The Marriage Intervention (36 page)

To Josie’s surprise, Paul started to sob. “I don’t even know how long they were married, but in my mind they were married for fifty years. They were long-time sweethearts. They ate Chinese takeout every Valentine’s Day, they had three boys and two girls and seven grandchildren. They bought an RV when they retired, and now drive around the country every summer.”
 

Josie closed her mouth. “Why are you crying?”
 

“Remember when I got into that car accident a while back, and I had this moment of clarity?”
 

Of course I remember.
 

She nodded. A sense of foreboding took root. At that time, Paul’s accident made him realize he was unhappy and wanted to move out. Oh, no. Had the car accident made that clarity even more clear? It took everything she had to stop herself from covering her ears. Instead, she flopped back on the couch. It was over. But then Paul said something that surprised her. Something romantic.

“I want that with you, Josie. I love you. I want to be married for fifty years. I want to eat pizza every anniversary. I want to take you all over the country in an RV. I want to have kids. Grandkids.”
 

Josie sat up again and put a hand on his leg. He continued, “Shit, I want to pick up after your messy ass for the next fifty years. I would really like to move back in. I would really like to have a go at the next five decades. Are you okay with that?”

“Okay?” she said. She launched herself into his arms, startling Delilah, who jumped up onto the couch.
 

“I would really love that,” she said. “Can we start now?”
 

“I was hoping we could,” Paul said, kissing her. “And I know just how to celebrate a new beginning.”
 

EPILOGUE

Race day dawned at a brisk fifty-two degrees. Josie stood at the start line. She rubbed her hands together and did jumping jacks to keep herself warm. Summer and Delaney stood on the other side of the fence shivering and clutching paper cups of hot herbal tea.

“Remember,” Delaney said. “Wine on the other side.”
 

“And chocolate,” Summer said. “Wine and chocolate. It’ll be worth every mile.”
 

The announcer began the one-minute countdown and Josie handed her sweatshirt over the fence to Summer. Butterflies swarmed in her stomach.
 

“You can do this,” Delaney said. “You’ve been practicing.”
 

Josie’s hands shook as she put her earphones in.
 

“Thirty more seconds, runners!” the announcer called.
 

Next to her, a group of girls cheered.
Crazy women.
 

A couple more quad stretches, some arm circles, and Josie heard, “Five, four, three, two, one.”
 

The starting gun sounded. Delaney and Summer gave Josie high-fives. She began to run.
 

For the first mile, she thought she might die. But then she settled into a rhythm, concentrating on her music. She surprised herself by waving to some of the spectators, who held signs (
Run Now, Wine Later
and
You said run? I thought you said rum!
) and hollered kudos as the runners passed.
 

At mile three, Josie surprised herself by picking up the pace—just slightly. The second half of the race didn’t exactly fly by, but Josie felt strong as she rounded the final curve and entered the straightaway.
 

And there, standing along the fence just a few yards in front the finish line, stood Paul. He saw Josie before she saw him, and when he called her name, her eyes locked in on him. He raised his arm raised in a cheer, and she raised hers, too, as she finished the race. A volunteer handed her a medal and a water bottle, and she fought back tears as she looked for her husband.

Paul jogged over to meet her. He took her medal from her and put it over her head.
 

“Congratulations, baby,” he said. “I’m so proud of you.”
 

As she enjoyed the feeling of being wrapped in his arms, she let the tears fall. Finishing the race felt like so much more than the completion of six-point-two miles. It felt like a new beginning. Josie looked over Paul’s shoulder and saw her two best friends approaching.
 

Before she knew it, she was wrapped in a giant group hug, surrounded by her favorite people in the world. And she was happy.

Thank you for reading!

If you enjoyed “The Marriage Intervention,” check out my
Amazon author page
to buy or pre-order the other two books in The Intervention Series: Delaney’s story, “The Dating Intervention,” and Summer’s story, “The Motherhood Intervention.”
 

“The Dating Intervention”
 

Delaney Collins’s intuition is always right on. The trouble is, she never listens to it, especially when it comes to men. So when her fail-proof dating system fails completely, Delaney’s best friends, Summer and Josie, stage The Dating Intervention, in which they take complete control of her dating life. Although she struggles to follow the rules they set out for her, her intuition tells her that if she doesn’t, she may end up alone and forever lonely in a sea of men with stained neckties and cumbersome baggage.

“The Motherhood Intervention”
 

With her fifth child on the way and her son’s heart surgery just around the corner, Summer Gray is already approaching her breaking point. Then her estranged mother shows up on her doorstep after fifteen years, claiming to want to rebuild their relationship. While struggling to forgive her mother for years of alcohol induced neglect, Summer daydreams of contracting a semi-serious illness or suffering nearly-life-threatening injuries so she can get a hospital stay-cation. Her friends Delaney and Josie stage The Motherhood Intervention, hoping to help Summer rediscover the life she loves and forgive her in the process.
 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hilary Dartt is a freelance writer specializing in direct response copywriting and editorial projects. She grew up among redwoods and hippies in Santa Cruz, California and graduate from Cal State Long Beach with a degree in Creative Writing. She then moved to Arizona’s high desert where she worked as a journalist before launching her freelance career. She lives with her family and an assortment of pets, including her Weimaraner, Leia and a flock of chickens. “The Marriage Intervention” is the second installment in “The Intervention Series.” Learn more at
www.hilarydartt.com
 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
 

As always, I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my husband for never complaining about my relationship with my computer as I write and edit and rewrite and re-edit early each morning and late each evening, and for not getting annoyed when I have to ask (countless times) what just happened on our favorite TV show because I’m working while watching.
 

And a big thank you to the eagle-eyed people who read and helped with this story: Mom, Desirae and Vanessa, and to Donna Rich, proofreader extraordinaire.
 

THE MARRIAGE INTERVENTION

Hilary Dartt

Copyright © 2015 Hilary Dartt

All rights reserved.