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In the end, Mary decided, why not go with a pragmatic plan that moved everyone into position for what happened next?
And that was what unfolded.
Deidre and Mary had decided to start nursing school so they could be study buddies, and then they signed on to work in the same Norfolk VA hospital.
When college graduation came around, and their husbands’ twenty-year commitment was served, their husbands retired from the military and resigned from their marriages.
Amicable splits for both couples.
The kids graduated, and just like that, all five of the XY chromosomes were out the door and on to their futures, leaving the two XX chromosomes blinking at the sudden void.
They knew it was coming. It was still a kick in the gut that left Mary winded.
The “shift” happened years ago, and Mary still felt like she hadn’t quite mastered standing on wobbly ground as an individual. Too much time building too much muscle memory. She still cooked five times more than she needed. She still woke up with lists of things to check off that no longer needed her attention. She still shoveled food in her face as quickly as she could at meals because surely something would interrupt—spilled milk, a temper tantrum over the spaghetti noodles. Mary had learned to suck up her meal like a vacuum, and now she had to make a conscious effort to breathe between bites.
Deidre seemed to settle into the new lifestyle with a lot more ease. Maybe it was their age difference that made this easier for her.
It was the children that were the loss. In her brain, Mary knew this was all good. But every cell in her body told her to protect her offspring. Her ex? Meh. That wasn’t the problem.
He was a ghost that glided through their halls at certain times of the year.
Dan wasn’t there for the twin’s birth. He was on the last thirty days of the ninety-day cruise, and the boys hadn’t wanted to stay in for their due date. So she’d brought her neighbor, Deidre, to the hospital to feed her ice chips, mainly because Mary didn’t fit behind her steering wheel no matter how far back she put the driver’s seat. She didn’t think the taxi would let her in with her plastic garbage bag and towel to sit on once her water broke.
Eighteen, mother of two. That, as it turned out, was the easy part.
It was all uphill from there.
But she’d had Deidre to lean on and vice versa. They were “in it to win it” together. It felt good to have someone like that in her life.
Deidre broke into Mary’s thoughts. “Get yourself some water, take the first shower. My appointment isn’t until three, and we have the rental car. Let me see if I can’t find something fun to do for sunrise. Maybe there’s a tram to the top of the mountain and a breakfast spot with to-die-for breakfast pastries.”
“And coffee,” Mary added as she clicked on the light and blinked at the sudden brightness.
“Coffee goes without saying.” Deidre reached over to pull up her computer, a sure sign that she was heading straight into the rabbit hole of travel reviews.
Throwing off her sheets, Mary wore a pair of panties and a t-shirt. She grunted as she crawled into a bath instead of a shower. She’d left the door open so Deidre could talk to her.
With her head resting on the cool ceramic of the lip and the hot water massaging her toes as it came out of the faucet, Deidre showed up with her computer in hand and sat on the toilet lid. “Found it.”
“Coffee?”
“Sort of. Listen to this. Just up the road, two hours is a ski resort.”
“Nice. I bet there’s a cute little restaurant and beautiful views. If we left now, we’d be up there to see the sunrise.”
“Better. There’s skiing.”
“It’s the second day of September at the end of the hottest summer on record.”
“There’s skiing. I kid you not.” Deidre held back the curtain of hair on either side of her face as she leaned over the screen, reading. “You just have to get out on the hill by seven.”
“Okay, you know how to ski. You do that. I’ll sit very still and enjoy the view.”
“You know how to ski. You took lessons last year.”
“I was flailing around on the hill where the toddlers learn.”
“Look.” Deidre turned her computer screen. “Toddlers in shorts and little helmets. Aren’t they adorable?”