Chapter 17 #2
She liked him. Of course she did. He was emotionally unavailable, decidedly single, married to his work, and uncomfortable with people on a personal level.
What better choice? At least she’d stopped any fledgling flutterings in their itty bitty tracks.
She was too sensible to fall in love with Dr. Satan, even if he was interested. And he had made it clear he was not.
* * *
Two hours later, Mrs. Santos was crying happy tears as she danced with her creaky little husband, who stared at her as if it were their wedding day, dazed by his luck. Their kids were taking pictures, grandkids were smiling, the little great-grands dancing, too, yipping like happy puppies.
This would never be her, Winnie thought as she stood in the doorway.
She was on track to have many nieces and nephews.
She’d never longed to be a mother like Lark and Addie.
She’d be the auntie, the childless one, available for babysitting and two desserts.
Hopefully, Cynthia would let her rent the house forever, or maybe even leave it to her in her will (dubious, but one could hope).
And somehow, she’d find a career that she loved.
Maybe she’d move off Cape and wander through the country a bit, hitting all the cities she’d never seen, feeling that thrilling sense of potential.
Except she loved it here. If the current Baby Boomers were any example, her parents would live to be a hundred, and she could picture herself living with them, fixing their soup and taking them to various doctor appointments until she herself was an old woman, at which point her nieces and nephews would have to step up and at least visit her and arrange for her chin to be plucked.
She’d have a series of increasingly smelly dogs. It didn’t sound awful.
Speaking of dogs, poor Fluffina had appeared on the beach in Chatham the other day, her soft white fur dull and full of tiny burrs.
Without a person to call, Winnie decided to take her into Lorenzo’s house (what he didn’t know wouldn’t kill him).
She washed and brushed the dog, blew her dry then spent another hour cleaning the bathroom (how much fur could a dog have?
Good lord!). She called the town and left a message with Animal Control, asking if they might know who the owner was.
Finally, she let Fluffina out, followed her down the beach until the dog had dashed off to her home.
Winnie just wished they didn’t leave her alone outside for so long.
“Winnie? What are you doing here?”
The voice startled her out of her grim reverie.
It was Blakelee Johnson, dressed to kill in a velvet, tightfitting dress, a single and very chunky diamond pendant hitting the space between her collarbones.
Was Mitchell-Tanner here? If Winnie saw him, would she be able to stop herself from punching him in the face? Dubious.
“I’m here with the kids,” Blakelee said, correctly interpreting Winnie’s face. “Why are you here?”
“I’m the party planner,” Winnie said.
“I’m surprised they hired you.”
“Well, they hired me before you—before Nycholiss’s birthday.” She eyed Blakelee warily. “I take it you’re related to the Santoses?”
“The groom, so to speak, is my great-uncle,” Blakelee said.
“A very sweet man.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Blakelee scowled. “Look, Winnie. Uncle Tomas told me you charged them a hundred bucks for this. Is that true?”
“That’s right,” she said.
“That can’t cover your costs.”
“It doesn’t. I donated a lot.”
Blakelee’s face was still hard. “Well. That was very generous.”
“It was my pleasure.” The memory of seeing Mitchell-Tanner at Logan flashed through her head. Those unkind, harsh words. How easily he mocked her for believing his lies, buying his Mitchell Prescott persona.
The man was a shit. And Blakelee was still with him. Maybe they deserved each other, or maybe…maybe Blakelee didn’t have a lot of options. She didn’t work, Winnie recalled. Times were tough, and divorces cost money (though that diamond pendant had to be worth a few thousand).
“Blakelee,” she said, “I’m truly sorry. I swear I didn’t know about you or the kids. I can’t imagine how awful it must’ve been, finding out about me.”
Blakelee’s eyes flickered away. “Yeah. I thought all that was behind us. Hopefully, you were the last one.” She toyed with the diamond. “I believe you, by the way. Sorry I made that big scene.”
“It’s okay.”
“Mommy?” asked a little voice. “Will you dance with me?” It was Blakelee’s littlest child.
“I would love to, sweetie!” Blakelee said, dropping her hand on her daughter’s head. “Just give me another minute to finish talking to this nice lady, okay?”
“Okay,” the little girl said. “Bye!” She skipped away, and Winnie could see the love on Blakelee’s face shining.
It must be exhausting, being married to a guy like Tanner.
“Did you ever think about divorce?” Winnie blurted. Not that it was her business, but…
“Of course. You’re his last chance. If he cheats again, he’s out.”
Winnie tried very hard not to move her face. That woman at the airport was not proof, after all. But Blakelee must’ve seen something, because her expression softened into sadness. A long moment passed. “Should I call my lawyer?” she asked quietly.
“I…I mean, it couldn’t hurt,” Winnie said. “Just so you know your options.”
“Are you two back together?” Blakelee asked, her eyes suddenly shiny.
“No. Absolutely not.”
Blakelee sighed. “I guess it’s just a matter of time, to be honest. Want to know the irony? I’m his second wife. I was the other woman once upon a time. I thought things would be different with me because I was the love of his life. Stupid, right?”
“Everybody can be stupid. I think it’s part of being alive.”
Blakelee shrugged. “I guess. Again, sorry I ruined your business.”
Winnie almost laughed at her blithe tone. “Yeah, no worries. I guess my heart wasn’t really in it, anyway.” Otherwise, she wouldn’t have delivered that soliloquy at the Ice House.
“Well, you did a great job tonight,” Blakelee said, waving her hand at the party. “Thanks for being so nice to Uncle Tomas and Aunt Grace.” She paused. “If you need help covering the cost, we’d all pitch in.”
“That’s okay. It really was an honor.” She looked at the woman in front of her, the tired eyes, the downturned mouth. “Take care, Blakelee. Good luck.”
“Thanks.” Blakelee walked away. Her little girl came up and tugged her onto the dance floor, and Blakelee scooped her up into her arms and onto the dance floor, smiling. She was a good mom.
When everyone had left, Winnie cleaned up, clearing off tables, scraping plates, and folding tablecloths.
She was glad to see there was one flower arrangement left…
she could give it to her mom. She was just about to start breaking down the tables when the door opened, and in came her brother.
“Hey, Window. Figured you could use some help. Maybe we can grab some food afterward.”
Maybe she would never find a partner. Good thing she had the family she did.