The Sunshine Potluck Society

Chapter 28

After half an hour, Gwen’s tears dried up. She still didn’t move, though. She wasn’t sure what to do next. Usually at this time of day, she’d be making Duncan’s dinner. But she wasn’t about to do that now. And she wasn’t hungry. So instead, she simply lay still in her bed staring at the clock on the bedside table as the minutes ticked by. Every minute that passed brought the confrontation closer.

The doorbell rang, and her heart lurched as though she was being attacked. Her nerves were frayed. She swung her feet over the edge of the bed and made her way to the door, straightening her hair and clothes as she went.

When the door swung open, Debbie and Joanna were standing there. Joanna raised a casserole dish in the air, and Debbie lifted a bottle of wine high over her head.

“We’ve brought supplies. You shouldn’t be alone right now,” Joanna said in her calm, sympathetic way.

“Plus, you’ll need wine,” Debbie added.

“You two are amazing,” Gwen replied as she shuffled forward to embrace them both at once. “Come on in. I’ll find glasses.”

“I made chicken and dumplings. It’s one of my favourite comfort foods,” Joanna said. “As soon as it was done, we hurried over. It’s still burning hot.”

“That’s so thoughtful. I wasn’t going to eat dinner, but now I will. Thank you.”

“We figured Duncan wouldn’t be home yet, so we could drop by for a quick visit to give you some support.” Joanna set the casserole dish on the kitchen bench. “And I don’t know how you’re feeling, but your house looks fantastic.”

Gwen chuckled. “Thank you. I haven’t watched the kiddos for a while, so it’s staying clean, which is nothing short of a miracle.”

“Whatever you’re doing, it’s working.”

“I miss them, though,” Gwen said. “I didn’t realise how much I would miss them. But it’s been weeks since I’ve really spent any time with them. I’ve visited, and they’ve popped by, but it’s not the same as when they stay all day. And their smiling little faces mean so much to me.”

“You needed a break,” Joanna said, then grimaced. “No pun intended.”

They all laughed.

“I needed a break, so my body gave it to me,” Gwen replied, her eyes glistening with tears of laughter.

“But that doesn’t mean you don’t love spending time with the kids. It’s just that maybe you should have them for shorter periods or not quite so often.” Debbie opened the bottle of wine, then searched the cupboards until she found glasses.

“We are getting older,” Joanna agreed. “I know we don’t like to admit that.”

“Hush your mouth,” Debbie said as she filled each glass with red wine. “None of that talk.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Gwen said. “I should be slowing down. At least a little bit.”

“They won’t be young forever,” Joanna added. “My grandkids are mostly grown now. I miss them being small. And I wish they lived closer.”

“I know,” Gwen said with a shake of her head. “They wear me out, but I really wouldn’t change it for anything. I should be grateful, not complaining. And now look what’s happened—I complained about my husband, and he’s…” She couldn’t finish her sentence. A lump grew in her throat.

“Here you go,” Debbie said gently as she handed Gwen a glass. “Take a sip, and then we can talk about what comes next.”

Gwen gulped down a mouthful of wine. “What should I do? What would you do?” She searched Debbie’s face, then Joanna’s.

Joanna offered her a rueful smile. “It’s been so long since I was married…”

Gwen reached out to squeeze her arm. “I’m sorry, honey.”

“It’s okay. But honestly, if Ron were here right now, I wouldn’t care about anything else other than seeing him again.”

“I know that’s true,” Gwen replied, tears blurring her vision. Joanna had loved her husband so much. It was one of the saddest experiences of her life having to help her friend through the trauma of losing him.

“I would leave him,” Debbie said bluntly. “I’m sorry, but if he cheated on me that way, I would have to leave. I couldn’t possibly trust him again. I know some people are fine with giving second chances, and generally I would agree. But not for something like this. Not me.”

Gwen sighed. “I feel the same way. I want to forgive him and forget. I truly do. But I know deep down that this is his way of telling me the marriage is over. If I forgave him, he’d only keep doing it. And he’d lose respect for me as well. I can’t see how that would work.”

“You should talk to him,” Joanna said. “See what he has to say.”

“Or you could throw all his things out onto the driveway,” Debbie added with a twinkle in her eye. She drained her wine glass. “Let him find out the hard way that you know.”

“I don’t think that’s the best approach…” Joanna began.

“But she’s right,” Gwen interrupted. “You know what Duncan’s like. As soon as I raise the subject, he’ll pretend I’m making up the whole thing. Then when I show him the photo, he’ll yell and rage and make it all my fault. And then before I know it, I’m the bad guy and he’s forgiven and everything will keep going the way it always has.”

“You’re too easy on him,” Debbie agreed.

“You’re married,” Joanna said. “You should talk about it like two mature adults.”

“I don’t want him in the house,” Gwen said, steeling her nerves with another gulp of wine. “Debbie has the right idea—I’m going to throw his things onto the driveway, like a symbolic act.”

“What will that do other than make him angry?” Joanna asked.

“We have smart locks on every door. I can change the code and then lock him out of the system,” Gwen said, her heart racing. She could actually do this. She could keep him from the house. It was reckless and crazy, but suddenly it was all she wanted to do.

“Really? Lock him out?” Joanna’s eyes widened. “I don’t know…”

“It’s perfect,” Debbie exclaimed with a laugh. “We need to move quickly. Either you’re in or you’re out, Gilston. Which is it?”

Joanna rolled her eyes. “You two will be the death of me. Okay, I’m in. But I’m putting a disclaimer on this right now—I advised against it.”

“Yes, Your Honour,” Debbie replied as she gave a mock bow. “Now, let’s do it.”

It only took them half an hour to throw a few of Duncan’s things into a suitcase and then set it out on the driveway. Gwen decided against throwing things willy-nilly, since it made her inner neat freak uncomfortable. She’d even packed his toiletry kit with everything he’d need to stay in a hotel, along with several of his favourite business suits. He would be going to work each day and would need things to wear. She didn’t want him to be humiliated.

Then she went into the office and worked on the security system. She’d had it installed a year earlier when the kids were coming and going so much. Instead of handing out keys, which they often lost, she decided on a code system. And they’d replaced all the locks with smart ones. She changed the codes so none of Duncan’s would work. He could get into the garage with his clicker but wouldn’t be able to get inside the house. She also changed the login for the security system.

Then they all went to the sitting room at the front of the house to wait, and they opened another bottle of wine. They were just finishing up their second bottle when the garage door opened. It was dark outside, and the external lights had come on, illuminating the garden path and garage door.

The suitcase was placed directly in front of the car space that Duncan used, so he wouldn’t be able to miss it or go around it. Gwen’s heart thudded against her ribcage as she heard Duncan’s car stop, then the car door open.

They hurried to look out the front window. He was standing, staring down at the suitcase with his headlights flooding the entire driveway. He reached for the suitcase and wheeled it back into the garage, then got into his car and drove it inside.

Gwen, Debbie, and Joanna then moved as quickly as Gwen could manage to the inner door to the garage and listened closely.

The door handle jiggled. There was a beeping sound, a curse and another jiggle.

“Gwen! Open up. Something’s wrong with the door.”

Gwen inhaled a quick breath. “I changed the code.”

“What? Huh? I didn’t hear you. Can you open it?”

She braced herself. “I changed the code!”

Her phone rang. It was Duncan. She answered it. “Hello, Duncan.”

He hesitated. “Gwen, what’s going on? The door to the garage isn’t working. And there was a suitcase in the driveway.”

Gwen moved into the living room and sat in her armchair with a sigh. “I saw you, Duncan. I saw you kiss that woman at the gym.”

He didn’t reply for several seconds. “What?”

“You kissed her. Don’t pretend you didn’t.”

“Open the door, Gwenny. We need to talk in person.”

“Not today, Duncan. I can’t face you right now. I need some time. I packed you a bag. You can go stay with your new friend for all I care.” She sighed. “I don’t want you in my house.”

“Our house, Gwen.” His voice grew louder. “It’s our house, and I have every right to be inside right now. You can’t lock me out of my own house!”

“I want to talk to you about all of it, but not today. We can touch base again soon, when you’re calm.” He always hated when she told him to calm down, but this time, he had no bargaining chip.

“It’s not what you thought. You saw something and misinterpreted it. I can explain if you’ll just open the door.”

“I know what I saw,” she replied. “I have a photo of the two of you kissing. Who is she? Do you love her?”

“It doesn’t matter who she is, just someone I met at work. And no, I don’t love her. I love you. You’re my wife. You can’t lock me out of your life like this.”

“We can talk tomorrow, Duncan.”

“No, wait!”

She hung up the phone and stared at it blankly. Debbie leaned down to give her a hug.

“I know that was hard,” Joanna said.

“I feel strangely unemotional right now,” Gwen replied. “I’m sure it will hit me later.”

Duncan’s car started up again and reversed out of the garage. The door closed behind him, and he accelerated down the driveway then turned onto the road.

“Let’s have some dinner and watch a movie,” Joanna suggested.

“That’s a great idea,” Debbie said.

“Okay,” Gwen agreed. “But please don’t make me choose. I don’t think I could.”

“Not a problem. I’ve been wanting a good cry myself lately, so I’m thinking Steel Magnolias.”

“That sounds perfect,” Gwen said. “Let’s go into the theatre. Duncan had it built so he could watch football with his friends. But he’s hardly ever used it.”

“Chicken and dumplings coming right up,” Joanna said.