Coming Home

Chapter 5

"I have a feeling you girls are looking for trouble tonight," Gran mimics my earlier thoughts, chuckling as she sees us descending the stairs.

"You know us, Lola!" Denise laughs, ushering Erin and me through the door.

Excited to have a night out after so long, we put in some extra effort to get dressed up to go to Cuba. The joy of getting ready together after so many years was so big that we just allowed ourselves to live in the moment and have fun.

We are all dressed up in tight-fitting jeans, low-cut tank tops, and heels that reach for the sky. Our faces have a beautiful, radiant glow thanks to the bold lipstick and shimmering eye shadow we have used.

Right we feel beautiful and sexy like nothing could bring us down from the high of simply being out together.

"My car broke down on the main road," I say as we all pile into Erin's car. "Could one of your hubbies help me tow it?"

Denise sits in the front seat and they both share a laugh as they buckle their seat belts at the same time. They share a knowing smile and a silent joke, one that only they understand. Despite knowing I shouldn't feel jealous, a pang of sadness still wells up inside me as I realize how much I've missed since leaving this place.

"I'll text Gav," Denise offers. "I'll ask him to tow it to Sam's shop."

"Thanks." smile as I settle into the back seat.

The girl's parents are staying with their kids tonight, so their husbands will probably join us at Cuba soon, making my time with them short-lived. They all have been together for so long that it's only natural for them to include their husbands when they have an adults' night out.

"I still can't believe Sam is working at his father's shop," I say. "I thought he'd leave this place and never look back. He was such a talented kid..." I gaze out the window, lost in my thoughts as I observe the dead, empty fields around us.

It takes a moment for me to notice the sudden silence.

"What?" I ask when they exchange glances.

"He loves this place, Jen," Erin says. "He turned his father's old garage into a modern shop. After all the renovations, people from all over the country come here to have their cars fixed or remodeled."

"Really? That's amazing! So, he didn't waste his intelligence," I say, getting a snort from Denise in response.

"And we did?" she asks, keeping her eyes on the road. "We put out intelligence to waste because we didn't get fancy jobs?"

"That's not what I mean, Dennie. You guys are... happy here... have always been. But there's more to the world than just this small town. You could've at least lived a little, tried new things..."

"Like getting rich boyfriends and buying nice clothes?" She snorts again, making my walls go up.

"Well, that too. But I'm also talking about finding your place in the world, building a solid career, going to nice places, meeting other people..." I sigh.

We've had this conversation repeatedly over the years. I should've just kept my mouth shut.

"As we said, we are happy here with our little lives here." Denise crosses her arms over her chest and I know I've upset her once again.

"I don't think you guys live an insignificant life, just that you don't know what's out there because you've tied yourselves to this place," I say.

"So, please enlighten us." She turns in her seat to look at me, and I hate to see the hurt in her eyes. "What are we missing?"