Chapter 30 Annabelle
Annabelle
Annabelle spun around and looked at Juliana. “What did you say?”
Juliana gave her a benign smile. “That your dreams are important. Whatever it is that you aspire to.”
“No. You said they’re real. My dreams are real.”
“Yes, that’s what I said. Your dreams or aspirations are real. You should strive for them.”
Annabelle felt foolish suddenly. She needed to get a grip. Of course, Juliana wasn’t talking about her actual dreams. She ran a center dedicated to helping people achieve their best selves. She smiled at Juliana. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“There you are,” James said, walking over to them. “Anita sent me to get you both. It’s time for charades.”
“We’d better scoot then,” Juliana said as she walked away.
“You coming?” James asked.
“Yeah. Be right there. I’m going to refill my wineglass,” Annabelle said.
He arched an eyebrow. “Okay, but remember, we’re—”
“I know. Sailing tomorrow,” she snapped.
He looked taken aback and put up his hand. “Sorry.”
He headed back toward the pool. She filled her glass and took a long sip, watching everything from a distance.
Suddenly it all struck her as so superficial and meaningless.
As her gaze drifted from person to person, Annabelle realized that she knew them no better now than when they’d all first met.
Sure, there had been shared confidences among the women—mostly marital woes—but if she was honest with herself, those discussions had occurred from the beginning.
How much of their so-called intimacy was real friendship and how much a by-product of too much wine?
With everything she’d been dealing with lately, it hadn’t even occurred to her to call any of these women for advice.
Instead, she’d reached out to her friend Kiera, two hundred miles away.
Annabelle was beginning to wonder if her whole life was window dressing.
Not her children, of course. She loved them with a ferocity unlike anything she’d ever known.
And she loved James, but did he really know her?
Or maybe the better question was, had she let him see the real her?
What would it be like to have a husband she didn’t have to hide her occasional smoking from?
One with whom she could share the broken pieces of her heart, not just the whole ones?
Would he love her if he knew everything about her?
Was that what the man in her dreams represented?
Someone with whom she could shed her inhibitions, who could embrace her wild, childlike self?
“Annabelle, come on, we need you on our team,” Sybil, her next-door neighbor, called out.
“Coming.” She navigated her way down from the pool house.
They all made their way inside and went to the large living room where two oversize sofas sat opposite each other.
The group split into teams, and as per usual, the husbands and wives were on opposite ones.
She was with Sybil, Anita, Mary, Belinda, and Juliana.
Before they all sat, Belinda looked down at the coffee table and gasped. She pointed to a blue sculpture that looked like a balloon animal. “Anita, you didn’t tell me you bought a new Koons! It’s fabulous!”
“Phil surprised me with it. It’s the Balloon Monkey (Blue). I simply adore it. Be right back, girls, I need to grab some scorecards.”
When she walked away, Belinda whispered to Annabelle. “That cost over twenty-five grand. Can you believe it?”
Annabelle was stunned. “How do you know?” she asked.
“She showed it to me online last month. So pretentious, don’t you think?”
Before she could answer, Anita returned.
“Ready? We’re up—Belinda’s going first.”
Annabelle sat next to Anita and waited for Belinda to start.
She made a circular motion with her hands.
“Movie,” Juliana called out.
Belinda nodded.
She held up four fingers.
“Four words,” Annabelle said.
She nodded again.
She put her hands together, and then rested her cheek on them and closed her eyes.
“ Sleeping with the Enemy !” Sybil yelled.
Belinda shook her head and held up four fingers.
“Fourth word,” Mary said.
Belinda made a motion with her hands toward herself.
“Come,” Annabelle guessed.
Belinda nodded.
“Okay, fourth word is come, ” Anita confirmed.
Belinda held up two fingers.
“Second word,” Sybil said.
Belinda nodded and again put her cheek on her hands with her eyes closed.
“Not sleeping, um, asleep?”
Belinda shook her head again.
Annabelle knew and her stomach tightened. “Dreams,” she said, her voice wooden.
Belinda nodded.
“Blank, dreams, blank, come. Oh, What Dreams May Come !” Anita yelled, a huge smile on her face.
Annabelle’s blood ran cold.