Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Audrey straightened the strap of her purse on her shoulder as she walked down the sidewalk of Coral Sands’ main street.
The long skirt of her black maxi dress swished around her ankles, and she tugged on the sleeves of her dark red leather jacket, trying to cover more of her hands against the chilly autumn air.
She was on her way to have dinner with her friends Penelope and Harper at Brasserie Belle, a gourmet French restaurant the three women loved going to.
Ordinarily, she would be overjoyed to go out to dinner with her friends, whom she loved very much, and dinner at Brasserie Belle was always spectacularly delicious.
Ever since Clark had intruded on her new life, however, she’d felt drained.
She moved along the sidewalk as if there were rocks tied to her limbs—even taking deep breaths felt harder.
Her body was exhausted from the rollercoaster of emotions that she’d been riding, and her heart felt bruised and vulnerable.
I don’t know how I’m going to make conversation tonight, she thought with a sigh. I feel like I don’t have the energy at all.
She stepped inside the restaurant, immediately looking around the dimly lit room for Clark and Molly.
Candles flickered around the elegant dining room, illuminating the faces of the people dining there.
She breathed a sigh of relief when she didn’t see them.
She dreaded running into them so much that the thought caused her to have a knot in her stomach.
They’re not going to be here, she told herself firmly. And even if they are, I’ll be fine. And then, no matter what happens, they’re going to leave Coral Sands and I can have my peaceful life back. I can get through this, I know I can.
She squared her shoulders, taking a deep breath.
Her eyes scanned the dining room again, this time looking for Penelope and Harper.
She didn’t see them, and a quick glance at her watch told her that she was ten minutes early.
Despite the slow pace at which she’d walked, she’d clearly beaten her friends to the restaurant.
She gave the hostess Harper’s name, since Harper had made the reservation, and she was led to a table that offered a picturesque view of the ocean.
She sat down, trying to settle her nerves and just enjoy the beautiful sights around her.
The candle on their table flickered with a captivating, playful glow, and the ocean looked breathtaking under the light of the first stars and the golden autumn moon.
She inhaled the delicious smells that wafted through the air and her stomach grumbled hungrily.
Soft music that had a Parisian flair played gently over the loudspeakers, and she closed her eyes for a moment, wishing she was on the other end of the world from Clark.
She heard the sound of laughter, which she recognized as Harper’s. Her eyelids fluttered open, and she took a deep breath and mustered a smile when she saw her friends hurrying across the restaurant toward her.
“Hey, girl!” Harper bent down to give Audrey a big hug.
“You looked like you were asleep.” Penelope chuckled and hugged Audrey as well.
“Oof, sleeping sounds great,” Harper said with a groan as she threw herself into her chair.
Even though she was wearing a striking red dress and black heels, she moved as casually as though she was wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt.
“I have to admit, girls, I’ve got a disclaimer—I don’t know how much fun I’m going to be tonight.
It was a wild ride at the animal shelter today and I’m beat. ”
Penelope huffed. “Get in line, sweetheart. I don’t have any emotional energy left in the tank. I’m definitely going to be the party pooper tonight, so never you fret.”
Audrey let out a laugh of relief. “Sorry, sorry,” she said, shaking her head when she saw her friends’ confused expressions.
“I’m sorry you’re both not feeling your best, but I’m so glad I’m not the only one.
I feel just awful and worn out and I was worried that I was going to ruin your evenings by not being any fun. ”
Penelope laughed. “Wow, we’re all feeling under the weather emotionally? How about we start our night by ordering a bottle of rosé and taking turns dishing about our grievances?”
“Ugh, sounds perfect,” Audrey said, shaking her head. “I could use a night of venting to you girls. And I’m more than happy to listen to whatever you feel like you need to get off your chests.”
“Who goes first?” Penelope said.
All three of them were quiet for a moment. Even though she wanted to tell her friends about what had happened with Clark, Audrey felt as though she was struggling for the words. It was going to be difficult to articulate what she was feeling.
“I’ll go,” Harper said, but at that moment their waitress arrived.
They put in the order for the bottle of rosé and placed their food order as well. It was only a few minutes before they all had glasses of the heady pink liquid in their hands.
“Okay,” Penelope said, taking a sip of her wine. “Harper, it’s your go. What went wrong for you today?”
“Oh, it’s been the last few days,” Harper said with a sigh, shaking her head.
“I just can’t seem to be able to get ahead enough to be able to take any kind of a break.
On top of that, the city has been fighting me on how to handle stray animals.
Coral Sands has been great, but you know I also travel to the surrounding areas to pick up animals that don’t have a home.
There are all kinds of ordinances and guidelines in the city, and while I understand why they were made, they really get in my way.
It’s not like I’m going to allow a dog to bite me, and of course I’m going to make sure all animals are healthy and clean before I let them near the other animals, but the other day I rescued a little terrier that someone reported in the city, and I actually got stopped by the police.
They tried to give me a ticket, even though I showed them my paperwork and explained that I own an animal shelter.
They said I have to be wearing a specific kind of gloves when handling animals—as if the latex ones that are apparently regulated are better than my big thick leather ones! ” She shook her head, huffing.
“That does sound really annoying,” Audrey said sympathetically. “I don’t see why it matters as long as you are wearing gloves.”
“I agree.” Harper wrinkled her nose. “Anyway, he didn’t give me a ticket but he gave me a warning, and meanwhile this little dog was cowering in the crate I keep in the back seat of my jeep. He seems to have some kind of phobia of men, and I can’t blame him.”
Penelope made a sound that was a cross between a scoff and a laugh, and Audrey said, “Oh come on, now,” but the comment made her chuckle.
“And then on top of all that, we had the absolute worst visitor today,” Harper continued.
“This woman came in and she wanted to pet all the cats, so I said, ‘Okay sure,’ and then it turned out she was pinching their ears to see what they’d do.
Wanted to make sure they weren’t ‘vicious.’” Harper made air quotes with an expression of disgust. “I kicked her out of there so fast she probably got whiplash. I just wish I’d taken a picture of her so that all my employees know she’s on the ‘No Adoption Ever’ list.”
“Is that a thing?” Audrey asked.
“It is now,” said Harper darkly.
“Mm, I'm sorry that all happened,” Penelope said, shaking her head. “But at least your troubles seem like they’re all temporary. I hope things start looking up for you workload wise soon, Harp.”
“Thanks.” Harper took a sip of her wine. “And you’re right, all of this should pass pretty soon, which is nice.” She squeezed Penelope’s shoulder. “Are you saying your troubles aren’t of the temporary kind?” She pressed her lips together sympathetically.
Penelope snorted. “Definitely not the temporary kind.”
“Penelope’s turn,” Audrey said.
“Definitely,” Harper agreed.
“Okay.” Penelope inhaled, staring into space for a few seconds. Her eyes became misty. “I gave Robert the divorce papers.”
Harper gasped and Audrey put her hand to her mouth.
“Oh no,” Audrey whispered. “Oh, honey, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize—”
“That I’d made that decision?” Penelope sighed.
“I think I made it a few weeks ago, but it felt too hard to actually go through with it. It’s such a big choice, you know?
But neither of us is happy. I don’t feel like we are married.
Half the time he’s not even home, and when he is, he ignores me or talks to me like I’m some kind of business associate he doesn’t even like very much.
That’s not any kind of a marriage. And all my efforts to fix things with him did nothing.
Over and over and over again. So I’m done.
And as soon as I finally mustered the courage to say that to him, I gave him the papers. ”
Harper murmured something sympathetic that Audrey couldn’t discern.
“What did he say?” Audrey asked gently.
Penelope shook her head. “That’s the thing I’m the most stressed about right now. He doesn’t want to sign them. Getting divorced is painful, and I want to get this process over with so I can move on. Drawing it out is just going to make it all worse. I don’t want to have to battle him on it.”
“Maybe if he doesn’t want to sign them, that’s a good thing,” Audrey suggested gently. “If he thinks there’s hope for your marriage, maybe there is.”
Penelope shook her head. “But there isn’t.
” Her voice caught. “He’s not willing to treat me any differently, he just doesn’t want a divorce.
And I’m not happy, and neither is he. Losing the future we planned together is a painful thought, but as far as I’m concerned, we lost that future a long time ago.
I didn’t get married with the intention of being given the cold shoulder every day no matter what I do. ”