noon, and on my recommendation he chose a local Mexican restaurant.
I’d just put away my phone when Jo Marie came into the kitchen. She was dressed and ready to leave for the hospital. She hadn’t mentioned how Mark fared in the last few days, and that left me to wonder if all was well.
“How’s it going?” I asked.
Her eyes shot to mine as if I’d asked something shocking. “Okay.” She continued to stare at me.
Something definitely was up and my guess was that it involved Greg. “Want to tell me what’s going on?” I asked. It went without saying that spending all her time at the hospital had put a physical and mental strain on her, but this was something more. We hadn’t had a chance to talk all week, and I was beginning to suspect she’d been avoiding me.
“I’m fine,” she snapped.
Obviously she wasn’t. I arched my eyebrows at her.
Her shoulders sagged. “Sorry, I didn’t mean for it to come out like that.”
She appeared apprehensive and restless. Something was definitely not right. “Problems with Mark?” I asked, and I wasn’t referring to his medical issues.
She shrugged and avoided what I was really asking. “He’s doing great, even better than expected, driving himself harder than he should.”
I’d assumed as much, but that wasn’t what I wanted to know.
She looked away as if gauging how much she wanted to tell me. Making her uncomfortable wasn’t something I wanted to do, nor did I intend on pressuring her into sharing confidences.
“It’s fine,” I assured her, and because I felt she needed it, I gave her a quick hug.
Stepping toward the kitchen counter, Jo Marie reached for a mug and poured herself a cup of coffee. “I made a mistake.”
“Oh?” I didn’t want to pry, but if she wanted to talk, I had a ready ear and a solid shoulder.
“I told Mark about Greg.” Her gaze remained focused on some distant point, as if she was deep in thought. “I wish now that I’d waited. It was too soon and now he’s pushing himself way too hard.” She sipped her coffee and I knew that was an excuse to keep the emotion at bay. “Mark started talking about our future and I had to stop him because I don’t know if we’ll be together…or if that’s what I want.”
Frankly, I was stunned. Ever since we’d met, Jo Marie had been all about Mark. I knew from the moment she first mentioned his name that she loved him. Yes, she’d dated Greg, and I also knew that the two of them had hit it off. It came as a shock to realize her feelings for Greg had intensified to the point that they might take precedence over Mark.
“You’re in love with Greg?” I asked, although it wasn’t really my business. I was surprised and unable to hide it.
She looked like she was about to break into tears. “I don’t know…but I’m unwilling to break it off with him, especially when Mark might be required to return to the Middle East.”
“What?” This was the first I’d heard of this. My breath caught in my throat. “He’s not going, is he?”
Her shoulders sagged. “I don’t know…I as good as told him that if he did I was done. I refuse to sit at home and worry about him coming back. I can’t do it. I won’t.”
Stunned, I hardly knew what to say.
Jo Marie looked utterly miserable. Her eyes were shadowed and I doubted she slept more than a few hours at a stretch. “Greg and I talk and he knows something’s bothering me, but not what. I don’t want to lose him, but I don’t want him to think I’m using him.”
“Greg knows about Mark, though, right?”
“Yes, of course. I told him even before I knew Mark was alive.”
“And when he learned Mark was stateside he decided he still wanted to be part of your life?” Although I asked, I knew he had. “He was willing to risk losing you, so I have to believe all he wants is for you to be honest with him.”
“I meant what I said to Mark,” Jo Marie reiterated.
I had to agree; it would be unreasonable of Mark to ask Jo Marie to wait.
“This wasn’t a line in the sand,” she continued, “it’s one drawn across wet concrete. Once it dries there’s no going back.”
I could see she was determined if the look in her eyes was anything to go by.
“It’ll work itself out,” I said, playing the role of