said.
Tennyson pulled her own locket out and held it up.
She could tell Melanie was surprised she had hers. Melanie’s mouth curved into a smile as she took the jagged half heart between her thumb and finger and offered it to Tennyson. Tennyson did the same, fitting her piece into Melanie’s. They held them connected for several seconds, both of them with tears sliding down their faces.
Tennyson finally pulled hers away and swiped at her face. “You used to say magical things happened when we put our hearts together.”
Melanie smiled. “Because it’s true.”
Tennyson laughed. “Well, our children are getting married tomorrow. That’s pretty magical. And we’re sitting here together. Again.”
Melanie nodded. “I can do you one better—Emma’s pregnant.”
Tennyson blinked. “Wait, what? Pregnant?”
“Yeah, we’re going to be grandmothers. How’s that for magic?” Melanie laughed, not even bothering to wipe the tears from her face.
Tennyson wasn’t sure if it was the heat or Melanie’s words, but suddenly she felt faint. She couldn’t be a grandmother. Grandmothers were old. Joseph would dump her. No man his age slept with a grandmother. Oh God.
Melanie took the necklace and dropped it over her head. It fell onto her T-shirt, a high school homecoming shirt for a reunion Tennyson hadn’t attended. “Emma said something to me this morning that was profound. I mean, the baby thing was a shock, no doubt, but it was something about me and you.”
Tennyson waited a few moments, still grappling with the thought of Emma and Andrew being parents. They weren’t old enough to get married, much less have a baby. It was all too much. “What did she say?”
“She said that when we are together, she can see how we once were better versions of ourselves. She said that I gave you a place to land and you gave me wings.” Melanie paused and swallowed, the tears welling in her eyes again. “I felt that, you know. There were times over the month that I forgot I was supposed to hate you. There were times I felt like you needed me, and I needed you. Like there was this hole just waiting and yearning to be filled.”
“You missed me.” Tennyson looked down at her own necklace still in her hand.
“Yeah. I think I’m better when you’re around. I feel like I’m more who I’m supposed to be, Teeny. You do that to me.”
Those words were like pouring a ribbon of caramel, pooling and then filling that empty place with the sweetest emotion known to man. “That sounds crazy, you know. I mean, with everything between us.”
Melanie issued a laugh. “Weird, huh? But I started to realize what you do for me. You make me bold. You make me expect more from my life. You push me—quite aggravatingly, I might add—to break out of my comfort zone. You don’t let rules dictate your actions. You karate kick the rules, Tennyson. I didn’t realize it, but I need you to remind me that my life is . . . well, a bit too vanilla.”
“I’ve never been a fan of vanilla,” Tennyson said, the necklace still wrapped in her hand.
Melanie laughed again. “I know you aren’t. Everyone knows you aren’t.”
“So, um, I will admit that I need someone to kick my ass every now and then. Not literally. I don’t like messing this up,” Tennyson said, waving her hands down her body. “But I’m ridiculous, self-centered, overconfident, annoying, and often miss what is truly important in life because I worry too much about the stupid things. You don’t do that. You hold me accountable, and you know the real me. Maybe you do give me a place to rest. Maybe that’s what I’ve needed all along. ’Cause I’m tired of being . . . who I was.”
This time, Tennyson reached over and took Melanie’s hand. “I missed you, too, Melanie. There were so many times I needed your comfort, your faith in me, and your shoulder to cry on. I pretend a lot of shit, Mel. But you always gave me the real stuff, the stuff that really matters.”
Tennyson dropped Melanie’s hand, fell forward, and buried her face in her palms. Melanie’s arms came around her, and she turned and clutched this woman who she once had vowed to hate for all eternity, but just never really did. “I’m sorry I hurt you, Melly.”
“And I’m sorry I hurt you, Teeny,” Melanie said, patting and rubbing her back.
After several seconds of sweating and crying on each other, they pulled away, each snuffling and drying her