“Sue, please don’t leave,” Mary implored her as she started walking out of the living room.
“I don’t understand why you invited me here tonight. You just wanted to embarrass me!” Sue screamed at Gerard instead. She stopped in her tracks to turn to him at the window again.
“I was trying to arrange a reunion. I didn’t expect you to react this way,” Gerard said quietly and his attitude angered her even more.
“You said I’ve changed. When did you turn into a selfish conniving bastard?” She said the words and could feel everyone immediately grow quiet. It was as though they were all afraid of what Gerard would do next. They turned to look at him, while Sue stood at the doorway with her lower lip trembling, clutching her small purse tightly to her chest.
“You’re blaming me for our friends feeling sorry for me?” he finally said, in a drawn out, exhausted voice.
“They weren’t sorry for you. I was the bitch they wanted to stay away from.” Sue gritted her teeth, unsure, by now, who she was really mad at.
“We didn’t think that, Sue.” Carl was the one who spoke up now.
“Why the pretense, Carl? You guys managed well without me for twenty years. Why invite me here and put me through all of this?” Sue was almost as exhausted as Gerard sounded before.
“I told them you needed support.” Gerard’s voice broke the silence again and Sue glared at him with rounded teary eyes now.
“I needed support? Why? What for, after all this time?” she asked, and even as she said the words, she knew what the reason was. “Because of Vincent? You guys think I need support because I’m going through a divorce? You told them that?” Her attention flitted around the room, from Mary, to Jake, to Carl, to Gerard again.
“You were not yourself that day, Sue. You are clearly depressed. You need your friends.” Gerard was sipping his wine again and she strode over to him with fury in each step.
“Who the hell do you think you are? You think you can simply pry my friends away from me and then fling them at me at your will?” Sue’s breath was ragged, her nostrils were flaring. She didn’t know what to do, how to control her rage.
“Sue. Stop this madness.” Mary’s voice distracted her, even though she continued glaring at Gerard.
“Sue. Look at me,” she begged and Sue turned to look at Mary, who stood a few inches away from her. “We were all genuinely worried. Gerard most of all,” she said and placed a hand on Sue’s shoulder. She felt like she was going to break down in uncontrollable sobs that very instant.
“There is no shame in being upset and needing your friends around you. No matter the time that has passed,” Carl spoke up and joined Mary by Sue’s side. Sue’s lips were trembling again, she hadn’t realized how much she had missed them all these years.
“You had no right.” Sue turned to Gerard again, but her voice had broken now and she couldn’t pretend to be angry with them anymore.
“Have a drink, Sue. Say hello to your friends,” Gerard said with a smile and patted her on her shoulder before walking away from her.
•••
“His prose is as agreeable as a sweaty armpit,” Sue said and the room broke out in loud laughter.
“No way!” Mary screeched as she passed a salad bowl over to Jake who sat beside her.
“They wrote that in The Times and Vincent broke a couple of bottles of wine that night,” Sue said, trying to suppress a giggle.
“Well, I read his third novel and I have to say, I agree,” Carl said and passed her a wink.
“I did as well, but I had to be a supportive wife to him,” Sue said and rolled her eyes. She caught Gerard’s eye, who was sitting at the other end of the table. He was grinning, but also studying her keenly. She smiled at him and turned her attention to Jake.
“So you both are bankers now?” Sue asked and Mary, as expected, nodded for the two of them.
“And we have two gorgeous kids. Carla is fifteen and was named after our pal here who drove me to the hospital when my water broke. Jake was away in London,” Mary said and rolled her eyes. They all laughed.
“And Rose is going to be nine in March,” Jake added.
“I’m dying to meet them,” Sue said, accepting the salad bowl from Carl. “What about you, Carl?” She turned to him and he shook his head vigorously.
“I was married, and that lasted for about a few seconds, approximately,” he said and everybody laughed again. “No, well, we have a four year old son, Michael. He lives with his mother.” Carl was chewing on a big chunk of salmon.
“Look at you guys! All grown up,” Sue commented and stabbed a cherry tomato with her fork before popping it into her mouth.
“If only we could convince Gerard here to settle down. He couldn’t do it after you,” Mary said, still smiling but her grin immediately dropped when she noticed the expression on Sue’s face. The room fell silent and the scraping of Gerard’s chair against the floor ended the awkward moment.
“Mary’s had too much wine for one night,” Gerard said and walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders.
“I didn’t mean that,” Mary said and looked up at him.
“Of course you didn’t. I’ll go check on dessert,” Gerard said curtly and gave her shoulders a squeeze. Sue watched Jake, from the corner of her eye, as he slid Mary’s glass of wine away from her and towards him.
Sue cleared her throat. “I know we’ve not been friends for years, but I would like you all to be honest with me. You know me,” she said, turning her gaze from Mary to Carl. She knew she would never be able to break Jake.
“He’ll never admit it. At least not anymore, but he was devastated. He probably still is,” Mary said and Jake kicked her feet under the table.
“It’s all right, Jake. I’m not going to go to the Press with this,” Sue said, but Jake appeared unconvinced.
“It’s not our place to tell you these things, Sue. He’ll tell you himself if he wants to or if it’s required,” Jake said and stood up from his chair as well. “I don’t think I want to stay for dessert,” he said and rubbed a hand on his belly.
“Excuse him, Sue. Jake has always been a bit of a non-meddler as you know,” Mary said with a laugh.
“No, Mary is right,” Carl spoke up and Sue turned to look at him. “If you thought he was a bit of a recluse while you dated, he got even worse when you left. He couldn’t get over it,” Carl said just as Gerard entered the room.
“It’ll be ten more minutes, guys. Janine has made your favorite Meringue,” Gerard told Jake.
“I’m afraid we’re heading home. The kids and all that,” Jake said as he gently pulled Mary up from her chair.
“It was a lovely dinner, Gerard. It was so good to see you, Sue. Call me later and we’ll fix up a coffee date, just the two of us,” Mary said and Sue nodded her head with a broad smile on her face.
“I should head out as well” Carl stood up from his chair.
“None of you are staying for dessert?” Gerard seemed to be genuinely surprised. “You guys always stay for dessert.” He sounded like his old self again and Sue couldn’t help but smile as the others laughed.
“Next time,” Carl said and thumped Gerard on his back before following the other two out of the room.
Sue remained seated while Gerard stood at the door of the dining room.
“I’ll stay for dessert” she said meekly and he walked over to his seat at the end of the table.
“I hope you like Meringue,” he said and held her gaze firmly. In the dim light of the dining room, after having spent the evening in the company of their old friends, Gerard finally reminded Sue of the boy she had dated in college. The same boyish grin on his face, the inquisitive sparkling eyes, the same pink tongue darting out to moisten the same plump lips.
“I love Meringue,” Sue said and sat back comfortably in the chair upholstered with white fabric. “I absolutely love Meringue”.