Chapter 2
Disclaimer: All rights to the Mother-Daughter Book Club series belong to Heather Vogel Frederick.
Megan
It's only five in the morning and I'm already stressed out. I'm madly packing so Simon and I can make our seven o'clock flight back to Concord. We made a trip to Paris so we could visit Gigi and Edouard and see if I could get a new contract with a fashion company.
My cell rings and I quickly spy it on a dresser on the opposite side of the hotel room. "Simon!" I yell, "Can you pick up my cell?"
"Can't! I'm shaving," he yells back and I spy him through the open bathroom door with shaving cream all over his face.
Sighing in exasperation I begin to cross the room which is harder than it sounds considering I have at least six open suitcases on the floor with clothes spilling out of them. I'm breathless by the time I reach the phone, "Megan Wong-Berkley speaking."
"Megan!" I'm surprised to hear Jess's voice on the line but once I do the calculation of the time difference I realize it's only about 11:15 PM in Concord.
"Hey Jess," I reply, "What's up?"
"You'll never guess who Darcy and I just had dinner with at Colonial Inn!" She sounds excited and breathless.
"Who?" I ask, only half paying attention. I'm trying to fold a new dress I bought without getting a permanent crease in it.
"Emma!" she exclaims.
This gets my attention and I look up from the dress, "Emma Hawthorne?" I ask incredulously.
She laughs, "Yeah, well technically Emma Chadwick. It's her and Stewart's two year anniversary today."
"Wow, yeah. I mean I got the invitation but Simon and I were leaving for Europe the week before. How was she?"
Jess's voice is bright, "Great. She and Stewart moved back to Concord for good. She said that she was—" She cuts off abruptly.
"She was what?" I ask curiously.
There's a pause on the other end of the line, "It's not my news to tell."
I'm about to try and wheedle the information out of her but Simon steps out of the bathroom, freshly shaved and dressed and motions to me that we should begin to leave. I groan, "Listen Jess, I've got to go, me and Simon are flying in Logan today. Tell me when I get back."
"You're flying back today?" Jess asks, "Maybe I'll get Emma to come with me to meet you. What time does your flight get in?"
"Ten in the morning, your time. I'll see you there. Bye!" I punch the end button on my phone.
"Megan! Hurry and pack, we're going to miss our flight at this rate," Simon says.
"Sorry sweetie," I begin stuffing clothing into bags, regardless of value or creases. I fill him in about Emma as we grab our bags and head to the elevator. Inside the brightly lit lobby, Simon asks that a taxi be called to bring us to the airport and we settle on a love seat that has a convenient view of the street in front.
"So are you happy that you'll see Emma again?" Simon asks, his British accent is as evident as ever even though for the past eight years he's been living in America.
I beam at him, "Yeah, it's exciting. We used to be such good friends. I mean, I still think of us as best friends, but that's silly because we haven't seen each other in like three years."
Simon smiles, "That's not silly. You had such a strong bond even distance and lack of contact couldn't break it."
"Thanks," I smile at him and he smiles back. He's still as handsome, if not more, as when we first met.
We see our taxi pull up and leap up with our bags. Two and a half hours later I find myself seated in my first class seat on an airplane that is thirty-five thousand feet above the ground.
A stewardess wheeling a cart stops next to me, "Would you like our breakfast special ma'am?" She asks.
I nod appreciatively but when she puts it in front of me, the smell of scrambled egg and some type of sausage revolt me.
"You okay, love?" Simon asks me, his forehead wrinkled in concern.
"Yeah," I say even though I'm feeling a bit nauseous. All of a sudden I can feel that I'm going to be sick, "Actually, no!" I leap up from my seat and make a run for the bathroom, hoping to god it's not occupied.
Thankfully, it's not and I push open the doors and kneel by the toilet, waiting for something to come up. I hear Simon come in with me and shut the door. He kneels down next to me and begins to rub my back and pulls my black hair away from my face as I throw up.
"I'm sorry Simon," I murmur.
"For what?" He asks, mystified.
"For making you come into a little gross airplane bathroom with your wife who is throwing up. For making you live in Concord when I know you'd rather live in London or Paris or Bath. For not being a good wife."
I look up and see that Simon looks shocked, "Megan. How could you possibly think that? Any of that? I don't care that we're stuck in here. I made vows that I would stand by you in sickness and health and I will. Anyway, you'd do the same for me. And as for not living in London or Paris or Bath, I don't have a sentimental connection to them. I know how much Concord means to you and that makes me happy. Besides," he says with a sly smile, "Tristan lives in Concord too, so I'm not completely separated from my family. And Megan? Don't even think of saying you're a bad wife. You're the best."
There's a long silence and I look at Simon and give him a small smile and say, "Thank you. You're truly the best husband."
He helps me up and leads me back to our seats where he orders me a cup of water and some toast. After eating the toast I drift off into sleep against Simon's shoulder. I awake with a start. It's that time in the flight when most of the lights are off and people are either watching a movie or sleeping. To my right, Simon is snoring lightly, his head resting against the window. He looks so peaceful that I don't wake him. Instead I pull my phone out from my bag and switch it on. I open the photos app and go to the album labeled "The Berkley's". Smiling I start from the beginning.
The first photo is of Simon and me at his birthday party where he first kissed me. It's followed by photos of us in our freshman year, both by ourselves and surrounded by our friends. When I get to a photo of the whole Mother Daughter Book Club in England with the Berkeleys I smile at the memory of the Regency Ball. There are other photos, when Simon and I were reunited at college, when we went to our first party, college graduation, our apartment, the night he proposed, and our wedding photo. The most recently added one is of Simon, Gigi, Edouard, and me in front of the River Seine, taken only two days before.
In it we all happy but upon closer inspection you can see Gigi looks tired. She has more wrinkles and is slightly slumped. However, she still has impeccable fashion sense and has her arm around me. I sigh, once I moved out of the house for college, Gigi decided that she and Edouard would permanently relocate to Paris since she was getting older but welcomed anyone to come visit her. Simon and I even held our wedding in Paris so she could attend, which ultimately meant none of my friends could come.
Suddenly I feel dizzy. I lean back in my seat and will myself to relax. After a few deep breaths I'm steadier and decide to watch a movie to pass the time. I put in my ear buds and allow myself to be swept into a different world. Shortly after the movie ends Simon wakes up.
Stretching he says, "Feel better?"
"Much," I tell him.
"That's good," he says, taking my hand and tracing circles and running his thumb over my engagement ring and wedding ring.
Moments later the speaker crackles and we are informed that we should prepare for landing. I begin to pack up my things, turn off my phone, and fold the table against the seat. I lean over Simon and open the screen that was pulled over the window and watch as the plane circles lower and lower until it finally reaches the ground.
As we wait to be left off the plane I check my messages. There are three from Jess. The first reads MEGS. WE'RE HERE. CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU! The next once says IS YOUR FLIGHT DELAYED? WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR LIKE ½ AN HOUR. The last one tells me WE'RE HUNGRY. WE'LL MEET YOU BUY THAT BAGEL PLACE BY THE BATHROOMS.
I laugh and respond SOUNDS GREAT. ABOUT TO GET OFF THE PLANE. SEE YOU IN A FEW! J
Fifteen minutes we have our luggage and are in search of "the bagel place by the bathrooms". I finally find it after I spot Jess's trademark braid.
"Jess!" I wave madly and run to the bagel place.
"Megan!" She hugs me and steps away, revealing Emma and Stewart. Stewart looks the same as in high school, a bit taller and he's ditched the glasses for contacts. Emma's the one who has really changed. She's tall, taller than me and Jess. She's also a lot slimmer and is wearing a very flattering sun dress. But besides that, she holds herself with more confidence and seems to glow with happiness.
We look at each other for a moment and then simultaneously step forward and hug each other, crying.
"It's so amazing to see you!" Emma gushes.
"You look amazing!" I say, grinning at her, "Hey Stewart," I wave at him. He waves back.
I glance at the table they're sitting at. It has five chairs. Darcy, Jess, Emma, and Stewart occupy four of them and the fifth is empty with a handbag hanging off it.
I point to the last chair, "Who's sitting there?"
"Me," says a voice from behind me. I spin around and see a familiar face wearing its trademark grin.
I gasp, "Cassidy?"
"Hey dude," she smiles at me.
I lean in for a hug and realize she's holding something. No, someone. A toddler. I stare at her, stunned and manage to stutter, "Who's that?"
Cassidy looks down at the little girl in her arms. "This," she announces, "is my daughter, Eva."
