Page 102 of Something Borrowed

Audra didn’t even sound particularly cranky, but she just couldn’t help herself. She had to gripe. “I get it. I get it. Girls’ night out is more important.”

“It’s not that—”

Audra interrupted. “Don’t worry about bringing me anything from the restaurant. You made that nice split pea soup the other day. That’ll be just fine.”

Vic blinked. Okay, then.

They all resoundingly agreed: sushi it would be.

Madeline hefted Boots up and gave him a noisy kiss on the nose. He rumbled into purring immediately. “I’ll be back for you later—and I’ll bring you tuna,” she promised.

Soon they were tucked away at a little table, sipping miso and waiting for what, from the amount they’d ordered, seemed like it would be their body weight in sashimi, tempura, and rolls.

Vic sighed happily.

“Okay, now that there won’t be any interruptions, tell us all about Michael,” Madeline encouraged.

So Vic did. She ate delicious tidbits with her friends and shared all the details, good, bad, and ugly. And she didn’t feel ashamed or like she was some big failure. Through it all, Gwen and Madeline listened intently—and shared their own experiences as they related.

“Motherhood, oof. It’s not for the weak,” Madeline said at one point.

“Good thing we’re tough as fudge then, isn’t it?” Gwen’s eyes glinted.

“I don’t know, Gwen,” Vic wisecracked back. “Is ‘fudge’ really that tough?”

“Ha ha,” Gwen said.

Madeline twinkled. “Yes, Gwen’s potty mouth is infamous in these parts.”

The conversation moved from Michael to Audra—wow, she was a fun night out, wasn’t she?—but Madeline and Gwen didn’t seem to mind. And they’d asked, so what was she supposed to do? Not share? She told them about her “We need to talk” conversation with Audra and how it had gone way better than she thought it would.

“Make sure you hold her to her word about the doctor,” Gwen said.

“I will. She’ll book it this week, or I will—and I’m planning to accompany her. I’m hoping they’ll let me come in with her.”

“They should—if your mom’s willing, that is.”

Vic and Gwen exchanged a look, then Vic widened her eyes exaggeratedly. “In a perfect world,” she said darkly.

“I’ve got to meet this woman,” Madeline announced. “She sounds amazing.”

Vic was slightly at a loss. “Um, that’s an interesting take.”

Gwen giggled.

The tealight decorating the table had burned low, and their various platters of shared food were nothing more than bits of rice and garnish when the conversation turned to Cal—as Vic knew it would eventually. She was surprised it had taken this long.

“So, what did Michael think of Cal?” Gwen asked. “You were planning to introduce them, right?”

“Yeah, about that . . .” Vic hesitated, then thought, what the heck? It wasn’t as if Madeline and Gwen didn’t know her struggles. Just for some reason, they didn’t hold them against her.

“Ugh, Monika,” Madeline and Gwen said simultaneously when Vic had finished the story of her humiliation at Jack’s. They both pulled the exact same face as they said it too. Never in a million years would Vic have thought she’d laugh regarding Monika—or especially so soon—but here she was. Laughing until she was breathless, in fact.

“Gwen has nightmare stories involving her, too,” Madeline said.

Vic gaped at Gwen. “You don’t mean… nightmares from after high school was over?”

Gwen waggled her eyebrows and gave a wry smile.