. yeah, I just packed a lunch and was going to surprise you.” The line went quiet.

“Oh!”

She didn’t know how she expected him to respond, but that was definitely not it. She felt let down.

“I had a meeting with a new supplier for the shop.”

“Yeah, Dana already said that.”

“OK, well if there is nothing else, then I’ll talk to you later. I might be late tonight. I have a few cars that need to be done so I can get paid. It’s the end of the week. I have to make payroll.”

“Oh!” she tried to hide her disappointment. “I guess I’ll see you later then.” She hung up the phone and swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat.

She fell back in her chair and stared up at the ceiling. She was mad and hurt. She wanted to scream. She called Tasha.

“I’m in. Let’s go out.”

“Yay! Girl’s night, shall we call prego and ask if she’d like to come? She can drive us since she can’t drink.”

“Sure, I’ll call her right now.” They hung up the phone and Rebecca dialed Emily.

“Hey sweetie, are you up for going to dinner tonight? Tasha and I are kid-free, so if you can get a sitter for Andrew…”

“Oh my god, yes. I’ll have my neighbor sit with him. She’s seventeen and could use the money. I’ll pick you up at, like, seven?”

“See you then.” They hung up the phone.

She went to her closet and looked around. Most of her clothes consisted of “mom clothes” as Riley often commented. They were all jeans and t-shirts or yoga pants. She dug through until she found her charcoal Kensie cowlneck sweater dress that sat above her knees. It showed off her long, lean legs and her slender figure. She ran a straightener through her long, dark tresses to smooth them out and applied some make-up. When she was through, she looked at herself in the mirror. She hadn’t allowed herself to dress up in a long time. She to fall had fallen into a slump where she hadn’t cared what she looked like.