Meet me in the Middle

Chapter 26

Owen hands me another glass of wine before he throws his arm around Teddy's shoulders and pulls her in closer for a quick smooch. "I think your first Christmas Eve party as chief is going better than expected." I agree with Owen. The caterers were making their rounds with plates of the most delicious hors d'oeuvres I've ever had in the US.

The people in attendance all mingled and laughed and no one was left behind. Alcohol was flowing and I think I even saw Bailey a little tipsy when I passed her on my way to the bathroom earlier. The company Teddy hired to organize the event had decorated their house in a very festive manner.

There was a huge table set outside with a bonfire going nearby to provide enough heat for the December chill to not be felt while we eat. We were just waiting for the last few doctors to arrive after their shift before they we're going to serve the main course.

As soon as Jo enters the house, I can see that she's not herself. She looks sad and uncomfortable in the crowd. I get Teddy's attention and point towards our friend. She whispers something into Owen's ear, and we make our way inside the house towards Jo, taking a quick detour to get her a drink.

"It looks like you need something stronger than a glass of wine." Teddy hands the glass over to Jo and she thanks her with a sad smile. "I'm guessing things didn't go that well with Alex?" She shakes her head, and the tears start pooling in her eyes. Teddy tells us to follow her to her bedroom so we can have some girl talk.

She crouches down in her shoe closet and stands back up with a bottle of tequila in her hand and offers it to Jo, who doesn't waste any time to open it and take a sip. "I don't understand why he's so mad. Technically we aren't back together again yet, so he doesn't have the right to be this angry, right?"

She sits down on the edge of the bed and Teddy drops to the floor next to her before she takes the bottle from Jo and take a drink herself. The poor woman has been a ball of stress since she started planning the event tonight. "You mean like you didn't have the right to get jealous with Link. You did choose Alex. I still don't get why you lost it when you found out Link slept with the nurse from Psych."

She grabs the bottle back from Teddy and glares at her before her gaze softens and she sticks out her lip in a pout. "I don't know why it bothered me that much either. Maybe because I got so used to being the person he shared everything with and I had to find it out like everyone else. Like it means nothing to me now, but Alex won't believe me. He's convinced I have unresolved feelings for Link and refuses to see that he's the only one I want to be with. Link is my best friend, and I didn't think I'd lose that connection when I didn't reciprocate his feelings."

At least Jo was certain about who she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. At least one of us made that revelation while my friends were all helping me with my own during the week. I've spent every night with either Amelia and Addison, or Jo and Alex, or Teddy and Owen since Maya sent the text that said we needed to talk after Christmas. I was at wits end in terms of making a decision about us.

I even started a mood board at the back of the door, of my bedroom at Amelia's house with the pros and cons of saving my marriage. My friends didn't pull any of their punches, they didn't sugar-coat their opinions and they each asked the difficult questions. They all agreed that love wasn't enough and that I had to look at the quality of my relationship as a whole.

Was I willing to be with someone that has mental health issues? Was I ready to take the risk of being ignored and pushed to the side again if Maya didn't get her way? Could I be okay with being a second thought to the person who was my everything? Did it bother me thinking of Maya with someone else? Could I accept never kissing her, touching her, making love to her, finding comfort in her arms ever again? And most importantly, would a life with Maya be worth not having the family I've fantasized about since I was a child?