Page 64 of The Me I Left Behind

She’ll never forget that day with the therapist—when she realized she’d traded one controlling person in her life for another. It all made sense, but she also felt completely powerless.

How could she change things? What could she do about it now?

Am I moving forward, away from all that? Making the decisions I need to make?

She’d escaped a controlling mother and fell into the arms of a controlling husband—from the frying pan into the fire—with only her college years and a few more years of freedom in between.

But oh, those were good years.

And for the first time in a very long time, Mary Margaret Brennan Oliver wanted those years back.

Twelve

At fifteen minutes before nine o’clock, the morning after she’d told the kids everything she knew about Max, Maggie sat in a diner off the highway about an hour east of Rocky Mount. She’d left right after dropping the kids off at school and had to be back no later than two-thirty to get a decent spot in Chloe’s school pickup line.

Julia dropped her a GPS pin the night before, sharing the location and the name of the place. She had about an hour’s drive too, coming inland from Tuckaway Bay.

The eatery was one of those old-fashioned diners inside a silver and red trolley car. Maggie had always thought those cute and nostalgic. This one had a soda fountain with red bar stools on one side, and tables along a long wall of windows on the opposite side.

The server was cheerful, leading her to a table at the end—Maggie had asked for some place less busy—and she quickly set her up with menus, coffee, and a large glass of ice water.

The drive and the wait for Julia gave her some time to reflect—on her life, on her kids’ lives, and on what their futures might look like. Her mind rolled over some things she’d not thought about for some time—her mother, the therapy sessions she’dgone through about a decade earlier, and how it all connected with Max somehow. Not to mention her lack of ability to cope with all that.

Should she seek out therapy again? What about the kids? They were all going through some shit.

But she was going to do better, now. With or without counseling. She would put herself on a new track and improve the trajectory of all their lives. Just as soon as they finished with this damn divorce.

She paused at that thought, staring off into the parking lot. Why wait? They all needed that change now.

“Hey. You made it.”

“Planned to all along.” Smiling, she stood and gave her a hug. “Thank you.”

Julia grasped her hands and peered into her eyes. “We’ll get through this, Maggie. Max will not know what hit him.”

“I hope so.”

They sat, and their efficient server—Angie—was there with more coffee and water.

“Have a look at the menu,” she said. “I’ll be back in a few.”

“Can you leave a pot of coffee on the table?” Julia asked. “We might be here for a couple of hours.”

Angie smiled. “Of course. Be right back.”

“I’m glad the place isn’t too crowded,” Maggie said.

“It could pick up at lunch time, maybe.” Julia looked over the menu.

Maggie opened hers. “So, how is Sam? Hannah?”

Looking up, Julia smiled. “Sam is wonderful. How did I live my life without that man? I’m not sure. He’s just…perfect for me.”

“I’m sure he’s glad to have you, too,” Maggie said. “I have to admit, though, I never in my wildest dreams would have paired you with an older fisherman.”

Julia laughed. “Remember that he had a different life for decades. Being a Navy SEAL can make you want to retire to fishing and domestic life. Or so he says….”

“And Hannah? Carol mentions her occasionally. I think they still talk.”