The Sunshine Potluck Society

Chapter 31

After their champagne celebration, Gwen had an appointment at the hospital to get her ankle checked out. The doctor said it had healed well and she was free to begin walking on it as usual for some part of each day, but that she should continue using the boot for the full six weeks. The appointment was faster than she anticipated, which she was grateful for since she had the Surf Club fundraiser that night.

As she walked back to her car, her leg felt light and free. She would drive home without the boot, then put it on again when she arrived. She couldn’t wait to be free of it entirely. She climbed into her car. The rest of the day would be full of party preparations. She had a major event to run. Major for the island and for her, anyway.

She couldn’t have added more items to her to-do list for the day if she’d tried.

Back at the house, she put on her boot and steamed her evening dress for the festivities. She’d managed to find a dress that would allow her to run about all evening in a boot while still looking elegant. At least she thought it was elegant. It had a wide skirt and hung off her shoulders. She intended to curl her hair and wear a faux fur around her shoulders. It was the best she could do given the timing and the other distractions in her life. If she made it through the event with her sanity intact, she’d consider that a win.

There was a knock at the front door, and it surprised her. She laid the steamer down on the counter in her bathroom and hurried to answer. Duncan stood there, looking dishevelled and tired.

“I wasn’t expecting you,” she said.

“We need to talk.”

She waved him inside, and they sat in the front room.

He sighed and leaned forward. “You have to let me explain. You’re misunderstanding things, and it’s not what you think.”

She held up a hand. “I’m going to stop you right there because it hurts even more that you’d try to gaslight me.”

“Gaslight?” he asked, one eyebrow quirked.

“Yes, I’m hip and I know things.” She opened her phone, browsed to the photograph of him with his mistress, and held it up for him to see. “As you can tell, I captured the kiss quite nicely.”

He leaned back in his chair, eyes flashing. “What did you expect, Gwen? We haven’t connected as a couple in years. You aren’t blameless, you know. You’ve neglected me for so long, I can barely recall anything different.”

“Neglected you? I do everything for you.”

He shrugged. “I need more than that. We don’t talk. We have nothing in common. You have your friends and the grandkids, the occasional fundraiser and books. But I’m not really interested in those things. I was looking for more, and I found it.”

She swallowed down the lump in her throat. “I see. So, I sacrifice my own life, wants and needs for this family for decades, and then suddenly that makes me boring and worthless?”

“That’s not what I’m saying,” he said with a grunt. “Don’t twist my words.”

“That’s what it sounds like to me.”

The doorbell rang.

“What on earth? Who could that be?” Gwen was feeling flustered. She still had so much to do before the fundraiser. So many things to organise, and she wasn’t dressed yet. Her family and friends all knew about the fundraiser. She’d spoken about it with them several times. Yet here was Duncan, monopolising her time right when she was supposed to be getting ready for the event. And now someone else was at her door as well. Anxiety fluttered in her belly.

“Hey, Mum,” Brandon said. He had two children with him. Both had snotty noses. “I have a meeting in ten minutes. Is there any chance you could take the kids for the rest of the day? Of course they both had to get sick when I’ve got a full schedule. And Mara is in surgery all day long.”

Gwen’s eyes narrowed. “You’re asking me to watch the kids?”

“Yes, please.” He smiled. “You’re a lifesaver. I’ll call you later.”

He turned to leave.

“Wait!” Gwen shouted. “Do you remember anything about what I’ve got going on today?”

Brandon’s brow furrowed. “Today? Um…”

She crossed her arms. “Brandon Lee Prince, you know I’m organising the Surf Club fundraiser. It’s on tonight—I sent you and Mara an invitation weeks ago. I can’t watch the kids. I’m getting dressed to leave. And I have an enormous amount of work to do before the event.”

“Oh. Can you take the kids with you?”

She wanted to scream. Instead, she drew in a deep, calming breath. “No, I can’t take the kids, honey. I’m going to be very busy. Why don’t you ask your father? He’s right here. I’m sure he doesn’t have anything else to do.”

Brandon poked his head through the front door. “Dad?”

Duncan rose to greet him. “Hi, son.”

“Do you think you could watch the kids for me?”

Confusion filtered across Duncan’s features. “Me? Watch the kids?”

“It would be a big help.”

Gwen ushered them both out the front door. She gave Duncan a little shove in the back to get him over the threshold. “That sounds wonderful. The two of you can work things out between you. But he can’t watch the kids here, since he doesn’t live here anymore. Love you, Bran. Hope it works out. Bye-bye.”

She slammed the door shut. She shouldn’t have said that bit about him not living there anymore. Or at least phrased it differently. It was callous, since it was the first Brandon was hearing about it. She’d wanted to break it to her children gently. But they weren’t kids anymore, and they should be able to process their parents separating. Perhaps she should call them later to discuss it and try to smooth things over a bit. She hated the thought of any of her family being upset with her. But she couldn’t dwell on that now. She had a lot to accomplish.

Later that night, Gwen stood off to the side of the silent auction with a forced smile on her face. She was exhausted. Her feet ached, her back was in spasms, and she had some kind of cramp in her side. But the entire evening so far had been a huge success.

Debbie and Caleb were moving slowly around the nearby dance floor like a pair of movie stars. She couldn’t help feeling a little jealous. The way Caleb held his wife in his arms was inspiring. If only she and Duncan could have half of the love those two shared. She was so happy they’d been able to work things out between them. They looked like two teenagers in love all over again.

Debbie wore her hair teased high with a very impressive low cut dress. It had a wide skirt and lace around the hem. Joanna was in something similar although not quite so pouffy. And her makeup was more subtle. But both of them had made a big effort to dress for the theme.

Brandon spotted her from across the room. He and Mara made their way over to her. Brandon was in a black and white three-piece suit. Mara wore a long sparkling gown with a bustle. Brandon pushed his hands into his pockets and cleared his throat.

“Mum, when you said that Dad didn’t live with you anymore…”

She’d been expecting this question. She’d hoped that Duncan would’ve explained things to their son, but of course he’d leave that up to her, like he did everything.

“He’s moved out, honey. I’m sorry, I know that’s probably upsetting to you. But we’re separated.”

Brandon’s face paled. “I can’t believe it. Why? What happened?”

She sighed. “This isn’t the time or place for this conversation. I have to go and pay the caterer, and my friends want me to join them on the dance floor. There’s a lot going on, honey. I want to talk to you about it, but not right now.”

She hugged him and Mara goodbye, then hurried into the kitchen to pay the caterer. Afterwards, she wandered back out to the dance floor to see if Debbie and Caleb had hung around. Most of the guests had already gone home, but Debbie and Caleb were sipping cocktails on two stools at the bar. Gwen went to join them.

She sat down with a groan as the pain suddenly subsided. “My poor feet.”

Debbie smiled at her. “You did an amazing job, Gwen. The entire night was perfect.”

“You think so?”

“Yes, we bid on a day trip around the Whitsundays on a yacht. I’m so excited. I hope we win.”

Caleb laughed. “I’ll take you on a day trip even if we don’t.”

Debbie leaned into his chest. “That would be wonderful.”

Gwen watched them and felt her throat tighten. “You two give me hope. You know that?”

“Maybe you and Duncan can work things out,” Debbie suggested.

“No, I don’t think so,” Gwen replied. “We talked, and he’s still unrepentant. Blames me for it all.”

“I’m so sorry, sweetie.”

“It’s okay. Time for a new season. The whole world is open to me now. I’ve been waiting to travel with Duncan when he took some time off work or retired. But now I can go anywhere I like, whenever I want to go. It’ll be lonely, but I’ll get used to it.” She lifted her chin. “I’m sure I’ll have a great time.”

“Well, I’m going to the loo, then we should leave,” Caleb said, rising to his feet. “It was a great party, Gwen. Well done.”

“Thanks, Caleb.”

When he’d left, Gwen leaned forward to whisper to Debbie, “You two look very cozy.”

Debbie laughed. “I know. It’s like everything between us opened up when he finally shared with me how he felt. He’d been holding all this stuff inside for so long, it’d eaten away at him. I know there’ll be more for us to deal with, and we agreed that Friday nights will be a date night where we share what’s on our hearts. We don’t ever want to get back to that place where we feel so disconnected from each other. And the romance is more than just words, let me just say that.” Debbie’s cheeks flushed pink.

Gwen laughed. “‘More Than Words.’ That’s one of my favourite songs.”

“I know,” Debbie replied with a wink. “Mine too.”