When my son introduced us to his new friend, I never imagined the girl smiling at my dinner table would carry a secret I’d buried decades ago.
I’m Megan, 55 years old, shaped by love, quiet endurance, and a grief I rarely speak of.
Life in our home is simple. I bake more than necessary, chat with my hydrangeas like old friends, and still fold my husband’s socks just the way his mother showed me. My son Greg, now twenty-two, is juggling college with a marketing job downtown.
Richard, my husband, is gentle and grounded — and an objectively terrible dancer. He insists that a pinch of salt makes coffee taste “richer,” which pretty much sums him up.
It all began on a regular Thursday. Greg came home, dropped his backpack with a thud, and followed the smell of chicken pot pie into the kitchen like always.
“How was work?” I asked, glancing over my glasses.
He shrugged. “Fine. There’s this woman — Marla? No, Nancy. We’re working on the same campaign.”
I looked up. “A woman?”
He rolled his eyes. “Don’t get excited. We’re just friends. She’s from Colorado, super chill. Not really my type, but we get along.”
I let it go, tucking the name away for later.
Then Sunday came, and with it, Nancy.
I answered the door expecting awkward small talk and a nervous smile. But Nancy stood there with grace — soft brown curls tied back, a floral scarf, and eyes that gave nothing away. Still, something about her gave me pause.
“Hi, I’m Nancy,” she said, offering a bottle of wine and a careful smile.
“I’m Megan,” I said, taking the bottle. “Come on in, honey. Dinner’s almost ready.”
She barely spoke during the meal. But when I handed her the mashed potatoes and our hands brushed, a strange sensation stirred in my chest — not fear exactly, just a flicker of something I couldn’t name.
Nancy became a regular fixture in our lives after that. First it was a cheesecake. Then a tiny succulent for the kitchen window. She played Scrabble with Leah, chuckled with Richard over vintage sitcoms.
Birthdays, barbecues, holidays — she became part of the rhythm of our family.
“Greg, she’s lovely,” I said one night, elbow-deep in soapy dishes.
“She is,” he said with a grin. “But like I told you — just friends. She has a no-dating-coworkers thing.”
I nodded. Still, the way she sometimes looked at him — steady, quiet, searching — made me wonder.
One Saturday, she stayed behind to help Richard fix the patio lights. I watched from the kitchen as they untangled wires, laughing when he gave himself a mild zap. Leah caught my eye and raised an eyebrow.
“She likes being here,” she whispered.
And I couldn’t argue. But I had no idea just how much this woman already knew — about us, about me — until the day I saw the necklace.