Kate inched closer to place a motherly hand on her friend’s forehead. “No fever.”
Libbie swatted her hand away. “I thought you’d be happy for me.”
“I am, I swear, but I’m also worried about you. This isn’t the Libbie I know.”
Libbie flicked a dismissive finger. “That Libbie is gone. She’s like good girl Sandy in Grease.”
Kate folded her arms. “If you strut through town in black leather and heels, I’m staging an intervention.”
“Why? What’s wrong with that?”
“Sandy changed for Danny, remember? We loved the movie, but we hated that part.”
Libbie remembered it well. She also remembered thinking that Rizzo was the most authentic character in the movie.
“Well, good news,” Libbie said. “I haven’t changed for a guy. In fact, thanks to new Sandy, I’m not sure I even have a guy anymore.”
“I hope you’re right about that last part because he wasn’t worth having. The best thing I can say about Chris is that he isn’t a serial killer or a rapist, which is about as low as my bar goes.”
Libbie let that sink in. Those were hard words to hear from her best friend, but she wasn’t surprised by how strongly Kate felt. “He’s definitely neither of those things.”
Kate’s expression softened and she hugged her friend. “You know I’ll support you, no matter what, even if you want to work things out with him.”
“I know, and that’s why I love you.”
Kate pulled back. “What do you think your parents will say? They’re going to flip out.”
“They’d have to care enough to flip out. They’ll probably just criticize me and move on to something wonderful about Emily or her kids. Or some woman at the club whose daughter’s friend is a hat model for QVC.” There was always someone more interesting than Libbie as far as her mother was concerned.
Kate squeezed her arm reassuringly. “I’m happy for you, Libbie. You deserve all the good things. You know that.”
Libbie knew that Kate was resisting her guru-speak, as Libbie sometimes called it. Sometimes it was difficult having a best friend whose entire career was built around being a self-help and motivational guru. Libbie wanted to feel like a friend, not a client, and mostly she did.
“I know you’ve always said that, but I feel like I’m finally starting to believe it.” Libbie hesitated. “Have you noticed anything different about yourself?”
Kate cocked her head. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. You don’t feel...like a better version of yourself or anything?”
Kate tipped her head back and laughed. “Hardly.”
“I know, I know. Hard to improve on perfection.”
Kate’s smile faded. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Hey, that reminds me. Did you notice anything in your journal?”
Kate’s face was blank. “Journal?”
“The book Inga left you. I thought mine was blank, but then I found a page with a cocktail recipe.”
“Really? No, as a matter of fact, I looked through mine this morning. Ava wanted to see it. I told her she could, but only if she swore not to use it as a drawing pad.” Ava liked to draw like Courtney, but as Kate liked to say to Libbie, double the drawings with half the talent. To be fair, Ava was only six.
“I made the drink last night,” Libbie said. “It was amazing. I’ll have to make one for you next time.”
“That’s strange. I wonder why yours had a recipe.” Kate frowned. “The lawyer distributed them at random, so it isn’t like yours was designated for you.”
“You’re right.” Libbie had forgotten that. “Maybe it was a book Inga had started but didn’t get to finish.”
Her phone buzzed, and Libbie noticed a text from Chris.
Libbie stared at the words on the screen. Her throat suddenly felt dry.
“What’s wrong?” Kate asked.
“Chris is at the house,” she said. “He says he’s getting most of his things, and he’ll be back for the rest another time.”
He’d also called her stupid for quitting her job in the middle of summer, but she omitted that part, knowing it would send Kate off on a fiery tangent.
Kate shook her head in disgust. “Unbelievable. All because he didn’t want to have an authentic conversation.”
Libbie drank the rest of her iced tea, letting the text settle. “Maybe he’s worried about both of us being home at the same time all summer.”
“It’s not like you’re going to lie around eating bonbons. You’re going to start your catering business.”
Libbie was still stuck on the text. That he didn’t even have the decency to wait and talk to her in person. “I didn’t realize there were two cowards in the relationship.” She’d thought she was the only one.
“How do you feel? Do you want to head home now and try to stop him from leaving?”
Libbie leaned back in the chair and adjusted her sunglasses. “I think I’ll hang out here for a little while longer, if that’s okay with you.”
Libbie arrived home an hour and a half later. There was no sign of Chris’s car in the driveway, but the mail truck was just leaving, so she stopped at the mailbox before she pulled into the driveway. Chris had been the one to bring in the mail and handle the bills. Libbie made a mental note to make a list of the bills and their due dates. There’d only been a short period of time between Nick and Chris where Libbie had handled everything. She didn’t look forward to taking over again. Although some bills arrived electronically and were paid automatically, a few of the main ones sent paper copies, and then Chris paid them online directly from the bank account.
“Lucky me. And here’s one now,” Libbie said, as she glanced at the envelope from her mortgage company. It seemed different from the normal statement and payment coupon, and she assumed it was one of those offers to switch to a new type of loan that she routinely ignored.
She carried the small stack of envelopes into the house and set them on the kitchen counter. Hercules bolted into the room to greet her, his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. He always seemed so happy. She wondered what he thought about, especially when no one was home. She’d seen videos of pets sitting in the same spot in the evening as when their owners left in the morning, and they tore at her heart. At least Hercules seemed to enjoy himself no matter what.
She opened the back door to let him out and then remembered to call for the cat. Eliza would take some getting used to. The cat appeared as if out of nowhere, twisting around her legs, her soft tail tickling Libbie’s exposed skin. She made sure the cat’s bowls were full and then went upstairs to see whether Chris had, in fact, moved out. Dresser drawers had been left half open, and a quick peek in the closet revealed that he had. Libbie took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly. He was well and truly gone. Their relationship had been hanging by a thread so fine that she hadn’t even registered its existence.
She returned to the kitchen with Eliza beside her. The cat jumped onto the counter and scattered the pieces of mail. Libbie pulled them into a pile and opened the one from the mortgage company first. The sooner she looked at the marketing material, the sooner she could toss it into the recycling bin. As Libbie scanned the contents, her fingers tightened on the edges of the letter.