Single and lonely, Meredith Tanner has spent her life caring for others, while at the same time resenting it. Irritated when a former classmate contacts her asking for help planning their twenty-year reunion, Meredith gives in when she discovers the classmate is the girl she once had a crush on. Back in school Jennifer Stockton was popular and confident, everything Meredith wasn’t. Twenty years and life in another city haven’t changed Meredith much. Even though she has worked as a nurse for many years, she still feels inadequate and puts her own needs last in order to make others like her. Maybe this time things will be different. Excited by the chance to work with fabulous Jen, Meredith throws herself into the reunion project, and she and Jen have a great time reconnecting online. When Jen drops a hint about a previous partner, Meredith is optimistic. But everything changes when Meredith suggests video chat. Puzzled by Jen’s refusal, Meredith gets frustrated when Jen not only evades all attempts of a virtual meeting, but backs off completely. At the reunion, she’s shocked to find out just how much Jen has changed and abandons all hope of rekindling old feelings. But something unexpected happens that shakes both women to the core. Is it too late for Meredith to reevaluate her opinion? Even if she manages to, does Jen want her to revive their twenty-year-old crush?

#TwentyYearReunion

Besides, something similar had happened to Meredith after having an impacted wisdom tooth surgically extracted a few years back. It took time for the injured nerves to repair themselves, and for a while she’d had some difficulty controlling her lips and mouth. God, she’d felt like a freak and imagined everyone looking at her. She could only imagine how it must be to suffer that permanently. Damn Jen for not being honest about it sooner and putting Meredith at a disadvantage!


It was harder than she thought to maintain eye contact. Meredith glanced around the room, pretending interest in the décor and the other diners. But again and again, her eyes strayed to Jen’s scar. She wanted to break the awkward silence, as Jen didn’t seem inclined toward conversation, but she was at a loss for what to say. An invisible wall between them grew until Meredith could hardly stand it any longer. Just tell me about it! Don’t make me have to ask again.


Chapter 15