Chapter 19 - Friday

**Story Note - based on feedback I have made changes throughout the first 18 chapters.**

Friday morning felt strangely quiet after the chaos of the deal finally closing.

No frantic calls.

No last minute meetings.

No executives storming across the floor carrying folders and coffee like their lives depended on both.

Just emails trickling in here and there.

Jennifer sat cross-legged at the kitchen island in leggings and an oversized sweater while answering emails remotely from her laptop.

Across from her, Michelle scrolled through messages on her laptop with coffee in hand and noticeably lighter energy than Jennifer had seen in months.

Not relaxed exactly.

Excited.

Jennifer noticed immediately.

Michelle kept checking the time.

Checking her phone.

Getting up repeatedly for absolutely no reason.

Jennifer tried very hard not to notice any of it.

Failed completely.

—

Around noon Michelle closed her laptop with a dramatic sigh.

“That’s it. I’m done.”

Jennifer looked up.

“Done working?”

Michelle nodded.

“For today.”

Jennifer laughed softly.

Michelle stood and stretched slowly before looking toward the stairs.

“Okay. Important question.”

Jennifer already knew she wasn’t going to like where this conversation was headed.

“What?”

Michelle tilted her head slightly.

“What should I wear tonight?”

Jennifer froze instantly.

Michelle smirked.

“Oh my God.”

“What?”

“You’re making that face again.”

Jennifer looked back down at the laptop immediately.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Michelle laughed softly and disappeared upstairs.

Jennifer stared at the screen in front of her for several long seconds without actually reading a single word.

—

20 minutes later Michelle reappeared wearing a dark green dress and heels.

“Well?”

Jennifer glanced up automatically.

Then immediately wished she hadn’t.

Michelle looked beautiful.

Not office beautiful.

Date beautiful.

Jennifer **** herself to answer normally.

“You look nice.”

Michelle narrowed her eyes immediately.

“Nice?”

Jennifer shrugged carefully.

“It’s nice.”

Michelle stared at her another second before disappearing upstairs again without comment.

Twenty minutes later she returned wearing a black velvet dress.

Jennifer’s breath caught before she could stop it.

The dress was elegant.

Low-cut.

Soft against Michelle’s figure.

The kind of dress designed specifically for candlelight and expensive wine.

Michelle turned slightly.

“This one?”

Jennifer swallowed hard.

“Yes.”

Michelle smiled faintly.

“Too much?”

The question hit Jennifer like a punch to the chest.

Because Michael used to answer questions like this.

Not Jennifer.

Jennifer **** herself to stand and walk closer.

“No,” she answered quietly. “Definitely not too much.”

Michelle studied herself in the hallway mirror.

Then casually:

“I haven’t dressed up for anything in forever.”

Jennifer stayed quiet.

Because she remembered exactly why.

—

By five-thirty the upstairs hallway smelled faintly of hairspray, makeup, and perfume.

Jennifer sat on the edge of Michelle’s bed while Michelle stood in front of the mirror fastening sheer black stockings into garters beneath the velvet dress.

Jennifer tried not to stare.

Failed.

Michelle looked over while smoothing the dress over her hips.

“You’re awfully quiet.”

Jennifer **** a small smile.

“Just tired.”

Michelle gave her a look that clearly said she didn’t believe that for a second.

Then she picked up two pairs of earrings.

“Which ones?”

Jennifer glanced up automatically.

The diamond drops.

Easy.

Always the diamond drops.

“Those,” Jennifer answered softly.

Michelle smiled immediately.

“That’s what I was thinking too.”

Jennifer’s chest tightened painfully.

Because of course it was.

Michael had bought those earrings ten years ago.

Michelle put them in her ears.

Then Michelle held up her diamond solitaire necklace and looked at Jennifer.

“Help?”

Jennifer took it carefully.

Michelle lifted her hair up off her neck while Jennifer fastened the clasp of the necklace.

The intimacy of the moment nearly destroyed her.

Jennifer could smell Michelle’s perfume.

Feel the warmth of her skin.

See the slight flush already coloring her cheeks.

Michelle looked at herself in the mirror afterward and smiled softly.

“I actually feel pretty tonight.”

Jennifer looked down immediately.

Because Michelle looked far more than pretty.

Jennifer realized with sudden painful clarity that Michelle wasn’t reacting like a woman going on a date.

She was reacting like a woman remembering she could still be desired.

“I’ll let you finish getting ready” Jennifer said as she headed downstairs while Michelle completed the final touches.

—

As Jennifer and Sophie were talking in the kitchen, Sophie stopped mid-sentence when Michelle walked in.

After what felt like minutes of silence, Sophie let out, “Oh my God!’

Michelle laughed.

“What?”

“Mom. You look hot.”

Jennifer immediately covered her face helplessly while Michelle groaned dramatically.

“Sophie!”

“I’m serious!”

Michelle shook her head smiling despite herself.

“You are absolutely not helping.”

Sophie pointed toward Jennifer immediately.

“She agrees.”

Jennifer looked horrified.

“I am not participating in this conversation.”

Sophie laughed.

“Jenn’s just jealous because she’s spending Friday night with Bravo and sweatpants.”

Jennifer rolled her eyes.

“Correction. Satin pajamas.”

Michelle smiled knowingly at that.

“You’ll survive.”

Jennifer nodded lightly.

“Probably.”

Then Michelle looked at the clock and exhaled softly.

“Okay.”

And suddenly the energy shifted.

Because now it was real.

The dinner.

The black car.

David waiting.

Michelle reached for her coat while Jennifer stood frozen near the front hallway watching.

Then Michelle smiled toward her softly.

“Don’t wait up.”

The words landed much harder than they should have.

Jennifer **** a smile anyway.

“Have fun.”

Michelle stepped closer unexpectedly and squeezed Jennifer’s hand gently.

“Thank you again for setting all this up.”

Jennifer nodded once.

Then headlights washed briefly across the front windows.

The car had arrived.

A few minutes later Jennifer stood alone in the doorway watching Michelle climb into the waiting black car beneath the cold November night.

Then the taillights disappeared.

And the house suddenly felt painfully quiet.

—

Ironically Sophie disappeared less than thirty minutes later after a last-minute invitation to sleep over at a friend’s house.

“Are you sure you’re okay alone?” Sophie asked while pulling on sneakers near the door.

Jennifer laughed softly.

“I think I’ll survive one evening, I have laundry to do anyway.”

Sophie grinned.

“You can watch Real Housewives without me.”

“I absolutely will.”

“Rude.”

Jennifer smiled as Sophie headed out into the night too.

Then the front door closed.

And for the first time in weeks Jennifer was completely alone.

—

Earlier that evening Jennifer had carried a basket of delicates downstairs to the basement laundry room.

Now beside the washing machine, a drying rack stood covered with nude pantyhose, lace bras, camisoles, and shapewear.

All Jennifer’s.

The sight still startled her sometimes.

By nine-thirty Jennifer sat curled sideways on the couch in pale satin pajamas with a blanket over her legs and Real Housewives playing softly on television.

Her makeup was gone.

Her blonde hair loose around her shoulders.

A half-finished glass of wine rested on the coffee table beside her phone while the Boss Babes group chat exploded nonstop.

Kimberly:

Ashley’s date actually wore the fedora INSIDE the restaurant.

Denise:

Straight to jail.

Jennifer laughed quietly to herself while typing back.

Jennifer:

Immediate red flag.

Several laughing reactions instantly appeared.

Then another message popped up from Diana:

Diana:

So heard you helped plan the evening for the hottest office couple.

Jennifer froze briefly.

Another message immediately followed.

Kimberly:

OMG yes. How did that go???

Jennifer stared at the screen.

Then slowly typed:

Jennifer:

No idea. She’s still out.

Diana:

OUR GIRL IS PLAYING MATCHMAKER.

Jennifer rolled her eyes while smiling despite herself.

Jennifer:

You people are exhausting.

Kimberly:

And yet you love us.

Jennifer looked down at the phone quietly.

Because annoyingly…

she kind of did.

Another Housewives episode rolled into the next while the wine slowly relaxed the tight knot that had lived in Jennifer’s chest all evening.

Somewhere between Housewives arguments and nonstop group chat notifications, Jennifer realized she was relaxed.

Truly relaxed.

Not hiding.

Not performing.

Just existing comfortably inside this version of herself.

That realization scared her more than anything else had all week.

Eventually Jennifer stretched out fully across the couch beneath the blanket while still absently responding to messages.

At some point before midnight her eyes grew heavy and she decided it was time for bed.

The group chat still buzzed faintly as Jennifer climbed into bed beneath soft silk sheets.

Downstairs, the house remained dark and quiet.

Michelle still wasn’t home.

Jennifer told herself she didn’t care.

Then eventually, sometime after midnight, she fell asleep anyway.