SparkaTale: Read it, Write it

Chapter 1

"What time do you want to meet for lunch?"

Abigail Carr tucked the cordless phone between her chin and shoulder and pulled the dirty clothes hamper out of the corner of the master bedroom. It was laundry day and she had four loads to get done before her husband and two kids came home.

"Let's do noon," she replied. "That should give me enough time to get some laundry done and drop Charles' clothes off at the dry cleaners."

"You're one busy lady for being home all the time," her friend, Sue, chided. "I thought being a housewife meant soaps and bonbons all day long."

"I wish. The only soaps I see these days are Tide and Palmolive."

She collapsed on the edge of the bed and began to sort the laundry. Three shirts went into the colored pile. A handful of socks and underwear were tossed into the whites. As she dug through the hamper, a mix of smells hit her nose - her husband's cologne, old onion and garlic, sweat. She made a face. No one said being the wife of an up-and-coming chef in LA was all delicious dinners and roses every night.

"Are we meeting at our usual spot?" Sue asked.

"I don't know." Abbey pulled a pair of her husband's work pants out of the pile and automatically checked the pockets. Charles had a bad habit of leaving stray order slips, chapsticks, and pens in his pants. Why he never cleaned them out when he took off his pants she never knew. He just dumped everything - pens, receipts, and all - into the laundry hamper and left it for Abbey to deal with. "I'm getting sick of their caesar salad."

"You know, they do have other food there. There's a whole menu to chose from!"

She laughed. "I know but none of it ever sounds good. How about that place-"

Abbey stopped when her hand ran across something flat with sharp corners wedged deep within a back pocket. "What in the world-"

"What? What is it?" Sue asked, her voice suddenly filled with concern.

"Oh sorry. I'm sorting laundry and I keep finding weird things in Charles' pockets. Would you believe last week I found a handful of carrot tops in one pocket?"

"How did he do that?"

"I don't know. He gets so busy at work sometimes. Hold on a sec. This thing is wedged in here."

She worked the corners free until the item finally popped out of the pocket, revealing it to be a small envelope. It was the same shade of peach paper her best friend, Wendy, typically used for thank you cards and notes of condolences. She flipped it over but found no markings at all on the outside.

"Did you figure it out?"

Sue's voice brought her back to the fact that she was on the phone.

"Sorry. Yes, I got it out. It's an envelope. Probably a note from Wendy. It's her usual stationary."

"What's your husband doing carrying a note from a woman in his pocket?"

"It's my best friend, Wendy Farrell," she explained. "You met her at my mom's New Year's Eve Party last year. About my height, bleach-blonde hair-"

"-wearing that white dress that dipped so far down you could almost see her belly button? Yeah, I remember her."

Abbey could hear the disdain almost dripping off her friend's voice. Sue was not alone in her distaste for Wendy. Not many of Abbey's current friends liked her childhood friend.

"She lives only a block or so from the restaurant. She must have stopped by and given this note to Charles to give to me, but he forgot."

"Don't they have email in West Hollywood?"

"You know how some people are."

"Yeah, I know. Anyway, I have to go. Got a meeting to get to. Let's meet at my office at noon and we'll decide where to go from there. Okay?"

Abbey agreed, hung up the phone and dropped it on the bed next to her. She opened the envelope and pulled a small sheet of paper, folded in half from within. When she unfolded it, she found a short note inside, not addressed to her, but rather her husband:

Dearest Charles:

Last night at the beach was the most wonderful night I've ever had. I've never had a man make love to me the way you did. If only we could have stayed there in each other's arms forever...but of course you had to return to your wife and kids. Maybe someday we'll be able to love one another without fear of discovery.

Love always,

Abbey heart leapt up into her throat as she read the last few words. No...this had to be a joke. She had to have read it wrong. It couldn't be... Her Charles would never...

She read the note again and then a third time, making sure her eyes were not deceiving her. They weren't.

Her husband was cheating on her.

Abbey pulled her minivan into the empty parking lot for Gustoso's Italian Bistro and parked in one of the spots near the back door where a supply truck was unloading crates of vegetables. As she climbed out of the car, she spotted Antony, her husband prep cook, standing just outside the back door, taking inventory.

"Hey Tony!" she called as she approached. "Is Charles here?"

The man's face lit up at the sight of his boss' wife. "Morning, Abbey! He's in the office. Go right in."

She nodded and headed inside. The smell of Charles' patented marinara sauce hit her as she walked in the door. She sighed at the smell. It had been ages since she had any of his Italian cooking. He was always so tired when he got home.

Her mind snapped back to the peach-colored note tucked in the side pocket of her purse. A flash of anger rushed through her. No wonder he was always so tired. He was messing around with her best friend on the side. All thoughts of food vanished from her mind. She turned and headed upstairs.

She found Charles sitting in the office, just as Tony said he would be, pounding away at the computer keyboard.

He looked up as she entered and smiled. "Hey! I didn't expect to see you today. Thought you had lunch with Sue."

"I'm on my way there right now." She paused. "We need to talk."

His face clouded over with concern. "Talk? About what? Is everything okay with the kids?"

She didn't answer him. She just laid the peach-colored envelope on the desk in front of him. Then she stepped back and waited for his reaction.

She didn't have to wait long. A look of confusion crossed Charles' face, followed quickly by shock and horror.

"Where...How..."

"I found it while doing laundry," she replied. "Is it true? Are you and Wendy...?"

She couldn't finish that sentence. It hurt too much to verbalize what she suspected had been happening under her nose.

Charles wouldn't look up at her, wouldn't meet her stare.

Her heart sunk: the note was true.

"How long?" she demanded.

"Abbey..."

"How long, Charles?" she repeated, trying hard to keep the tears out of her voice. "How long have you been screwing my best friend? I want to know."

He sat back in his chair with an air of resignation. "Almost a year."

His words were like a punch to her gut. She staggered back, finding it hard to breathe. A whole year? How did they...?

And then it hit her – the long hours at the restaurant, his late night phone calls telling her he would be late, the higher credit card bills. It had all been a ruse so he could wine and dine his little whore while she stayed home and took care of the house and kids.

A slew of feelings - anger, sadness, confusion - rushed through her. She staggered back, unsure of what to do next. She wanted to punch him. She wanted to throw things and scream. She wanted to slump down to the floor, curl up in a ball, and cry.

Charles rose, concern written across his face. "Abs? Sit. I'll get you some water or something."

"No!" That single word came out a lot louder than she wanted to. "Just...just leave me alone."

She bolted out of the office before he could see her cry.

3: Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"That bastard!" Sue slammed the peach-colored note down on her desk so hard, pens flew off in all direction. "That son of a bitch! How could he do this to you? And with your own best friend! Hell, how could she do that to you? How long have you known one another?"

Abbey took a deep breath and wiped at the tears running down her cheek. Hearing her friend rally against the note made her feel better. "Since high school."

"That bitch! I knew there was something evil about that girl! Wearing a dress that showed off almost all of what God gave her. What a slut! If I knew where she was right now, I'd....I'd.... Well, I'd give her a piece of my mind!" Sue shoved the paper back into the small envelope. "I'd offer you a drink but I know you won't take it."

She was right. She had to pick up the kids in a couple hours and she didn't need to add a DUI to her bad day.

Abby sighed. "What do I do now?"

"Find yourself a good lawyer and sue that asshole for a divorce, of course."

The D word startled Abbey. A divorce? Really? Wasn't there something less drastic she could do? Marriage counseling maybe?

Sue must have seen the doubt in her face. "Abbey! Are you serious!? You'd really stay with a man who not only cheated on you, but cheated on you with someone you considered to be a sister?"

Her friend was right. She couldn't be with a man who cheated on her. There wasn't enough marriage counseling in the world to repair that break in trust.

"Look, I know a good guy." Sue reached for the monstrous Rolodex on her desk. "He's one of the best in the valley, but he doesn't change an arm and a leg. I'll email you his information and you can do what you want with it. Okay?"

"Thank you."

They sat in silence for a moment while Sue snapped a picture of a business card with her cell phone and then emailed it to her. Abbey heard her own iPhone beep in the depths her purse. When she was done, Sue locked her computer and grabbed her purse from under her desk.

"Come on. Let's get some lunch. I say we try the bakery down the street. You look like you could use a super mega dose of chocolate right now and they have chocolate cake to DIE for."

Abbey arrived at her daughter's middle school with five minutes to spare. She pulled around the corner from the school and parked along the curb in the same shady spot she parked every afternoon. Parking in the residential area and having Fye walk the block with her friends killed two birds with one stone - Abbey didn't have to fight her way in and out of the pick up zone and her daughter got to keep her street cred up but not having her mommy pick her up from school. Anyway, the girl was 12 years old. It was time to let go just a little bit.

Abbey flipped the sun visor down and checked her reflection in the little mirror on the back. Her eyes were a bit bloodshot but her cheeks and nose were not longer red from crying. The bit of makeup she applied from Sue's in-office cache helped to cover any longer-lasting evidence of her cryfest she had in Sue's office.

Her cell phone rang. She glanced at the screen - Charles again. He'd been texting and calling her ever since she left the restaurant. It was only after Sue called him and told him to lay off, that she was safe and wanted to be left alone, that he finally stopped calling her every five minutes. Now he only called once an hour.

She sent the call to voicemail. Then she leaned her head against the steering wheel, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had to keep herself together, even though it felt like her world was falling down around her. She was Mom – the anchor of the household. She had to stay strong for her kids.

A knock on the passenger door startled her. She looked over to see Fiona standing at the door, smiling in at her. She plastered her own smile on her face and unlocked the doors.

Fiona, launched herself into the car with a squeal. "The band gets to go to Disneyland!"

"Disneyland?" Abbey said, trying to put some sort of excitement into her voice. "Why?"

"They're having a band competition and the advanced band was invited, but we made enough money to take everyone in the band program! Isn't that cool?"

"Very cool."

The news of an unexpected trip to Disneyland made Abbey's mind freeze with fear. Money. If she left Charles, what would she do for money? Before they got married, she had worked just one year for a PR firm after graduating from the university, and even then, that job wasn't so great. She had been a glorified gofer, making runs to the printer, fetching coffee for clients, and sitting in on design and planning meetings, but never doing any actual PR work.

She hadn't worked for the last 12 years. Charles always wanted her to stay home and take care of the house and kids. Now, she'd have to find a job and with the economy the way it was, she knew PR companies were laying people off left and right. Finding a decent job would be an almost impossible task.

Her mind wandered to all the other things she'd have to leave behind if she moved out – the good schools, the great friends, the good neighborhood. She mentally cursed at Charles. Why did he have to fuck up all of their lives?

She sighed, started the car, and pulled out into traffic.

As she pulled up to the curb in front of the elementary school, she could tell from her 9 year old face that had had a bad day too. Aaron opened the back door, threw his bag onto the floor, and collapsed into the seat with a sigh. Then he crossed his arms and glowered at his feet.

"What's up with you, dweebo?" Fye asked.

"Leave me alone."

"What? I didn't do anything!" She leaned forward so her head was between the front seats. "Mom, make him be nice to me."

"I don't have to be nice to you, butthead."

Fye smacked her brother's arm. "Don't call me a butthead!"

"I'll call you whatever I want!" He returned the punch.

Abbey sighed. She hated it when the kids fought during pickup. "Guys-"

"Mom! He hit me!"

"You hit me first!"

"Guys-"

"Dad said you're not allowed to hit me because I'm a girl and you don't hit girls."

"But you hit me first and dad said I shouldn't let anyone hit me."

"GUYS!"

The word came out of Abbey's mouth a bit louder than she wanted it to but it got the reaction she seeked. Both kids fell silent and stared at their mother, their eyes wide with surprise.

She took another deep breath before speaking, this time her voice much softer. "I've had a really crappy day, guys, and I'm not up to listening to you two fight. Please stop."

"Okay, mom," Fye replied. "Sorry."

They spent the rest of the drive home in silence.

4: Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Abbey stayed up until Charles walked in the door at his usual time of 11 PM. He stopped when she saw her sitting in the living room. "Hey."

"Hey."

She turned off the TV, silencing the newscasters repeating that day's headlines.

He perched on the arm of the recliner, but stayed silent. From the look of his face, Abbey knew he was waiting for her to explode. She remained silent. She wanted him to speak first.

A few minutes passed before her husband finally spoke. "Kids in bed?"

"They're at my mom's," she replied. "I called her this afternoon and asked if she'd watch them for the weekend."

"That's good." He slid into the seat of the recliner and gave a tired sigh. "I...I didn't expect to see you here tonight. I thought maybe you'd..."

"That I'd run away from my problems? You know me better than that, Charles."

They sat in silence for a long time. It was Abbey who finally broke the peace. "How...how could you, Charles? How could you do this to me? How could you do this to us?"

"Abs, please-"

She sighed. She knew when he said that, that what was about to follow was a bunch of excuses.

"Just stop right there, Charles. You're probably spent the whole day thinking up a trillion excuses to feed me. I'm not in the mood. There is no excuse that you could say right now that could even start to make up for this. You've been cheating on me for a year with my best friend. My best friend!"

Charles' face hardened. He rose from his seat. "What did you expect, Abbey! You've spent the last eight years ignoring me. You're so caught up in the PTA and the neighborhood watch and your friends and the kids and their activities that you completely ignore me. What did you expect me to do? Just sit around and wait for my wife to come back to me?"

She leapt to her feet, anger coursing through her veins, and jabbed a finger at him. "You spend 16 hours, 6 days a week at the restaurant. What did you expect me to do? Just sit around here and twiddle my thumbs until you decide to come home?"

He threw his hands up in exasperation. "Of course you'd throw the restaurant back in my face. I started that place with Renaldo so you'd have some sort of financial security. I spend those 16 hours working my ass off to support this family. The least I can expect is to come home to find someone who wants to be with me."

"Don't you dare blame this on me, Charles Bernard Carr! Don't forget, you're the one that cheated on me. You're the one that....that..."

Abbey's voice cracked and she suddenly had a hard time breathing. It felt as though the emotion and tears and sobs were trying to claw their way out of her broken heart via her throat.

"Abbey-"

"No!" she held up a hand. "I...I...I can't do this. Not now. Please..."

She turned and ran from the room. She barely made it to the toilet in the master bathroom before she threw up her meager dinner. Then she sunk to the floor and began to cry.

How could he? How could he be so stupid? How could he be so selfish to screw around on her? And why Wendy? Why did it have to be her best friend? Why?

She spent the next two hours curled up in a ball on the bathroom floor, crying and cursing his name. Charles banged on the door for a good half hour before finally giving up, leaving her alone to wallow in her sorrow.

When she finally found the courage to step outside and face her husband again, she found he was gone. A note taped to the TV screen said he was spending the night at Renaldo's house and would be back in the morning to talk.

Abbey didn't sleep at all that night. She laid in their bed, staring up at the ceiling, wondering what she was going to do. Could she really leave Charles? Was his cheating worth leaving? Could they work things out?

Abbey heard Charles' car pulled up into the drive at 8 AM sharp. She poured herself another cup of coffee and returned to the stool at the kitchen counter where she had been sitting since 6 AM, reading the paper.

She heard the garage door open and then close and a moment later, Charles appeared in the kitchen, a pink pastry box in hand.

"I brought you some eclairs." He placed the box on the counter near her. "There's from Darrow's."

Abbey eyed the box warily. Did he really think chocolate eclairs from her favorite bakery would fix all of this?

Charles waited for a reaction. When he got none, he sighed and leaned against the counter. "Is this the way it's going to be, Abs?"

"What did you expect, Charles?" she spat at him. "You've been screwing around for the last year, maybe even longer. I mean, I only know about Wendy."

"There were no others. I promise."

"That's somehow supposed to make me feel better?"

Her husband sighed. "I'm sorry, Abbey. What else am I supposed to say? How can I make this up to you?"

She stared at him, not sure what to say. His apology didn't feel at all sincere. It felt as if he was going through the motions, saying what he had to say to keep his marriage and kids.

"Are you still seeing her?"

He stared at her. She could tell she had hit a sore spot.

"Were you at Renaldo's house last night? Or Wendy's?"

Charles sighed a sigh of resignation. Her heart sunk. She had caught him on another lie.

"I love her," he told her. "I'm sorry, Abbey, but I love her."

His words felt like a knife to the heart. It took all her strength to speak, and even then, her voice came out as a whisper. "What about me? What about the years we've had together?"

"I love you too."

He reached across the counter to grasp her hand, but she pulled away. The thought of his touch made her nauseous.

"Please Abs, try to understand the situation-"

"I understand the situation very well, Charles. You want your cake and to eat it too."

Her husband flinched at every word, but said nothing.

"And now that I've discovered it, you want me to just accept it? You want me to be okay with you screwing around on me while I sit at home and wait patiently for your return so we can play happy little family. No. I'm not going to do that. My mother lived that way for decades and it almost killed her. All those lonely nights, all the people talking behind her back. I'm not going to live that way. I'm not going to let our marriage turn into that lifeless, loveless mess that my parents had. That will never happen, Charles. Never!"

"You don't understand, Abbey. I love you and I love the kids. I want us to be a family."

"Then stop seeing her." Her voice rung cold and hard in her ears but she didn't care. "Either you stop seeing her or the kids and I are leaving."

He paled at her ultimatum. "I...I can't do that, Abbey. I love her too much."

She stared at him, not believing the words she just heard. Did he not hear her? Was he really willing to throw away almost 14 years of their lives together - everything they had worked for, everything they had shared - for a hussy like Wendy Farrell?

A wave of anger rushed through her. She wanted to leap across the counter and strangle him. How could he do that to her? How could he screw her best friend and seem to calm about it? It took all her strength to stay where she was.

"Fine," she said, her voice low and cold. "We'll be out by Monday."

5: Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Ten months later…

Abbey – now Abigail Lancaster – flipped through an armful of mail as she walked back to her apartment. Bills, a letter from a distant friend, a couple ads…

She stopped in her tracks when she spotted the small peach-colored envelope tucked in between a grocery ad and a flyer for a nearby diner. She didn't have to open it to know who it was from.

"Why do you keep writing me?" she mumbled at the envelope. "Haven't you gotten the hint yet?"

That was the ninth envelope received since she and the kids moved out of the home they once shared with Charles. She opened the first one by mistake. Or was it stupidity? Either was, it was a bad mistake. Inside was a three page letter begging for her forgiveness. She burned that letter and tossed the ashes into the planter downstairs. Wendy's load of bullshit would do better as fertilizer for the landlord's azaleas.

When the others arrived, she immediately fed them to her shredder. She learned her lesson with the first one. She wanted to put that whole mess of a marriage behind her. So why keep digging it up? Why keep picking at the scabs?

Now, here was letter number 9. She stared at it, pondering all the things she could do to it. She knew she didn't want to read it – it would just be filled with all of Wendy's strange justifications for having an affair with Charles. Maybe if she stabbed it a couple times with a knife and wrote 'return to sender' on the front, Wendy might get the hint that she should leave her alone.

She shoved the small envelope into the back pocket of her jeans and continued looking through the mail. A large Manila envelope at the bottom of the stack caught her attention. The return address read 'Los Angeles County Family Court'.

That envelope meant one thing - her marriage was officially over.

"Mom? MOM!"

Her son's yells startled Abbey so badly, she almost dropped the mail. She looked up to find Aaron and his best friend, Barry, standing at the entrance to the building's courtyard. Both boys' cheeks were red from running around in the unusually warm November weather.

"Can I go over to Barry's house? He wants to show me the Playstation he got for his birthday."

Barry lived in the next apartment building over and always got the latest and greatest toys and electronics. Abbey dreaded the upcoming Christmas season. She knew Aaron's wish list would be ten miles long.

"Sure. Just be home by five for dinner."

"I will. Thanks!"

The boys turned and ran towards the street, yelling and screeching. Abbey winced at the grating noises that echoed off the stucco walls. She couldn't wait until he outgrew that noisy stage of adolescence. Thankfully, most of her neighbors worked during the day, so her son's noisy nature didn't bother too many people.

She crossed the courtyard and started up the stairs, her mind on all the things she had to get done that afternoon. She still have a client to call and if she timed it right, she'd get it done and off her to do list before Fye came home from her flute lesson. Her hopes were dashed when she heard the distinct sound of Ms. Roper's ancient Vega pull up at the curb outside and a car door slam. She paused at the top of the stairs and waited for her daughter to appear in the courtyard entrance.

She knew something was up the moment she saw Fye. Oh god, now what happened?

"Hey babe. How was school?" she asked.

Fye looked up at her with a glower. "I hate school."

"Bad day, sweetie?"

"Horrible." Fye stomped her way up the stairs. "First we had to run in gym and then Mrs. Richards kept me after school for not doing my homework."

Abbey sighed. She had a feeling there would be a phone call from her English teacher soon - the third call from school that month. Fye was smart and always got good grades, but after the separation and their moved to Long Beach, the young girl seemed to just give up. Her grades slipped and her attitude changed. Nothing she did seemed to reverse the downward spiral.

"And?"

"It's not fair!" Fiona trudged inside their apartment, kicked off her shoes and dropped her backpack on the floor. "Two other kids didn't do their homework, and I was the only one who had to stay after and help her clean her stupid classroom. That made me late for my music lesson, which made Ms. Roper angry so she brought me straight home. So not only did I miss my flute lesson, but now I have to do tonight's homework and yesterday's too. It's gonna take forever."

"Don't forget your extra credit essay for science. You need that to bring up your grade."

Fiona rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks for reminding me. This sucks!"

"Well, I guess you better get started then."

The 13 year old scowled at her. Abbey met her stare head on. As her mother always told her: you have to stand up to kids or they'll just walk all over you.

"Fine. Call me when dinner's ready."

Fiona snatched up her backpack and stomped off towards the room she shared with her brother.

Abbey shook her head. From the moment Fye was born, she knew the little girl was going to be as hardheaded as her. They had butted heads before, but the closer her little girl got to those crazy teenage years, the more Abbey realized getting her daughter to eighteen was going to be a living hell.

She dropped the mail on top of her desk and began to ponder dinner. There wasn't much in the house. Maybe they could order pizza-

Her thoughts were interrupted by the phone ringing. She glanced at the caller ID. It was her ex-husband's work number.

'Oh great,' she thought, frowning at the phone. 'That's just what I need today – a conversation with that ass. I bet he's canceling this weekend's visit.'

She snatched up the receiver. "Please tell me you're not canceling your visitation this weekend."

"Well, isn't that a nice greeting?"

Abbey stopped herself from saying something nasty. Being snide with her ex-husband wasn't going to help her day or the situation.

She took a deep breath and changed her tone to something a bit more civil. "Hello, Charles."

"Hello, Abbey. Did you get your copy of the divorce papers today?"

"I just got the mail," she replied. "I haven't had a chance to look through it all."

"I got mine. I glanced through them during lunch. Everything looks okay."

He paused, waiting for her to say something but she remained silent. She knew the other shoe was about to drop. His calls always heralded some sort of bad news.

He finally spoke after a moment, "I can't take the kids this weekend."

Abbey sighed and slumped back in her seat. "Why not?"

"My weekend cook quit and I don't have anyone to take over his shifts yet."

"Have Ronaldo cover it," she said. "It's important for you to see your kids."

"I would but Ronaldo's not in the country right now. He's on one of his month-long jaunts through Italy, visiting family and getting ideas for new dishes."

She cursed to herself. It looked like her weekend plans would have to be changed…again.

"You know I'd love to take them," he added. "I haven't seen them in ages-"

"Six weeks," she reminded him.

"I know. I know. It's been six weeks," he sighed. "But I just can't. You know how it is with work and all."

"Yes," she said, eyeing her overflowing in-box and pile of client folders threatening to avalanche off her desk. "I know how it is."

"What you need, sweetheart, is a guy."

Abbey rolled her eyes. That was her mother's answer to any problems in her life.

"Sure, mom. That's just what I need - another guy to screw up my life."

Her mother stared at her over the rims of her sunglasses. "Not all guys are like Charles."

"Or Daddy?"

A pained look crossed her mother's face. Abbey instantly regretted saying those two simple words. "I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't mean-"

"No, no. I deserved that one." Her mother shrugged. "You're right. I made my own mistakes in my life. At least you learned from them. You left that asshole the moment you discovered what he was doing. Trust is imperative in any relationship. Once that trust is broken, you'll never get it back."

"Amen."

The pair toasted her pearl of wisdom with a clink of iced tea glasses. Abbey took a sip of her Long Island iced tea and leaned back in the lawn chair, enjoying the bright winter California sun. After spending most of the week locked up in her little apartment working, it felt great to sit out in the sun on her mother's back patio. She had a drink in her hand, the kids were playing by themselves, and the smells of dinner – beef and vegetables roasting in the oven – were beginning to wafer out of the kitchen.

This was heaven.

"Any plans for the weekend?" her mother asked.

"Not anymore. Sue and I were planning to go out to Santa Monica and walk the boardwalk and do some early Christmas shopping, but that's not going to happen now that Charles canceled on me."

"Take the kids with you. They'll have fun."

"I'm sure they would, but I won't."

Her mother laughed, "I never said that motherhood was all shits and giggles."

"Yeah, yeah. I just hope Charles keeps his promise about Christmas break. He's supposed to have them for the full two weeks they're out of school. I could use the break."

"I thought his family was planning some sort of reunion this year."

Abbey nodded. "His mother's planning something in Orlando the week after Christmas and she wants the kids to come."

"And you're okay with that?"

"Of course! Just because we're divorced doesn't mean his family can't see the kids, right? I just wished he'd buy the tickets soon so I can make my Christmas plans."

"That's always the way it is with Charles, isn't it?" Her mother picked up the pitcher and refilled their glasses. "Always doing everything at the last moment."

Abbey nodded in agreement. She tried to battle with her ex-husband's nonchalant attitude when they were married and failed miserably. Now that they were divorced, she had no other option than to just deal with it, even though it drove her crazy.

"It's going to be quiet around here without the kids," her mother mused. "What are you going to do with yourself?"

"Sleep in. Catch up on my reading. Maybe go visit a friend up in Santa Barbara."

"I hope you'll still find time to come to my house for Christmas Eve dinner. We can attend the nativity service afterward. The girls at the church love seeing you."

Abbey smiled. She couldn't miss out on her mother's Christmas dinner nor the nativity service. Those were always the highlights of her holiday.

"Of course, Mom. I'll be there with bells on."

6: Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The good weather continued thru the weekend. Abbey took the kids to the beach on Saturday where they passed the day playing in the sand and eating junk food. They spent Sunday recovering from all the sun and fun and doing chores.

Monday morning rolled around too quickly for anyone in the Lancaster/Carr household. Neither Fiona nor Aaron were in the mood to go back to school. Abbey just about had to pry them out of bed with a shoehorn, and the time they were dressed, fed and out the door, Abbey felt like she had run a marathon.

It was almost 8:30 when she returned home from walking them to school. That gave her just enough time to rinse out the kids' cereal bowls and refill her coffee cup before her 8:30 AM video conference call with her business partners, Daniel and Marissa.

She had met Daniel and Marissa while attending UCLA years ago. Though her friends moved to opposite sides of the country after graduation, they stayed in contact via email and christmas cards. When Abbey found herself looking for a job to support herself and her kids, her two friends rallied around her. A month after moving out of the marital house, the three friends had formed Public Relations Inc., a company that specialized in the smaller PR jobs that the larger firms were not interested in. Daniel ran the business side of the company while the two women, both with degrees related to public relations, worked with the clients. Though the hours were long and money thin, Abbey had a blast working with her two friends.

She carried her coffee to her desk in the corner of the living room, sat down, and pressed the power button on her laptop. As it whirled to life, she flipped open her planner and read her to-do list. As a public relations specialist, she spent most of her day making phone calls and answering emails. That Monday would be no different. At least she had lunch with her friend, Sue, to look forward to.

She barely had her email program open when the video-conferencing software began to chime with a chat request from Daniel. She hit the "accept" button and Daniel's image appeared on her computer screen.

"Morning, Sunshine!" he chimed.

Though it was 8:30 AM in California, it was 11:30 AM where Daniel lived in New York City. His happy chatter was almost too much for her on a Monday morning.

"Good morning, Daniel," she replied.

"Give me a second to add Marissa to the call."

"Take your time."

She shrunk the video conferencing window down and pulled it into the corner of her screen so she could continue reading her email while she waited.

It wasn't long before Marissa's smiling face popped onto the screen. "Morning, y'all!"

Abbey hid her laughter behind her coffee cup. When she first met Marissa, was was the classic, California girl, with blonde highlights and a vocabulary full of mall-speak. After they graduated, she took a job with a large PR firm in Dallas. It wasn't long before she dropped the Valley Girl 'tude. Now at 38, she had turned completely 'Texas', with a southern drawl and new vocabulary that she loved to try out on her old friends.

Daniel immediately switched into business mode. "Happy Monday! Do you have any old business we need to discuss?"

Marissa spoke up first, discussing an issue she had with a client. Abbey kept one ear on the conversation while she flipped through her email, deleting spam and sorting information into folders while keeping the items she had to reply to in her in-box.

"Do you have anything, Abs?"

Daniel's question brought her full attention back to their meeting. "No, nothing today."

"Well I have some new business to discuss. A friend of mine called with a possible job and I wanted to talk to you gals about it."

Abbey leaned back in her chair and took a sip of her coffee. "Go for it."

"How do you feel about small towns?"

The question flummoxed her for a moment. "Um...they're quiet, cute....boring. Why?"

"My friend Bill is the town attorney for a small town in the hills above Denver-"

"Oh god," she groaned. "No, Daniel."

"What?"

"You know what small-town tourism is like. The work is miniscule with limited exposure for them and teeny tiny budgets for us. It's not our type of job."

"I think it's the perfect job for us," he countered. "We've talked about doing this type of work for larger cities, but they won't even consider us because we don't have a proven track record in that area of PR. Anyway, money isn't a concern. The county is kicking in some money and the town is applying for a grant from the State Tourism Board."

"And you think doing this favor for your friend would give us that track record?"

Daniel paused. "Well, we don't exactly have the job."

"What do you mean?"

"The town issued a bid request yesterday. We have to submit a proposal by Thanksgiving to even be considered."

"So you're saying that we have to do our little dog-and-pony show for a job that will probably barely cover our expenses?"

"No," Daniel said. "I have to do our little dog-and-pony show and don't worry about the money. I'll make sure we get paid enough. I always do."

Abbey glowered at the screen. She knew they needed the work but this sounded like a disastrous job.

Marissa finally spoke, "I'm fine with it, Dan, as long as I don't have to travel. I'm getting too far into my pregnancy to even take a day trip to see Ma and Pa Reynolds."

The mention of her pregnancy helped to lighten the mood.

"How are you feeling?" Abbey asked. "Is the kid still kicking up a storm?"

"All night long," Marissa replied. "I'm hoping to crawl back into bed after this call and catch a nap so I can get through my afternoon meetings."

"Don't overtax yourself," Abbey reminded her.

"Yes, Mother Abbey."

All three friends chuckled. Abbey had always been the "mother" figure of their friendship. Even before she had kids, she was driven to "nurture", which surprisingly made her a good PR person.

Daniel pulled them back to their conversation. "Are you okay with me submitting a proposal? I know it's not the greatest work, but it is a foot in the door for us."

"Yes, I guess it's okay," Abbey conceded. "We can always decide not to take the job, right?"

"Exactly," he said. "Anyway, that's all I had for you today. Anything else we need to talk about?"

"One more thing, Dan," Marissa said. "Are we still closing down the week between Christmas and New Year's?"

"That's what we talked about a few weeks ago, right?" he replied. "Why? What's up?"

"Since I can't travel, Troy's family is coming here for the holidays - his whole family. I won't have time to breathe, never mind work."

"Sounds crazy ,but fun," Abbey said. "I plan to spend that week with my feet up and a good book in one hand and a Margarita in the other."

Marissa's eyes lit up, "Oh, that's right! The kids will be gone to Florida."

"I hope so. I'm still waiting for Charles to buy the tickets."

"He better hurry up. Flights fill up fast around the holidays."

Daniel jumped in before Abbey could reply. "If it's all, I'm going to end this call now before the ex-bashing begins. Talk to you girls tomorrow."

"Bye guys."

Abbey hit the disconnect button and turned her attention back to her agenda for the day. If she wanted to leave for lunch on time, she'd have to make all of her phone calls in record time.

"What you need is a guy in your life."

Abbey glared at her friend, Sue, sitting across the table from her. "Et tu, Brutus?"

"What?" Sue's face wrinkled with confusion.

"My mother said the exact same thing to me Friday night."

"Ah, yes. The great and wise Mama Lancaster. She knows what she's talking about, Abs."

Abbey rolled her eyes and speared a lettuce leaf with her fork. "Please. My mother thinks a woman's life isn't complete unless she has a guy to fawn over."

"I agree with her."

Her head snapped up at her friend's words. "What?"

"Not the fawning part. I think that's a bit too much." She smiled. "But I do agree with the whole 'life isn't complete'. I mean, look at me. Before I met Todd, I thought I had everything - job, house, money - but I really didn't. I still had a hole that needed to be filled."

Abbey choked on her mouthful of salad and her cheeks blushed bright red. "Sue!"

Her friend laughed, "I didn't mean that, though the sex is nice. I just meant that my life was missing something and Todd filled it."

"I had a guy," Abbey countered. "I had a husband. He completed my life and I loved him with all my heart, but then he had to go off and screw my best friend."

"Then he wasn't the right guy for you, Abs. You need to go in search of Mr. Right."

"And where do I find this mysterious Mr. Right? Is there a listing for them on Craigslist?"

"Honey, you don't find Mr. Right on Craigslist. You only find sex buddies on there," she laughed. "You've got to put yourself out there, be available. Smile at guys. Let them know that you're interested. You know - all that stuff you did when you got out of college and found Charles."

"You can see where that got me."

"All I know," Sue said, pushing her empty plate aside, "is that hiding in your home office all day, working yourself to death, isn't going to get you Mr. Right. It's just going to slowly kill you."

"I know but I have this strange habit – I like to eat, not to mention my landlord appreciates me paying the rent."

"But life can't be all work and kids."

"Yeah, yeah," Abbey grumbled. She pushed the last few bites of salad around her plate. If only it was that simple.

Their conversation was interrupted by the ringing of Abbey's cell phone.

"Hold on," she pulled her iPhone out of her purse and glanced at the caller ID. "Great. It's Fye's school." She pressed the talk button. "Abbey Lancaster. …Yes, this is she. ... What? Why? ... She did WHAT?!?! ... No, no, don't call her father. I'll be right there. Thank you."

She hung up her phone and tossed it into her bag. "You're not going to believe this. Fiona got in a fight at school. They're suspending her. I have to go pick her up."

"Dear Lord," Sue gasped. "Do you want me to drive you?"

"No, no," Abbey said, digging in her purse for her wallet. "I'll walk. It's only a few blocks away. It'll help me calm down so I don't kill her in the Principal's office."

"Good luck."

Abbey rose and tossed a $10 bill on the table.

Sue pushed it back at her. "My treat. Go."

Abbey thought about fighting her, but stopped and picked up the money. "Thanks, Sue. I owe you...again."

She shrugged. "What are friends for?"

Abbey gave her a quick hug and dashed out of the deli.

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