The 80/20 Solution Ch. 09-10

Emily looked at Jay and said, "I'm sorry Jay. I think I let you down."

"You let me down? Like hell. I am worried that I hurt you or said something that pissed you off. If I did, I might just go somewhere and hurt myself." He pulled her into his lap and held her.

"What are you talking about? I'm the one who was stupid. All you did was stand by me and show me that you love me."

Before he could reply, the front door opened and five people walked in. Jordan and Nikki carried platters of food.

When everyone was in the kitchen, Paula said, "Last night's meeting will reconvene. There is only one item on the agenda and Wendy is the only one allowed to speak.

"Can I at least go put some clothes on?"

Paula replied, "Who the fuck cares? Sit there and listen."

Wendy stepped in front of Emily and started to speak. "Emily, you are my best friend in the world but I'm going to yell at you this morning. You are not responsible for a damn thing that has or will happen between any of us. You showed all of us a door. That is all you did. Each and every one of us, for our own reasons, decided to enter that door not because you wanted it to happen or forced us to go through it. I was feeling stale in my life. My life wasn't bad and I didn't stop loving Jordan. Frankly, I wasn't treating Jordan with the love he deserves. I needed to grow as a person. You showed me a way. I decided to take advantage of it. In the process, I fell in love with Rod too, not because I loved Jordan less but because each one brought a different fullness to my life. In the process I found out that I loved sailing. Rod was the means to find that out. But I could go sailing on my own if I wanted to. But because I love him, I would much rather sail with him than sail alone. He is still teaching me things and I am still growing. And guess what, he has started growing again too. He is discovering new things about himself. And this is true for all of us, not just me."

"We talked a lot after you left last night. We have all looked to you for guidance and advice, but none of us looked to you to tell us what to do. Most of the time, your advice has been dead on and we follow it because we decided that it is the right thing to do, not because you told us what to do. Rod and I and Paula and Jim aren't running away from our marriages and our spouses. We are pursuing something important to each of us. But you forgot to consider something important. Like you, Jordan would never follow me on this kind of adventure. He has his own dreams and now he can pursue them also. And guess what, he has Nikki to share those dreams with because her dreams are very similar to his. She wants to learn more about becoming a baker. She has no desire to go to Boston. She wants to stay here and look into opening a bakery. Jordan wants to open a cooking school and maybe write a cookbook. I can't speak for Jay because he wasn't there. He was taking care of you."

"None of us knows what we will feel or will happen in three months, six months or three years. We all might be married to our spouses or we may not be. We don't know and no one can tell us or control what will happen. But I can tell you one thing for sure, when I come back in three months, I will be a different Wendy. Jordan will be a different Jordan. We will deal with that when the time comes. And if Jordan and I don't continue as a couple, it won't be because we don't love each other; it will be because we love each other enough to let each other continue to grow as we need to."

"What you did last night wasn't presiding over the end of our marriages. You gave us a road map on how we can grow. All of us were concerned about how to make this all happen. In very simple term you gave us plan that would satisfy everyone and we could all chase our own star. Where the roads lead, we will find out eventually."

"Now if you ever try to take responsibility for my life again, tell me. I'm going to take you across my knee and spank you until you give up. You are not allowed to take responsibility for my life. End of statement. This meeting is adjourned. Let's eat breakfast before Jordan's creations get cold."

"I guess I owe everyone an apology." Emily replied.

"No honey; everyone owes you a thank you." Wendy said as she reached for a cup of coffee.

Emily turned to Jay and looked in his eyes. "Do you still love me or did I ruin that?"

"I love you more this morning than I did before because I saw so much more of you that I hadn't seen before. I am upset because I had to do and say things that I didn't want to do but I felt I had to do in order to help you through last night. I hope I never, ever have to do those things again."

"Do you think you can live with me for three months?"

"I can live with you for longer than that, but we will only look to the next three months for now."

She leaned in and kissed him. "Can I put some clothes on now?"

"Who the fuck cares?"

Rod brought two plates of food and set them on the table. He then kissed Emily and said, "Emily, the only reason I would even think of doing something like this is if I knew that someone I trust would be with you not to take care of you but to share with you. I trust you; I trust Jay; and I trust you both together."