Sara thought Heather looked great, all things considered. She wasn’t dressed like the woman on the front of her book. And she certainly didn’t look like the kind of person who hobnobbed with celebrities. She looked pretty and soft in dark jeans, a white peasant top, and plain white sandals.
“I’m sorry,” said Heather simply and directly to her old friends.
Nobody spoke for several moments. And then the dam broke. Elizabeth managed to haul herself off the couch to hug Heather. Sara went next.
Carmen came forward and said, “Look, you’re on double secret probation. But I’m willing to hear you out.”
It appeared that they were all terrible at holding a grudge.
Except one of them.
Martha stood quietly to the side. She clearly wasn’t there yet.
“Ladies, I need your tips on how to manage three kids without a husband and without a budget,” Heather said with as much confidence as she could muster. “My life is one big hot mess.”
“I can certainly help on the multiple kids on a budget part,” offered Sara kindly. “But I don’t know how I would do it without Scott. I’m so sorry about Phil, Heather. I don’t know what else to say.”
“Well, I know how to get by without any help from a man,” said Carmen wryly. “I did that for the better part of twenty years. You might have been up your ass in general when you wrote your book, but you were sure right about Mark. That guy was a big fucking mistake.”
Heather reddened and said, “I’m really sorry about what I said in the book. All of it. I don’t know what I was thinking. None of your lives are mistakes. And you didn’t deserve having them characterized that way. I was, as you put it so delicately, Carmen, totally up my own ass. I want to rewrite your stories someday. No, I don’t want to. I’m going to. I owe you that much at least. But probably no one will want to read it after everything that’s happened. And I wouldn’t blame them.”
“Heather, maybe you should just focus on rebuilding your life,” Elizabeth suggested gently. “You don’t need to correct the record. It’s in the past. Let’s just try to move on.”
“Let’s not beat around the bush,” said Carmen. “Listen, Heather, you really can’t just write about someone else’s experience like you did. It’s just not right.”
“I know that now. I’m so sorry,” repeated Heather.
“But if you do want to write something,” said Carmen playfully, “we did come up with a title.”
Sara smiled and said, “All the Right Mistakes.”
“I love it!” enthused Heather. “Please, let’s catch up. I missed you guys so much. And I need to know exactly how it is that Elizabeth is having Carmen’s baby. That’s been bugging me since your visit in March, Elizabeth. It’s got to be a good story. And by the way, I think I’m moving with the kids back to Oconomowoc before school starts again in the fall. There’s nothing for us anymore in California. I’ll get a normal job and live in a normal house and live a normal life for a change.”
“You’d better not be selling this cottage,” said Elizabeth in mock pain. “We’re just getting used to it.”
“Well, we’ll see. I’m not totally wiped out, and I do love this place. I was thinking about trying to rent it out,” said Heather. “Except in June. That month is reserved for you guys and your families. If you would like to come, that is. Consider it your royalties from the book.”
“Make it all summer, and we might find it in our hearts to forgive you,” Carmen replied with smile.
Carmen grabbed two bottles of champagne out of the fridge, and the girls instinctively formed a little conversation circle. Except one. Martha sat a little outside the group and was far quieter than the others. But she was there, and that was something.