Previously, on Just Friends...

    It wasn’t Lisa.
    A very similar accent floated back at him, a voice he had not heard in some time…
    “James. Have you finished for the night?”
    Hugh’s voice nearly cracked, and he tensed his diaphragm as hard as it would go to stop it. “Jo. I didn’t know you were—what are you doing here?”

~*~*~

    Lisa turned off the water in the shower and leaned her forehead against the wall, letting tiny rivulets drip down out of her hair onto her shoulders, down her back, the water cooling with every second as it drifted lower. Sighing loudly, she stepped carefully out of the shower and wiggled her toes in the material of the bathmat before looking up at herself in the mirror.
    “Mirror, mirror, on the wall…” she whispered, setting her hands on the sides of the sink and leaning in. “Who’s the most idiotic, ridiculous, stupid, crazy, insane, horrendous one of all?” Her eyes were dark. Her chest was tight. Lisa turned her head to the side, almost afraid of what her reflection would show her if she kept looking. Tucking the corner of her towel in just that bit more snugly, she turned back toward the door and made her way into her closet, stopping in the doorway to contemplate what she wanted to wear to bed.
    “Definitely the flannel pajamas,” she muttered, going into a drawer and retrieving a matched set of soft red sleeping pants and a button down shirt. “What do you think, puppy?” One of the dogs had followed her in. “The farmer plaid shirt and my period pants?” Shazam tilted his head at her. “I know, I only wear my period pants on crampy bloaty nights, but period pants are meant to be for womanly comfort, and womanly comfort is what I need right now…” her throat was closing up. She was talking to a dog and her throat was closing up. As Shazam hesitantly sat down inside the door, Lisa knelt down, still wrapped in her towel, laid her arm along her pet’s back, and began to cry.
~*~*~
    “I just—are you on your way home?”
    Hugh swallowed, looking blankly out the windshield. Talk about the world stopping on a dime… how could everything have changed in the last five seconds?
    “I—sorry, I think I missed something—why are you here? Is everything ok? The kids…?”
    “The kids are just fine,” she said quickly. “No, there’s nothing—just… surprise!”
    Hugh laughed weakly. “Surprise indeed. I wish someone would’ve told me…”
    You wish someone would’ve told you like you wish for a hole in your head.
    “So anyway, are you on your way?”
    “Yeah.” Hugh stopped at a red light. “Yeah, I’m heading to the house now. Um… I don’t know if there’s any—do you need me to bring anything, or—”
    “I just need to talk to you,” Jo said quietly. “It’s important; I hate to do this to you when you’re finishing filming, but the time—just, I’ll see you when you get here.”
    Hugh hung up and tossed his phone into the passenger seat. And because karma can be a real bitch, he realized he was at a crossroads.
    Literally.
    It was the intersection to get to Lisa’s house if he turned right and headed down that long, winding side street. Continue straight, and he would arrive at his own place in a matter of minutes. The light turned green.
~*~*~
    A few minutes later, Lisa let her head fall back against the wall with a dull thud. Her skin was beginning to show gooseflesh from the combination of the air conditioning and her dampness from the shower. Kapow had come in shortly after Shazam, and the three of them were huddled on the floor of the closet, Lisa’s towel wet not only from being wrapped around her freshly washed body, but from the tears that had fallen with no consideration for her hatred of showing that weakness. The dogs were looking up at her hopefully, their inner clocks announcing their dinnertime, and Lisa managed a weak half-smile at them before forcing herself off the floor.
    Life goes on…
    The dogs stampeded out of the room, racing for the kitchen and their food bowls. Lisa picked up her pajamas, fingering the soft material sadly as she slowly unwound the damp towel and dropped it in the hamper, climbing into her comfort clothes. Sitting heavily down on her bed, she stared blankly into space.
    A few hours ago, she had been idly contemplating the thought of Hugh… here. On this bed. With her. Inside her chest Lisa’s heart gave a mighty twist and she gasped audibly at the sensation. She had used the term “heart wrenching” before… she had never realized what it really meant.
    What had she expected? Was she really going to go through with it? Become the dreaded “other woman?” And forgetting herself entirely, had she been serious about putting Hugh through the emotional hell that would surely ensue when he realized the full consequences of their actions? There was no doubt in her mind that he had intended on coming over after filming, and that once she let him through the door, something was going to happen. Of that she had no doubt. When they were alone together…
    Something always happened.
    Lisa buried her face in her hands and let out a frustrated growl, and then suddenly jerked her head up, furrowing her brow. Something was going on downstairs.
    You’re imagining things…
    No. There was definitely a faint thudding sound coming from below…
~*~*~
    Hugh stood in front of the door for what seemed like hours on end. Once it opened…
    Do not say ‘What’s behind door number one?’ or I am officially quitting as your British inner censor. Do not do it. Don’t do it...
    Biting back a bark of hysterical laughter, Hugh juggled his car keys in his hand. Was it really the time to start laughing uncontrollably? No, probably not.
    The door opened.
    “How long were you planning on hiding out there?”
    “Hey,” he said with a crooked smile, and stepped inside, closing the door behind him.
    Jo regarded him cautiously for a moment, then stepped forward, reaching up to hug him. Hugh closed his eyes as she kissed him softly on the mouth, his conscience blowing air horns and ringing warning bells directly into his auditory canals.
    Tell her! Tell her right now! She obviously knows something’s up!
    Hugh tilted his head down and saw that Jo’s face was damp.
    “Jo…” He put his arm around her shoulder and led her into the living room, where they sat awkwardly on the couch. “You said you had to talk to me. Is everything ok?”
~*~*~
    “Kapow!” Lisa cried out as she reached the source of the noises downstairs. The dog looked guiltily at her from where he stood on his hind legs, his front paws currently occupied with rolling an entire bowl of apples off the counter and onto the floor.
    Thud.
    Thud.
    Thud.
    “That—is—enough!” She ordered, unceremoniously hauling the dog off to the side and going to get the dog food. “Apples are not for puppies.”
    Shazam let out what could have either been a sneeze or a derisive snort.
    Kapow set his paw on the edge of the water dish and flooded the kitchen floor.
    Lisa looked at them both and began to laugh hysterically. It wasn’t until it had been a good two straight minutes without stopping that she began to panic, her gut clenching, her breath catching in her throat—she had never had hysterics before. This is what it felt like? It was horrifying! A shadow was starting to creep in on her field of vision as she gasped for breath, reaching for the counter. Finally, all the pent-up emotion from the last few months was making its way out; tears were streaming down her face even as she laughed uncontrollably. The dogs, finally realizing something was wrong, bolted from the room, leaving Lisa alone—as always.
~*~*~
    “We have—three—kids…” Jo said, her voice breaking as she tried to pick and choose how she was going to say her piece. “I can’t believe—”
    Hugh dry washed his face with one hand. “I know, it’s been hard—”
    “It’s been hard. There hasn’t been nearly enough… communication on either of our parts. Just… call it a long-distance relationship. Lots of people do it.”
    Hugh was trying to focus, trying to force himself to do the right thing—but his mind was racing.
    She was your best friend. She’s the mother of your children. So why is it that this feels more like an old college friend coming to visit for a few days, instead of—
    “I don’t know what to do,” she was saying. “I don’t want to—”
    “I’m sorry,” Hugh said, taking her hand. “I’m sorry.”
    “For what?” Jo asked, and immediately looked surprised at herself for having said that. “It isn’t your fault.”
    “I could’ve—”
    “What? Quit your job? Your job is going to make it possible for the children to have everything they could ever possibly want, protect them in case anything ever happens…”
    “But—I didn’t have to—”
    “It’s not like you could’ve done this in London. No. This is my fault.”
    Hugh shook his head sharply, looking closely at his wife. She was avoiding his gaze. And suddenly, he knew. They were talking about two entirely different things.
    “Why don’t you start from the beginning?” He asked gently, inwardly bracing himself. Jo nodded, to all intents and purposes looking as calm as ever. Only Hugh knew, from unfortunate experience, that it was all a show. She was panicked. She spoke.
    “I met someone.”