Chapter 24
Everyone’s bags had been packed and placed by the front door in preparation for heading back to their homes. But first, they
gathered in the kitchen for one last lunch together. Antonio had arranged a spread of chicken salad on buttery croissants
alongside an elaborate charcuterie board topped with homemade potato chips, dips, and pickles. The centerpiece on the marble
countertop was a two-tiered chocolate birthday cake, crowned with fresh strawberries, elegantly displayed on a gleaming crystal
cake stand.
Moira and her friends moved down the buffet line at the kitchen island, filling their pink and blue floral ceramic plates
before sitting together at the table. A sweet silence settled over them as they enjoyed their meal. Through the row of tall
kitchen windows, the September sun shone brightly on the Ogeechee River.
As Erin ate her lunch, she gazed at the charming white brick pool house in the corner of the yard, feeling a rush of excitement
knowing it would soon be her new home.
“Well, Mo,” Gemma said, breaking the quiet before popping a plump grape into her mouth with a satisfied crunch, “fifty looks
fantastic on you, but of course, we knew it would.”
A chorus of agreement filled the kitchen.
“This weekend has been nothing short of amazing, Mo. The delicious food, the friendship, the laughter, and even the tears—it has all been just wonderful,” CK added with a warm smile.
“Hear, hear!” Nell exclaimed as she lifted her glass of sweet tea, a wedge of lemon sinking to the bottom. The ladies clinked
their glasses together in a celebratory toast. While they continued to enjoy their lunch and reflect on the weekend, Antonio
and Renata were busy loading their catering van in the driveway. When they returned inside, Moira and her friends praised
them for the delicious recipes from the weekend. Renata offered to take photos of the ladies posing with the beautiful birthday
cake before it was sliced.
After Antonio and Renata left and the last piece of cake had been enjoyed and plates cleared, Celia Kate noticed the time
on the clock on the stove and sighed. “Gemma, I think it’s time for us to head out. Weekend traffic is going to be a nightmare,
I’m sure.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Gemma said as they both stood from the table. The two women headed to the foyer, where their suitcases
were waiting, and sounds of cheerful camaraderie followed them.
Moira turned to Gemma, concern clear in her eyes. “What do you think you’ll do about Tyler? We never discussed it.”
Gemma grabbed one of her bags and bobbed her shoulders.
“I thought about it all night, and I’m still not sure yet.
It’s going to take time and prayer. I’m most concerned about Carolina and how her parents splitting up her senior year will affect her, but I also know Tyler doesn’t love me, and he sure doesn’t respect me, and he isn’t interested in working on our marriage.
It’s not good for her to continue living in a household with a man who treats his wife like garbage.
Right now I can’t answer your question, but I’m committed to praying about it. I need wisdom and clarity.”
“Then that’s what we’ll all pray for you,” Nell said.
“You’ve been a good wife. And you’re a good mother,” Moira added.
“You are too, Moira,” Gemma said. “Don’t tell yourself otherwise, okay?”
Moira shrugged her shoulders, not fully believing the words.
“It’s going to work out, right?” Gemma said as she pulled another heavy bag onto her shoulder. A drip of paint had missed
her smock and left a small green dot on her beige top, just beside the bag’s strap. “And I’m going to lose weight, to prove
Tyler wrong, and to prove Dr. Dempsey wrong too.”
“You have always found great satisfaction in proving people wrong.” Moira looked to CK and said with a smile, “Remember when
Jake Martin and Buddy Dalton said Gemma would never make the cheerleading squad? They were sure mistaken.”
CK nodded with remembrance, and Gemma added, “Well, it wasn’t a mistake when I let my baton slip and hit Jake Martin right
between the eyes.”
“I see ol’ Baton Brow at church every week. He’s still got the scar,” CK said as they all laughed. “So who do we want to be
when we come back to Allyson Island next year for Moira’s fifty-first birthday? I thought about this while I was tossing and
turning and listening to Gemma toss and turn all night. I want to be a woman of more faith and less fear, without her phone
glued to her hand and her nerves on edge.”
Gemma shifted the large carry-on that was boring into her shoulder and said, “I want to lose 350 pounds—250 of that being Tyler Gardner.”
“I’m with you, CK,” Nell agreed. “More faith, less fear. Less doubting and worrying, and more fully trusting in God’s plan
and will, even if it doesn’t line up with my own.”
“Amen,” CK replied. “Erin, what about you? What do you want when you come back next year?”
“Financial stability,” she said confidently. “No debt. It’s possible now, with Moira’s help.” She smiled at her boss, her
friend. “What about you, Mo?”
“I want to be sober.” Moira’s words hung in the air.
“Then that is what’s going to happen for all of us. With the Lord’s help and with each other’s. We’re going to stay in touch,
hold each other accountable, pray for each other, plead”—CK looked to Moira—“for the widow. That is the kind of friend I want
to be. That is the kind of friend I need.”
After one last hug, CK and Gemma walked out the wooden front door and into the warm sun that was beaming onto the front porch.
As they descended the tall stairs, Gemma complained about the weight of her luggage, prompting CK to fuss at her for bringing
so much. When they reached the bottom of the steps, Gemma looked back at Moira, Erin, and Nell, who were standing on the porch,
and rolled her eyes while CK continued to tease her. The rolling suitcases bumped noisily behind them on the brick driveway.
Soon they disappeared around the side of the house where CK’s SUV was parked.
“They’re fun, aren’t they?” Moira giggled.
Erin turned to Moira with a grateful smile.
“I guess I should get going too. I can’t thank you enough, Moira, for this weekend and for your offer to let me stay here.
PJ will be so excited, and thankful as well.
I can’t believe how perfect the timing is.
Our lease at the apartment is up next month, and I’m so glad I don’t have to renew it. I just can’t thank you enough—”
“Erin, you really don’t have to keep thanking me,” Moira interrupted, smiling. “I’ll see you bright and early in the morning.
We’ve got a lot of bottles to pour out.”
“That sounds like a plan. I’ll take care of all the linens and dishes tomorrow too. You enjoy the day. Don’t lift a finger,”
she said before hugging Moira tightly. She grabbed her duffel bag from the porch floor and soon disappeared around the side
of the house, where her beat-up hatchback was parked.
This left Moira and Nell alone on the wide porch that housed multiple rocking chairs and terra-cotta pots of trailing sweet
potato vine and impatiens. Moira looked at her friend and asked, “Nell, do you think you could stay for a while? Do you have
anywhere you need to be?”
Nell shook her head. “No, I’ll be glad to stay for a bit.”
Moira quickly brewed a fresh pot of coffee, and she and Nell walked out the back door, crossing the soft grass to reach the
Adirondack chairs in the shade of the live oak tree. Moira ran her hand across a chair, disturbing the dust and pollen that
had settled on it.
“What a beautiful spot,” Nell said while gripping her mug and gazing out over the water. The wind rustled the moss that clung
to the twisted branches of the tree and the leathery, yellow-green fern leaves that crawled along the trunk. “I believe Chip
and I sat out here with you and Jeffrey one evening after dinner?”
“Yes,” Moira remembered with a smile. “The night I overcooked the leg of lamb. It was like chewing on a tire.”
A blue heron landed in the far corner of the yard, near the spot where the stream joined the Ogeechee River. Moira quietly pointed it out to Nell. They admired the majestic bird, perched gracefully on the grass, with the marsh providing a picturesque backdrop.
“I remember being out on the marsh with my daddy when I was a little girl, and he told me that the blue coloring on the bird
represents calmness, peace, and harmony. The white stripe down its back symbolizes purity, while the bird’s black beak represents
strength and determination.” Nell chuckled. “Of course, my dad was probably drunk when he told me that, but it sounds good,
doesn’t it?” They both laughed, the tension between them easing.
“Yeah, it does. I’ll have to tell Erin that. Rober did that watercolor painting of the heron hanging in the pool house. Maybe
when she looks at it, she’ll think about those things.”
“It was so good-hearted of you to offer her the place, Mo.” Nell took a sip of coffee.
“Oh, it’s nothing,” Moira said. “I’m just glad someone will be out there. It was Jeffrey’s idea to turn it into both a pool
house and a guesthouse. He intended it to be a suite for Mama to live in one day.” She paused for a moment. “You know, I’m
thankful my mother hasn’t been here to see how I’ve reacted to his death. When Daddy died, she mourned with quiet dignity,
like a lady—wearing dark clothes and bowing her head in prayer at her bedside night after night. She didn’t dance on a coffee
table at a Sunday school party or hug a trash can or pass out on the couch. I’ve certainly been an embarrassment to her and
to our family name.”
“I think if your mama had been here, she would have loved you just the same. Mine too,” Nell said. “Unconditionally.”
“I hope so,” Moira said on an exhale. “Anyway, I also asked Erin to stay there for the same reason I asked you to stay with me for a little while today,” Mo admitted.
“Why is that?”