Chapter 32 How Am I Supposed to Behave? #2
Good grief, Patty. Couldn’t leave it alone, huh?
There’s only one reasonable thing to do in this situation. I have to steal the photo and lock it up somewhere. I tuck the bulky frame under my arm and head for the door of the chapel.
But where to put it? In our hotel suite? Eric will see it, though. And he needs plausible deniability. I could hide it under the bed, I guess, but that would be creepy.
A closet?
I’m only a few paces beyond the door, though, when I spot Patty Tremaine standing beside a shrubbery. I startle like a girl in a horror film. Oh shit. And then I mentally brace for combat.
But she only puts a hand over her mouth and drops her head.
Oh, man. “Patty, I’m sorry. Let’s talk about this.”
She shakes her head, unshed tears in her eyes.
“Patty,” I say, crossing to her. “I’m not trying to be a bitch about this. But I don’t think you realize how much you could hurt Maribel with this.”
“I know,” she wheezes. “I’m terrible.”
“You’re not terrible,” I say reflexively.
But, hello? Bringing a giant photograph of the bride’s dead lover to her wedding isn’t exactly a loving move.
“But you’re trying to make this about Danny.
And it’s just not. Tomorrow is about Maribel and Theo.
It’s, like, the one day of their lives that’s only about them. It’s, like, the law.”
“It’s not about Danny,” she says, flicking tears away from her eyes. “But it should have been. He never got his day.”
“No, he didn’t,” I agree, shifting the clunky picture to my other hip. “Come over here a minute, okay?” I nod toward a bench facing the ocean. “Let’s sit.”
With a resigned sigh, she follows me over and sits down. “You’re judging me. But you’ve never buried a child. People tell me to move on. They have no idea how impossible that is.”
“It’s a terrible thing,” I say dutifully. “But, as an outsider, I can name some living people who could use more of your attention. Maribel has her own needs. And what about Eric?”
“Eric is fine,” she says immediately. “He has a big life. And he has you.”
Um… “Are you sure, though? You called Danny a generational talent the other day. When’s the last time you said the same to Eric?”
She blinks. “People say all kinds of wonderful things about Eric. Even on the news.”
“Patty,” I say, exasperated. “He needs to hear it from you. What if you took half the attention you pay to Danny and spent it on Eric and Maribel and whoever else in your life deserves your love? You have a lot left to give.”
A single tear drops down her cheek. “You make it sound easy.”
“I’m sure it isn’t,” I agree. “But it would mean a lot to Maribel if you could stand up for her tomorrow in that chapel and not resent her wedding. Look how brave she’s being. Starting over must have been so hard.”
“It was,” says a voice. “She’s right.”
We both turn and see Maribel and Eric arriving. I clamp my arm down over the picture, but there’s really no way to disguise it.
“Mom!” Eric says, appalled. “God.”
“I know,” she says, chastened. “It… It was a bad idea. Maribel, I’m sorry.”
She glances at the photo and then looks away. “That’s not appropriate, Patty. It’s not fair to Theo.”
“Or you,” Eric says sharply.
Patty takes a breath. “I’m… stuck. I can acknowledge that. But I was just so happy for you and Danny when the two of you got engaged. It’s hard to let go. I wanted to give you the wedding of your dreams.”
“I’m sure you would have.” Maribel sits down on the bench. “But it’s just like Darcy said. I’m still here, and I’m getting married tomorrow. If you can’t accept that, then maybe it isn’t a good idea for you to watch. If you can’t, I’ll understand.”
Patty covers her eyes and tries not to cry.
“Mom,” Eric says. “Take a walk with me. I’m going to put that picture in the trunk of your car, okay? You can keep it at home.”
“Okay,” she says tearfully. “I’m so sorry, Maribel.”
“I know you are,” she says with more generosity than I could probably muster in this situation.
The two of them walk away, and Maribel gives me a private smile. “Thank you for intervening. I’m sure that wasn’t easy.”
“Oh, it was,” I insist. “I don’t mind playing the bad cop. I told Eric—other people’s families are always less irritating than your own.”
She smiles at me. “You know what, Darcy? I’m pretty excited to have you as a sister-in-law. You’re kind of a badass.”
“I have my moments. Eric really wants you to have the wedding of your dreams. He would have dealt with that photo if I hadn’t found it first.”
She gives me a smile. “I know. Sweet Eric. He was just a skinny twelve-year-old when I met him. Even then, he was more of a man than most guys will ever be.”
“I believe it,” I say. “And I hear his brother was pretty incredible, too. I wish I’d had the chance to meet him.”
“He was.” Her smile fades, and she looks out at the ocean. “Can you keep a secret?”
“Like a vault.”
“Danny was my first love. He saved me in so many ways. But he was in a rough place when he asked me to marry him. And I was only nineteen. I knew we weren’t really ready, but I was afraid to say so.”
“Oh, heck.” That’s more of a secret that I was really bargaining for. “Does Patty know that?”
Maribel shakes her head. “She’s never acknowledged that Danny was spiraling. He was drinking way too much, and his behavior was out of control.”
I flinch.
“We’d been fighting about his drinking, and his proposal—during a family barbecue—was some kind of grand gesture. So I said yes. I loved him, and I was afraid of what would happen if I stepped on the brakes. I lived with them, too. If I’d turned him down, I wouldn’t have had anywhere to go.”
“Oh God, Maribel.” I reach over and squeeze her hand. “I can’t imagine the pressure.”
She smiles again and shakes her head. “I’m not telling you this as a sob story. I’m telling you because I’ve made peace with that time in my life. My relationship with your brother is completely different, though, because I met him after I’d had a chance to grow up.”
“How did you meet him?” Nobody ever thought to tell me this story.
“I pulled over in a rainstorm and changed the tire on his car.”
My hoot of laughter rises into the twilight. “That’s priceless! You rescued him?”
She grins at me. “I did. He was standing there in the pouring rain, staring at the tire on this old minivan, which was full of balloons. Theo’s best man—Reggie?
It was his van. His son was having a birthday party, and Theo had volunteered to pick up the balloons and the cake.
The tire popped, and since it wasn’t Theo’s car, he didn’t know where to find the spare. ”
“But you did? And since when is it okay to stop for a strange guy in a van? Serial killer movies start like that.”
She laughs. “Yeah, but I’m glad I did. Theo was just so grateful. He made me laugh while I was explaining how to use the jack. I just liked him immediately.”
“And he was smart enough to get your number?”
She shakes her head. “I told him I worked at a bike shop. He went to six different bike shops the next week to find me and ask me out.”
I put my hand over my heart. “What a story. So romantic. You’ll be telling your grandkids that story someday.”
“Probably.” Smiling, she nudges me with her elbow. “And you’ll be telling yours how you met Eric at work.”
My heart drops, because it’s not true. I feel so guilty for passing us off as a couple. “That’s not something I think about. Eric and I are just… casual.”
She gives me an assessing glance. “I don’t know if I believe that. You two are great together. He seems really into you.”
I smile because there’s no polite way to explain how we’ve been trauma-bonding at her wedding. “We’d better get back to the patio, right? Everyone must be wondering what happened to the bride.”