Come Back To Me by Melissa Foster Read Free Book Online Page A

kissed her cheek. They had done this silent ritual for many years, in the darkness of theaters, reaching under the table when dining with others, in the darkness of night just before they fell asleep.
     
    She sat up and wiped her tears. “Goddamn it!” she yelled, and wrapped her arms around herself. “How am I supposed to do this, Beau?” she asked the empty room. Silence pressed in around her until she felt claustrophobic and hauled herself off the bed. She opened the top drawer of Beau’s bureau, reaching past his nicely-folded boxers and rolled socks, and withdrawing his unwashed blue cotton t-shirt that she’d stashed. She pressed it against her nose and breathed in the familiar smell of Beau’s scent. A smile spread across her lips, and she exhaled, as if she’d taken a deep drag of a spectacular drug. I can do this , she told herself. I have to do this .
     
    Alice rushed around the small office. Tess would be there any minute, her first day back since Beau had died. Alice wanted everything to be perfect. She hoped Tess would slip right back into her old routine without stress or what she feared most, having to watch her friend fall apart before her eyes. She knew Beau’s memorial was a source of contention for Tess, she’d spoken to Beau’s parents, Carol and Robert. They wanted to hold a service for Beau, and Tess wanted no part of it. She wasn’t sure how, or if, she’d be able to help with that situation. At this point, she just hoped the day went smoothly, without any tearful breakdowns. Alice was good at pushing through, but she wasn’t very good at hand holding. Her mother had never coddled her, though she knew her mother’s love was as deep and pure as love could be. One didn’t have to coddle, she reasoned. One only needed to express love for another, be there for them, be strong for them—and Alice could do that for Tess.
    She smoothed her blue pencil skirt and glanced in the mirror on the wall. She stroked her hair and smiled. She loved her hair. It was her strongest feature. Sure, she had a slim, toned body, but that was easy to come by with hard work and a little discipline. Good hair, on the other hand, that was something that you could only be born with. It fell just below her shoulders, straight and full. Her natural color, somewhere between Asian pear and just-ripe banana, was cool and soft. She had worn it in the same style since she was seven: center parted, blunt across the back. If something worked, why change it? She ran the edge of her finger under one eye, then the other, though her eyeliner never needed repair.
    Satisfied with her appearance, she pulled the new coasters she’d purchased from her Coach purse (one of her guilty pleasures) and laid it on Tess’s desk. She set a tall Styrofoam cup of Tess’s favorite drink, French vanilla cappuccino from 7-11, on the coaster. It never failed to boggle her mind that her friend’s favorite beverage could be purchased for a dollar seventy-seven from a convenience store.
     
    Tess stood in the hallway, staring at the office door, wishing she could just hide forever. Reality, however, pressed on, even if you were scared, alone, and spending every second of the day waiting to hear your husband’s voice. He’s coming back to me. He promised , Tess told herself. She knew she had to put on a brave face for Alice, and she was determined not to have to deal with the looks that Alice and Kevin hadn’t realized she’d seen, the eye rolls and pity-filled glances. She took a deep breath and pulled her shoulders back. Beau would expect to find her whole, with her business still intact. For him, for when he returned, she would be strong. The feigned eagerness felt like an ill-fit jacket—too loose and too tight for comfort. He’s coming back .
     
    Tess breezed into the office. “Hey, Al, how’s it going?”
    Alice answered tentatively, taken aback by Tess’s quick turnaround. She looked healthier than when Alice had last seen her,