Laney stares in disbelief at the scene unfolding on the dance floor. Her father-in-law is a notorious bully, but she’s never known him to hit anyone. When Hugh and Charles drag Daniel to a remote corner of the terrace, Laney imagines the conversation as she watches the men with their heads pressed together. Hugh will undoubtedly be reading his father the riot act. She knows his wrath well. She’s experienced it many times.
When the threesome part ways, Hugh strides angrily toward her. “Come on. We’re going home.” He brushes past her and walks fifty feet before realizing she isn’t following him. He motions for her to come with him, but she shakes her head.
He closes the distance between them. “I’m tired, Laney. Today, I played thirty-six holes of golf. I’m ready to go home.”
“That’s your problem. Sheldon is your brother, Hugh. We should stay until the bride and groom leave.”
“Fine! You can stay. But I’m leaving, and I’m taking the girls with me. They’re bored out of their minds.” He stomps off toward their twelve- and thirteen-year-old daughters, Ella and Grace, who have been sitting alone at a table, staring at their phones, for most of the evening.
Laney waits until her family has left the reception before slipping her feet out of her heels and grabbing a pair of cheap flip-flops from the wicker box beside the dance floor. She makes her way through the crowd to the stage where she parties with the band as though she were back in college.
Hours later, she reclaims her shoes and drifts with the other guests to the front of the cafe to see the newlyweds off. Her periwinkle silk dress clings to her sweaty body, and her damp hair hangs in curtains around her face, but she hasn’t felt this alive in years.
She lines up with the others, waiting with fistfuls of rose petals for the bride and groom to appear.
“Were you a carrot top as a child?” says a voice beside her, loud enough to be heard over the din of laughter and chatter.
Laney is surprised to see Love-Struck’s new winemaker standing next to her. Bruce wears his ginger coloring well. They look enough alike to be siblings with the same deep auburn hair and smattering of freckles across their noses. She would kill for his emerald eyes. While she finds her gray-blue hue pretty, her eyes are too small and close together.
Laney giggles. “Like Little Orphan Annie minus the curls. What about you?”
“My hair was as orange as Ronald McDonald’s. I’m Bruce Wheeler. We met at my welcome reception. I’m having trouble keeping all the members of the Love family straight. If I remember correctly, you’re married to either Charles or Hugh.”
Laney smiles. “Good memory. I’m Laney Love, Hugh’s wife.”
Bruce’s emerald eyes dart about as he scans the crowd. “Where is Hugh? I caught a glimpse of him earlier in the evening.”
“He went home a while ago. He was tired after playing thirty-six holes of golf.” This last tidbit of information is unnecessary and catty. But she’s tired of making excuses for her husband’s absence at important events.
Something resembling disapproval crosses Bruce’s face. Hugh should be here. Sheldon is his brother. “I’m headed back to town soon if you need a ride home,” Bruce says.
“Thanks, but I have my car. I came early to arrange the flowers for the ceremony.”
“Cool! So, you’re a florist?”
“Not in the traditional sense. I don’t own a floral design shop. I assist a woman who arranges flowers for local weddings. Since Sheldon is my brother-in-law, Ollie asked me to do her flowers. This was my first solo performance.”
Bruce appears impressed. “I know little about flowers, but the arbor at the ceremony was outstanding. Were those roses?”
Laney bobs her head. “All grown in the garden at Love-Struck.” She snickers. “I picked the bushes clean early this morning. There isn’t a single bloom left.”
“I wasn’t aware of a rose garden. Where at the vineyard is it located?”
“Behind the main house. Rumor has it Hugh’s mother was quite the gardener. When I first discovered it, the bushes were in pitiful shape. I’ve nursed them back to health, even adding a few new varieties every year.”
“So, you’re not only a floral designer, you’re a gardener as well.”
Laney smiles. “In my book, the two go hand in hand.” Over the crowd, she spots the top of Sheldon’s golden head. “Look! Here they come now.”
The bride and groom, still dressed in wedding attire, emerge from the cafe and make their way through the tunnel of people to an antique convertible Cadillac. Sheldon helps Ollie into the back seat, climbs in after her, and the car speeds off down the driveway with a trail of tin cans clattering behind them.
“Where are they going on their honeymoon?” Bruce asks as he walks Laney to her car.
“To the Homestead for a few days. But Ollie doesn’t want to be gone from the vineyard for too long.”
Bruce smiles. “I admire her drive.”
When they reach her Suburban, Laney unlocks the doors and turns toward him. “I enjoyed chatting with you, Bruce. I’m at Love-Struck a lot on the weekends, arranging flowers for weddings. I hope I see you around.”
He leans over and kisses her cheek. “I hope so too. Drive safely.”
Laney floats home on a cloud. She can’t remember the last time she had so much fun or made a new friend.
Letting herself in the front door, she hums an old Motown tune as she makes her way to the back of the house for a glass of ice water. When she enters the dark kitchen, her husband’s booming voice startles her.
“Where have you been?” Hugh emerges from the darkness, tumbler of whiskey in hand.
Laney’s happy bubble bursts, and she deflates back to reality. “You know where I was, Hugh. At your brother’s wedding.”
Hugh lifts a strand of stringy hair off her shoulder. “Then why is your hair all messed up?” He leans in close, sniffing. “And you stink. Why have you been sweating?”
Laney retrieves a tumbler from the cabinet. “I was partying with the band,” she says, jamming the tumbler into the ice dispenser on the refrigerator.
Hugh’s breath is hot on the back of her neck as she fills the tumbler with water. “I don’t believe you. You were singing when you came in. I haven’t heard you sing in years. Tell me who you were with? I want to know if you’re cheating on me.”
She spins around to face him. “I’d sing more often if you gave me a reason to.”
“I would, if you weren’t such a cold-hearted bitch.”
Laney rolls her eyes. “Here we go again with the insults. If that’s what you really think of me, why won’t you divorce me?”
“Because I don’t want a divorce. I want a wife who welcomes me into her bed.”
“Then let’s see a therapist,” Laney says in a pleading tone. “With counseling, we might rekindle some of the passion we once shared.”
“You know how I feel about shrinks, and I’m not giving you a divorce. You’re welcome to leave any time you want,” he says, sweeping an arm toward the front door. “But I’m keeping the house and the girls, and I’m not giving you a red cent.”
“Then we’ll continue to live in misery,” Laney says, and drags herself up the stairs to the guest room where she’s been sleeping for more than a year. The thought of him touching her body makes her skin crawl. Truth be told, Laney and Hugh are far beyond counseling. There is nothing left of their marriage to save.
When they met in college, Laney, an unsophisticated farm girl from Arkansas, had been impressed by Hugh’s family’s wealth—their fancy cars and sprawling estate—she’d overlooked his foul moods and unpleasant demeanor. She’d put up with the bullying, thinking he’d mellow once they had children. By the time their second child was born, Laney knew their marriage was in trouble.
Ella and Grace are acutely aware of their parents’ marital problems. Laney has heard them whispering late at night. The vicious arguments scare them, and they find the uncertainty about their future unsettling. The girls are aware of what’s coming. Some of their friends’ parents are divorced. They want to know who they’ll live with, and if they’ll have to move out of the only home they’ve ever known.
The situation is toxic for all of them. If only Laney could figure a way out. She doesn’t come from money like Hugh. If he makes good on his threats, she could lose everything. She’s amassed a small savings from the money she’s earned arranging flowers. One of Ella’s friend’s moms is the best divorce attorney in town. But there’s no way Laney can afford her fees. She could hire a cut-rate lawyer, but Hugh’s team of high-powered attorneys would devour that lawyer’s lunch.
Laney has grown accustomed to her lifestyle. She doesn’t want to give up her beautiful home on Willow Lane, one of the town’s most desirable streets. But she can’t live like this much longer. She needs to think of something soon.
Laney brushes her teeth, washes her face, and changes into her pajamas. And like she does every night at bedtime, she drops to her knees beside the bed and prays to God to give her courage to move on with her life as a single mother.