Lorri couldn’t remember downtown Raleigh ever being this busy. She hadn’t been away that long, but things had changed. She took a ticket at the parking garage gate and began searching for a spot. It made her nervous driving her big SUV, afraid the roof would scrape the top of the garage any minute.
Finally, on the seventh deck, she spotted an open space and was able to eek her vehicle between the lines. One of these days I’ll get used to parking this thing.
Before she walked into The Blue Hippo she was as nervous as if she were meeting a blind date. There was no cause for all the butterflies; these were her friends. They’d done lunch and listened to each other’s problems for years.
Lorri’s divorce had just been finalized, which was why Pam had insisted they all get together to celebrate. She stepped inside the restaurant.
“Reservation?” The dapper host of The Blue Hippo flashed her that “answer me” glance.
“Yes. I’m meeting some girlfriends. My last name—”
The maître d’ spun and pointed his shiny silver pen toward a booth in the corner. “Must be the group of four in the back.”
Four? She leaned forward, her breath escaping like a balloon with a pinhole. Pam, Carmen, Kelsey, as expected, but the fourth was Stacy. Lorri wasn’t up for Stacy today. For a brief second she contemplated backing out and sending her regrets, but Carmen was already on her feet waving her napkin.
“Thank you.” Lorri muttered the nicety and made her way toward the table. This had been a bad idea. She didn’t really understand the whole need to celebrate a divorce anyway. It hadn’t been ugly between her and Craig. Just over. She could have done without everyone knowing he’d been cheating on her with Tiffany the dog trainer with the teacup Yorkie, but the end results were the same no matter what.
Tiffany hadn’t ruined her marriage. Sure, being replaced by a beautiful young blonde had been a tough pill to swallow. What was it Craig had said when he gave her Mister on Valentine’s Day? I know you don’t like those froufrou purse-sized dogs. Clearly, he was the expert on those.
Lorri wished she’d thought to print up a bumper sticker that read MY DOG COULD EAT YOUR PURSE-SIZED DOG IN ONE BITE and slap it on the back window of the G-Wagon before coming back to Raleigh. It would have been priceless to cruise past Craig and Tiffany’s house just to see the look on his face.
She pasted a smile on as proof that her life was perfect in every way.
“Carmen, Kelsey.” She hugged them both.
Pam jumped to her feet. “You look beautiful.” Pam hugged her then whispered, “Sorry about Stacy. It wasn’t my idea.”
Lorri shrugged, hoping she pulled off the “it’s fine” expression she was faking at the moment. Since Carmen was married to Stacy’s brother, Stacy caught wind of their get-togethers more often than they’d like. She was hard to take in large doses, but lack of tact aside, Stacy was one of them. All girls who’d graduated from NC State and stuck around.
Stacy didn’t bother getting up, simply waving from her seat. “How’s that country living treating you?”
“It’s not exactly the country,” Lorri said. “I’m only fifteen minutes from a Publix.”
Stacy’s Botoxed lips puckered. “Well, you need to shop there more often. You’re down to skin and bones. Poor thing. The divorce must’ve been hard on you.”
From anyone else sitting at the table that would have been a fair comment, but not from Stacy. Lorri’s defenses rose.
“I’m great, and the weight loss is from the exercise I’ve incorporated into my routines.” Why am I trying so hard? “Working from home sounds like a real picnic. Pajamas instead of suits, walking the dog between meetings, even tossing in a load of laundry during lunch—it’s all great, but there are no sick days, and no one cares what hour it is on the East or West Coast anymore.” She slid into the blue leather booth next to Pam.
“Life balance is tricky when you work from home.” Pam’s dark waves bounced as she pushed her hair over her shoulder. “I finally had to start marking time off on my calendar to be sure I took a lunch break and time to respond to emails. I warned you.”
“You did, but I’m still thankful I don’t have to make that hour-long commute each day. It’s been a real blessing,” Lorri said.
“You work too hard.” Stacy tossed back the remains of a frothy pink drink. “I guess you’re lucky your marriage lasted as many years as it did. Men leave women all the time for being married to their job, but you don’t have to worry about that anymore. Here’s to your successful career.”
Lorri was unsure that was a compliment, but she raised her glass just the same.
Pam flashed Lorri a pained look. They all knew Stacy didn’t intentionally mean to be so nasty about things. Her thoughts didn’t pass through her brain before exiting her lips.
Stacy’s words hit Lorri like little daggers, the same way they had when Craig had said them repeatedly during their marriage.
Since when is being committed to your job a bad thing? she’d say to Craig in response.
Lorri straightened in her chair, silently chanting, It wasn’t my fault. It wasn’t my fault, and wondering when she’d finally start believing it.
They ordered and the initial awkwardness of not being together for so long had passed, thank goodness. Pam ordered the same salad she always did, and Carmen ordered from the appetizer menu. The routine of it made Lorri feel better. She needed normal right now.
Lorri turned the conversation to her friends, getting them to talk to keep them from asking her more questions. No one needed to know that she and Craig had fought over stupid things like the waffle maker.
Pam patted Lorri on the leg while they listened to Stacy go on and on about how great things were. She and her husband had just purchased a winter home in the Cayman Islands.
“You have to come,” Stacy said. “It’ll be great.”
“Yeah, super great,” Carmen said. Stacy didn’t even seem to catch the mocking tone in Carmen’s voice. She rolled her eyes and directed her attention to Lorri. “How’s Mister? I can’t believe I forgot to ask about him.”
“Wait. Mister?” Stacy straightened in her chair. “Lorri, are you seeing someone? Because with Craig announcing that he and Tiffany are getting married I was afraid it would be awkward, but if you’re dating then I guess everything worked out just the way it was supposed to. That’s awesome.”
Carmen dropped her head to her palm.
“Mister is her dog,” said Pam.
Stacy looked like she wanted to suck back the words. “Oh. I—”
Lorri wished she could let Stacy wallow in her misstep for a moment, but she didn’t have the heart. “It’s fine. And Mister is fine, although he is still growing, and he outweighs me already.”
“I can’t believe you kept the dog. I bet that made Craig mad.” Stacy clicked her fingers. “Duh. I guess that’s why you kept him.”
Kelsey’s lips pulled tight. Stacy would trip the invisible line any minute and Kelsey would let her have it in her straight-up Texan accent that would put Stacy in her place. Sort of like a Clint Eastwood–style “Go ahead, make my day,” only from a five-foot-tall pixie of a gal. Lorri loved that about Kelsey.
“He was a gift to me. Why wouldn’t I have kept him? If he’d been an Hermès handbag you wouldn’t have given it back. Would you?”
“Of course not!”
“So, there you go. My new house is on five acres so he can run.” She loved the acreage as much as Mister did though.
Stacy looked genuinely worried. “Do you let Craig have him on weekends? I have friends that have a visitation schedule for their dogs.”
“We’re not taking a dog back and forth,” Lorri snapped, but then started laughing. She glanced over at Kelsey, who was grinning. “If I’m being totally honest here,” Lorri went on, “I told Mister his father died. He didn’t even seem to care. Is that mean?” She was joking but she knew that would bother Stacy.
“Perfect.” Carmen raised her glass. “I’ll toast to that. Bye-bye, Craig.”
Lorri, Pam, and Kelsey lifted their glasses, and Stacy looked confused, but finally raised hers. “I guess that means you’re not going to his wedding,” Stacy mumbled.
Beyond the cheerful, silly toast there hung an awkward silence. “Okay, I’m just going to ask,” Carmen said. “Had you heard they’re getting married?” Carmen glared across the table at Stacy. “I mean before just now?”
Stacy shrugged, mouthing the word “Sorry.”
Lorri lifted her gaze to the ceiling. Even after the divorce he can still find a way to ruin my day.
That he was marrying Miss Tiffany with the teacup Yorkie when the ink had barely dried on their divorce papers shouldn’t have come as a surprise, but it did. “Um. No, but I wouldn’t have expected to be on the guest list either. Maybe they’ll have her little doggie be the flower girl in the wedding.”
“I heard they bought real pearls from Tiffany’s in New York City for her dog to wear in the wedding. Tiffany’s two-year-old is going to walk the dog down the aisle. I bet she’ll be the cutest little flower girl.” Stacy clapped her hands over her mouth. “I’m sorry. Who cares? That’s so tacky, right? Subject change. I swear I’m just going to shut up. How is the new house?”
Pam shoved the bowl of bread in front of Stacy. “Have a roll.”
“Did all of you get invitations?” Lorri knew Carmen’s husband worked with Craig so she wasn’t surprised when Carmen nodded.
“I didn’t,” said Kelsey, “but then I was the lawyer who made sure he didn’t get half your stuff, so I’m probably his least favorite person.”
“Get in line behind me,” Lorri said.
“Probably in front of you,” Kelsey said with pride. “Don’t mind it either.”
Pam placed her hand on Lorri’s arm. “I didn’t get an invite, but Bobby heard it from one of their golfing buddies. I was going to tell you.”
Pam and Bobby got married the same year as Lorri and Craig. They were their first real “couple” friends, and although Bobby had tired of Craig’s ego years ago, she and Pam had remained steadfast friends ever since they met in high school.
“We’re divorced. What’s the difference?” But the words hung in Lorri’s heart.
“I’m sure I only got invited because they moved into our neighborhood,” Stacy said. “They’re at the country club all the time. He and Donald might even be golfing today.”
Craig moved into the most expensive neighborhood in town? No wonder they were on a budget. Being house poor had never been something Lorri was willing to be. But Craig was all about the image. “It’s fine. We’re divorced. He can do whatever he wants.”
“So, you wouldn’t care if I went to the wedding?” Stacy had no doubt already been planning to go.
“Why would I care?”
“I just thought … well, great, because I’ve been dying to see that wedding venue. It’s not that far from where you live. Have you been there? It’s called The Wedding Ranch.”
Lorri lifted her glass and sipped to the count of three. Heard of it? She’d designed the logo for the business. It was just a few country miles away from her house.
“Oh gosh, it’s so gorgeous,” Stacy rattled on. “Totally rustic, in this big barn, but with chandeliers and horse-drawn carriages or old antique cars to sweep the bride and groom away. I wish Donald and I had done something like that. Maybe we’ll renew our vows. Can anyone just do that?” Stacy shifted her gaze to each woman as if one would ring in to answer like on a game show. “Does anyone know?”
“Don’t look at me. I don’t know a darn thing about renewing vows,” Lorri said.
“Hmmph. Seems like it would be fun,” Stacy said. “Maybe more people should do that. Donald would do anything for me. If The Wedding Ranch is half as beautiful as everyone says, I may just book it and plan the party of the year. You can come too since it’s so close to your house. Wouldn’t that be great?”
“So great.” Lorri worked up yet another fake smile.
Pam kicked her under the table, and they both tried to contain their giggles. Poor Stacy was so clueless sometimes. You just had to love her in that “bless her heart” kind of way.