Chapter 22 The Conversation
Chapter22 The Conversation
The Mother of the Bride The Mother of the Groom
The scene was the same as the night before, two women with a cheese plate between them on the patio at Ming’s house. The dinner
at Toots’s had ended quickly after the announcement of the broken engagement. Ming and Sarah had both retired to their rooms
for the night, but Alexa and Abigail agreed to a drink and some food before turning in. There were things to be said beyond
the ears of the Widows. Last night, they struggled for conversation because it seemed they had nothing in common and nothing
to say to each other beyond the logistics of the weekend. But tonight, they shared one critical element: a child with a broken
heart.
Abigail was still in shock to hear that Penny had called off the wedding. It wasn’t Abigail’s fault that Alexa had left the phone on speaker. Her hearing was one of her best features. It allowed her to eavesdrop on some of Penny’s call the other night. Until Mignette gave her a stern look and gently shut the door into the other room. Still, Abigail had heard her former future daughter-in-law say “so much pressure” and “not enough shared goals.” Not enough shared goals! Since the day of the engagement, Chase had been all about partnership. And he assured her after the breakup that Penny was in full agreement with their plans. He used “vis-à- vis” to convey his conviction! What had changed?
She was disappointed that her own son couldn’t make it right in a white knight sort of way. Why didn’t he call off this ill-conceived
political career and reconcile with Penny? Add to that the sheer tragedy that the magical wedding at La Mariposa would never
happen and she may never see her new friends, the Merry Widows, again. She poured herself another glass of red wine, just
a half this time. She didn’t want to be up all night with wine brain.
Alexa knew she had to take the plunge first in this conversation. After all, it was her child that called off the engagement.
“I think this may be my fault.”
“Why would you think that? You’re three thousand miles away,” Abigail answered immediately, not wanting to give away how much
of the mother-daughter conversation she had overheard.
“Because Penny said so.” Alexa laughed ruefully. “She said that I wasn’t a good role model for committed relationships. That
she had never seen one. And maybe she’s right.”
“My mother used to scoff at all those psychologists in the seventies who came to prominence because, quote, they always blame
the mother. And she was right!” Abigail added another splash of wine to her half glass. “Whatever Penny’s going through, I
don’t believe it’s a straight line from your decision to raise a child on your own to her decision to call off the wedding.
You’ve surrounded yourself with loving relationships in your friends and family and Simon. That’s plenty of role modeling.”
Alexa was genuinely touched at the show of support. Abigail was right. There was a circle of love around them both. “Thank
you. That’s kind of you to say.”
“We all tried our best to raise children into healthy grown adults. I worked in a high school for twenty years. I saw all kinds of families, and the common denominator in the great kids was a loving family. And I use that in the broadest sense of the word ‘family.’ From what I’ve seen over two days, you’ve created that here.”
“Thank you. And so have you. Getting to know you all has been a pleasure.” Alexa spoke the words like they would never see
each other after tomorrow.
And maybe they wouldn’t, so Abigail took a big swing. “Why did you decide to have a child on your own? If you don’t mind my
asking.”
Alexa did mind a bit, but she did understand why Abigail might be curious. Her grandchildren would have been related to a
man with a lab number, not a name. “I had love to give and I wanted to give that to a child.” Alexa told Abigail about her
mother and the accident and the lonely years afterward. She explained how her mother’s family had shunned her when she was
pregnant, so her mother’s parents went out of their way to show support to her even though her decisions were nontraditional.
“I felt like I could give a child a beautiful life, even if it was only the two of us.”
“I’m so sorry you’ve been through all this. How terrible to lose your mother at that age. And Penny’s father? Is there contact?”
This was way beyond the bounds, but it was too late now. The question was out there. “Penny’s father is a sperm donor. Whose
family did not come over on the Mayflower .”
“Touché!” Abigail said, acknowledging Alexa’s victory in the retort. Then she turned serious again. “You must miss your father
and the rest of your family.”
“I do and I don’t. Please understand, my father and my brothers are wonderful men, but they haven’t always understood me. And I haven’t lived with them in almost fifty years, since I was sent to boarding school. I think it made my decision easier for my family to support, because Penny and I are a continent away most of the year,” Alexa explained. “For all I know, my father tells people in Greece that I have a husband who never leaves the States. That’s why I stayed in California, so I didn’t have to curtail my life to fit the expectations of others.”
There was a flash of discomfort in Abigail’s expression, as if Alexa had identified an issue that hit close to home for the
MOG. Perhaps she shouldn’t have used the word “curtail”? She quickly turned the topic. “Penny’s let Big Wedding undermine
her usual optimism and energy. I hope Chase can be patient.”
“Nobody’s forcing her to do a wedding like a magazine spread,” Abigail said because she couldn’t hold her opinions back. And
then she noticed the look of horror on Alexa’s face. Oh, dear. She tried to salvage her comment with some generalizations. “Do bridal magazines even exist anymore? Or is it social media
that drove them to the brink? Young women need to calm down.”
Alexa barked a laugh because Abigail had a point. “The nonstop comparisons can’t be helpful. It’s a whole new level of self-exploration
with these girls today. We all have insecurities. But you’re right. I hope Penny takes a few deep breaths and reconciles with
Chase. Like tomorrow.”
Just a splash more wine for Abigail and then she corked the bottle and put it on the side table. “I’m sure Chase played a
part in this. The campaign, the move. That’s a lot on a relationship. And men, even this new generation of men, can be clueless
about the effect of their actions on another person.”
Now it was Alexa’s turn. “Oh, yes. I see that all the time in my friends’ marriages. It’s like they have two calendars, one
for his schedule and one for the rest of the family’s schedule. But his is always on top. Time-wise anyway.”
Abigail laughed. “I love it when George travels for bridge tournaments. I can just do what I want when I want. It’s...
luscious. I imagine your whole life is like that.”
Alexa let that sink in. No, of course it wasn’t, for a single mother and business owner in the hospitality trade. But it was late in the evening and she didn’t want to push back when they’d opened new ground. “Most of the time, I guess it is. I fill it with work. But I get to be selfish about my time in a way that you don’t.”
“I think about how little George and I really knew about each other when we got married. We were in our midthirties so we
knew we were ready, but that doesn’t mean we knew each other. We liked the idea of each other, the familiarity of each other,
but it took a good decade to really understand the person I was married to.”
“Was it a shocker? When George finally revealed himself?”
The image of George revealing himself (or the wine) made Abigail howl with laughter. “George revealing himself. I’m going
to assume that’s a lost-in-translation thing!”
Then Alexa laughed but tried to banish the image of George in a daring position with nothing but a gingham tie on. It was
too much. All at once, she felt the weight of everything on her shoulders. Penny. The broken engagement. The disappointment
of the Blakemans. It was exhausting, bearing the burden of expectations.
Then her phone pinged. It was a message from Ricky. “Ricky’s here. I asked him to pick me up.”
“That was good thinking,” Abigail said, swallowing the last of her wine. She did admire Alexa’s executive functioning skills.
“So, what should we do tomorrow, then?”
“Let’s figure that out in the morning. I think we both need a good night’s sleep.”
Alexa stood, as did Abigail. There was a hug between the women, like they’d been through something they couldn’t quite explain.
Tomorrow would tell.