She pulled her head back to look at me, then nodded slowly. “Let me know how I can help.”
I said I would, then answered her questions about the cottage, the town, Sofia, and Joe as I ate my cereal.
I still had a key, but I knocked on the door anyway.
There was the sound of footsteps before the door opened, then I was face-to-face with Brad for the first time in months.
Neither of us spoke for a long moment. It was a little surreal. We shared a life for six years, and now he was practically a stranger in a body I knew. “Hey,” I said finally.
“Hey.” His tone was guarded, despite the fact that I had texted him before I went over—I didn’t think Taylor would appreciate me just showing up, even with the paperwork that simplified her life.
“I brought the settlement agreement. And your key. And this.” I pulled my engagement ring from a small felt bag. I knew full well that my grandmother would have said I was a fool to return it, but it had been his grandmother’s, and keeping it didn’t feel right, whether he planned to give it to Taylor or not.
He studied the ring, surprised—he hadn’t asked for it in the settlement—then looked back at me, and his shoulders slumped. “Do you want to come in?” He hadn’t taken anything from me yet.
I hesitated. “Is Taylor here?”
“No.”
I didn’t really want to go back in there. But there were things that probably needed to be said, so I nodded, and he stood back to allow me to walk past him.
Not much had changed. I hadn’t taken the furniture, as most of it had been Brad’s before I moved in, and I had no place to put anything. It was like a strange little time capsule, familiar yet from another life.
I set the envelope, key, and ring on the table where he had left his ring six months earlier and followed Brad to the living room, where I sat in the same spot I had been in when he announced he was leaving.
“Jenna, I—”
I held up a hand. “Hang on.” He stopped, and I paused to collect myself. “You should have talked to me sooner. Before anything happened with Taylor. Even if you weren’t willing to try to work things out, you should have told me. I know neither of us was happy. But that wasn’t fair.”
For a few seconds, he didn’t respond, then he nodded.
“Don’t do that to Taylor too.” He started to protest, but I cut him off. “Look, you didn’t think you’d do that to me at the beginning either. Don’t be that guy again.”
“Can I say something now?” I nodded. “I am sorry.”
I looked at him for a long moment. “I know that. And I’m sorry for not signing the papers earlier.”
“What changed?”
“Me. Everything. I’m ready to move on.” He was staring, and I wondered if the shift in me was actually visible. It felt like it must be.
But I was also ready to leave. I stood up and looked at him one last time. “Be happy, Brad.”
I didn’t take a final glance around. I didn’t need to. The weight was lifted. I had no idea what my future held, but I didn’t need to look back.
The following morning I was scrolling through Zillow listings, broadening my search criteria to try to find the best place for my money. It didn’t have to be perfect—but it did have to be big enough to accommodate Jax when Joe came to visit. Now that Brad had the paperwork, he’d be starting the sales proceedings on the condo, which would leave me much more financially stable. And I had plans that night with two friends whom I hadn’t seen in way too long.
I heard a car door shut outside, followed by my grandmother’s voice in the hall. She never knocked unless the door was locked. “Jenna?” she called loudly.
“In the kitchen.” I rose to greet her. I didn’t want her trying to go up the stairs to find me. “Did you drive here?”
“Of course I drove.”
“I’m gonna tell Mom you don’t have a license.”
“I have a license. Whoever said I didn’t have a license?”
“Let me see it, then.”
“I don’t have it with me, darling. Then people might know how old I am.”
I shook my head. I would probably never know whether she was legally allowed to drive unless I called the police. And I wasn’t positive they could make her produce a license even if she had one.
“What are you doing here?”
“Maybe I missed you.”
“Did you?”
“No. But we have business to discuss.” She took a seat at the kitchen table, and I sat back down as well.