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“I was just gonna grab a quick sandwich and—”
Sabrina hooked her arm through Avery’s. “Nope. You’re having lunch with me. Work can wait. We never get to see each other, and I miss the shit out of you.”
Avery smiled. She knew there was no way she could say no to her friend. She’d never been able to.
On the way to craft services, Sabrina got a call she had to take. She was on it until they made it to the end of the buffet line.
“So, how was Spain?” Avery asked when Sabrina hung up the phone.
“It was beautiful. I think we got all the coverage we needed. Dailies looked good but I won’t know for sure until I get into the editing bay.” She took a bite out of the hamburger she’d chosen before they even made it to their seats. Avery would never know how her friend ate the way she did and still kept her super model figure. If Avery even looked at chips she gained five pounds.
“So when do I get to see my Jakey?” Sabrina asked after she finished her first bite.
At the mention of her son, Avery smiled from ear to ear. Sabrina didn’t see Jacob often, in fact she hadn’t seen him since her trip to L.A. when he was one, but she spoiled him rotten. She sent gifts on days like Labor Day, 4th of July, Halloween, and other random holidays. Her theory behind her random gift-giving was that Jacob received loads of presents for his birthday and Christmas so she sent hers on President’s Day so he would remember them. And it worked. He always remembered every present she sent him.
“Mom took him to a bouncy house, lunch, and a movie. I can bring him by to see you when he gets back.”
“Yes! I want to kiss his fat little cheeks!” she enthused before growing a little more serious and leaning forward. “Okay, so I know I asked you before, but are you okay? Really?”
“Yeah, I’m good.”
Sabrina tilted her head to the side, not looking convinced. “Jude was, I’m sorry,isa prick but you guys were together a long time and I mean you were going to get married and then…”
“I walked in on him fucking the nanny on my wedding day,” Avery finished.
“Yeah, and you seem…fine. Are you just numb?”
“I went to his room to tell him that I didn’t want to get married. I was calling off the wedding,” Avery admitted.
Sabrina’s eyes widened. “You were?”
“Yeah, I knew I couldn’t go through with it. At one time, I loved Jude, but I haven’t been in love with him for years. Since before Jacob.”
“Wow. Okay.” Sabrina took another bite of her hamburger and stuffed some fries in her mouth to go with it. After she swallowed, she asked. “Wait, thenwhywere you going to marry him?”
“Remember that summer when we broke up?”
Sabrina nodded. “Yeah, it was right when you found out you inherited this place.”
“Right, and I came here to do all the renovations but then went back to California before you even got here?”
She nodded. “Yeah, because you two got back together.”
Avery had never told Sabrina that she only got back together with Jude because she was pregnant. She never told anyone. Except Jude, that is. “We did get back together, but that’s not why I went back. I went back because I found out I was pregnant.”
Realization dawned on her face. “Oh.”
“I went back to California and told him. He told his family, and they pressured him into asking me to marry him. He did because he wanted his inheritance, and I said yes because I wanted a family.”
“Family,” Sabrina repeated at the same time as Avery. “That’s what you’ve always wanted.” She was quiet for a minute before asking, “What do you think eighteen-year-old us would think of thirty-two-year-old us?”
In college, Avery and Sabrina had talked about what they wanted in life, which were very different goals. Avery wanted a family, stability, and a home that she could raise all her kids in and one they could come home to for the holidays.
Sabrina who had lived in the same house she was brought home from the hospital to until she left for college, wasn’t sure she even wanted kids or to ever get married. Her goals had always been career-oriented. Success for her was having an Emmy and an Oscar for something she’d produced.
“I know eighteen-year-old me would be proud of the mom I am,” Avery answered honestly. “And Ihopeshe’d be proud of me not settling for a loveless marriage.”
“Iknowshe would be. I sure as hell am!” Sabrina smiled. “I think eighteen-year-old me would be proud of the fact that I haven’t given up. That girl who had no clue how cutthroat and heartbreaking this industry can be.” Sabrina took another bite. As she chewed, her expression changed. “Wait…weren’t you seeing someone here? In Whisper Lake, before you went back to California?” she asked with her mouth still full.
