Chapter 26
Twenty-Six
Matthew stood behind the man controlling the sound, and just behind them, cameras were set up. Up to this point, they’d mostly talked about Kally’s books and romance. At a high level, they touched on the relationships, but nothing had been earth-shattering until they showed the video clip.
The segment paused for commercial. Makeup people ran on set and touched up Daniel and Cindy with big fluffy brushes. The girls on the couch giggled nervously, and Whitney stood, ready to walk across and join the anchors following the break.
Music cued, and the producer held his fingers in front of Whitney’s face. Three, two, and one.
As she’d been instructed, she smiled and walked along the edge of the set. Daniel reintroduced the women on stage and then introduced Whitney just as she got to the platform. Whitney shook Cindy and Daniel’s hands and took a seat in the chair between them.
“Thanks for joining us today, Whitney,” Cindy said. The pretty blonde had been Matthew’s favorite anchor since he was a teen, but he’d never met her before. Her bubbly personality was easy to watch, and even when the subject was unpleasant, her empathy delivered the message that made it seem okay.
“So as I understand it, you know these ladies,” Cindy said, presenting the women on the couch. “What do you think about all of this?”
Whitney paused a brief second, but then the words flowed without a hitch. “It’s wonderful to see these women enjoying a second chance at love. Divorce is hard, and some people find it hard to trust themselves to have a second chance.”
“Do you think they learned things to help make these new relationships better?”
“That wouldn’t be for me to say,” Whitney said. “I was their divorce attorney. Surviving divorce can be as difficult as grieving a loved one. Everyone is different, but sometimes you learn something about yourself. Sometimes you learn something about other people that better prepares you to understand what you don’t want.”
Daniel and Cindy laughed at that. “Well, to hear these gals talk, they seem to give you a lot of credit for finding their soulmates,” said Daniel.
“That is not the case. The videos were fun, of course, but relationships are serious.”
“But didn’t you and your fiancé first set eyes on each other in the offices there, Kally?”
“We did. Now, we didn’t act on it right away, but that is where we first connected. It was a passing glance, one of those eyes-holding-a-little-too-long moments.”
Cindy nodded. “Not so unlike the ones in your books.”
“Exactly.”
“And Brooke, you met your guy the night you were celebrating getting your divorce papers, and he happened to be passing through town.”
“That’s right. We’re getting married next April.” She wiggled her fingers, showing off a new ring.
“I don’t know. I think there might be something in the water over there in that historical office building,” Cindy said with a hearty laugh, playing to the camera. “I put two and two together yesterday. Daniel here was telling me you were going to join us today, Whitney. I learned recently that you’ve been seen about town with well-known local artist Matthew McMahon. Then I learned there are several pieces of his work in your offices at Barron, Winters Wall. So would it be safe to assume you two may have met there too?”
Brooke almost came out of her chair with excitement. “That is so romantic.”
“No. It’s not romantic.” Whitney blanched and turned toward Matthew, stage left. “We have artwork by a lot of wonderful Richmond artists in our building.”
Offstage, he felt helpless and unsure where all of this was going. He shook his head, letting her know he didn’t know this was going to be discussed.
“So you two did meet there?” The anchor didn’t let her off without answering the question.
“Oh my gosh, just like me with Jim!” Kally bounced in her seat and grabbed Brooke’s hand. “We saw each other in the lobby and it was love.”
“No,” Whitney responded firmly, glancing his way again. “Not like that at all.”
They’d caught her off guard. She was holding her own, but he knew she was grasping for something.
It came to him in a flash.
He hopped on one foot, and then jousted and held his hand over his head as if holding an umbrella. It was the weirdest act of charades, a game he sucked at, but he sure hoped she was a good guesser.
“Actually, I did not meet Mr. McMahon in my office. We met on the streets of Richmond. It was storming, and I was running back to my office, trying to keep from getting drenched, and not very well, I might add. I looked up and saw something coming for me. I screamed, and somehow he showed up, like out of the blue, and caught this unmanned umbrella that was flying right at me. He literally caught it in midair.”
“Is that true?” Cindy looked on in disbelief. “That is the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.”
“And I might add that Matthew has never been married or divorced, and he has never been a client of our firm, mine or otherwise.”
“So there’s not some magical thing going on in your building?” Cindy confirmed.
“No, but people have been filing into my lobby looking for a date. The partners aren’t happy about it. I’ve had people fake their intent to file a divorce just to get into the building, thinking they might meet their Mr. or Mrs. Right in my office because of those videos.”
Whitney’s voice had steadied, and she looked relaxed and poised.
“Romance is a beautiful thing, and I am one of Kally’s biggest fans, but I can promise you that none of these women have me to thank for their newfound love. They are wonderful women, and I’m so happy they did find their soulmates. Divorce is hard on the hearts of the people in them and those that love them too.”
“I never even thought about the consequences of that remark in the video,” Kally said. “Calling you the Fixie Chicks was supposed to be funny.” Kally held her hands dramatically to her chest. “I’m so sorry. I was joking around. It’s a cool coincidence that we both got divorces there, but we know you weren’t playing matchmaker.”
Daniel finally spoke up. “Matthew is just offstage. Why don’t you join us?”
He hesitated, but Whitney nodded.
He jogged over and Daniel scooted over onto the couch with the girls so he could sit in the chair next to her.
“Social media can get out of control in a hurry, can’t it?” Daniel said to Matthew.
“It sure can,” Matthew said. “It’s surprising what kind of posts go viral. A fake proposal, surfing squirrels, lip-syncing, or something like this. It all started with someone excited to share the good news about their new relationship.”
Daniel motioned to Kally. “One funny joke, one slip of the tongue or a blooper of a mistake, and it goes viral. Social media can seem real, and it can be very misleading as it takes on a life of its own.”
Daniel then turned to Whitney. “So Whitney, I’m paraphrasing here, but can I say that you don’t recommend filing for divorce to find your perfect soulmate?”
“Yes, Daniel.” Whitney laughed. “You’ve got that right.”
“I’m with you. I think all these ladies who are living their real life fairy tale love stories would agree,” said Cindy. “Love comes in many packages. Sometimes it’s coincidence, but there is no special water or magic in a building or that one person, even if she’s a really good divorce attorney, that’s going to set you up for your HEA.”
Daniel looked puzzled. “HEA, Cindy?’
Kally threw her hands up. “I can take that one. It’s Happily Ever After, Daniel. All the romance readers know what it means.”
They all nodded in agreement.
Whitney leaned in. “A marriage is not something you try; you commit to it. Take your time and find the right partner. Be patient. Test the waters and don’t rush things. If it’s right, the test of time is really pretty much all you need. When the going gets tough, don’t burn the bridge. Talk to a counselor, therapist, or your pastor. Some divorces are absolutely necessary, but I’ll tell you, we see a lot of marriages that are dissolved that never had a foundation to begin with. And others that let go the second something didn’t go their way, that could’ve been worth saving. Love is not a game or gamble. Take your time and give your marriage the right care.”
“And Kally, please keep writing these beautiful stories of love and hope,” said Cindy. “We love getting lost in them, even if they are fiction.”
“Thank you, Cindy.” Kally held up her book, working in another shameless plug. “I’ll be signing copies over at the bookstore on Poplar Street next Saturday. I hope some of y’all will come out and visit. Maybe I can talk all these lovely ladies into joining me.”
“We’ll be there,” they agreed.
The camera right in front of them swung to Daniel. “Social media can be a great tool but also a real problem when misused, and not only for our children. For adults too. What you need to know about social media, the whole ‘going viral’ popularity, and more right after these messages from our sponsors.”
The director started calling out orders. The sound men swept the guests offstage, and the cameras moved over to the wall where they would shoot the weather portion of the show next.
The sound guys gathered the mics, then Sheri walked them all out to the green room. “It went really well. Nice story. You’ll no doubt spread some romance and cheer to our viewers.”
Kally walked over to Whitney. “I’m sorry this caused you such a headache at work. I’ll put you in a book or something to make it up to you.”
Whitney held up her hand. “Maybe leave me completely out of all things public.”
They both laughed. Whitney said, “It’ll just be nice to see you at yoga, and I really am happy for you in your new relationship.”
“Thank you. And congratulations to you too. Matthew seems very nice.” She leaned in closer. “And extremely good-looking. I think maybe there is some magic, but we’ll keep that between us.” She shrugged. “You may not be a matchmaker or a love expert, but you understand how relationships can be connected, like the six degrees of separation.”
“Oh no. Not the Kevin Bacon thing again,” Whitney said.
“No, wait,” said Kally. “Listen up. Like what if it was like that DNA test, but you could trace who was connected from you, backward to each other. I know I was teasing about my editor loving the idea, but there is really something here, and if I write it, I’ll include a disclaimer and an apology and make it very clear this is all fiction.”
Whitney turned and dropped her forehead to Matthew’s shoulder.
He lowered his chin to her head. “Or you could just write a pretty story about a beautiful lawyer who met an artist in a freak storm and realized they were exactly what they’d always been looking for. Even though they’d lived in the same city their whole lives, and never met before. A love story over thirty years in the making.
“Is that true?” Kally dug into her purse. “I’ve got to write that down.” She punched the notes into her phone with fervor, then leaned across and hugged Matthew and then Whitney. “Y’all are great together. Best wishes.”
Kally ran to catch up with the others.
“Well?” Matthew spread his arms wide. “What do you think?”
“I was afraid we were totally off the rails there for a moment. I’ll be honest, when they brought you up, I thought you’d outed me for a second, and I couldn’t believe you’d ever do that.”
“I’d never.” He kissed her on the nose. “I will never do anything to upset you, and if I do, we’ll get through it.”
“Thank you, Matthew. I swear I should be counting the number of thank you’s I’ve given you in the short time we’ve known each other.”
“And I hope I give you daily reasons to continue. I cherish every moment with you.” He put his arm around her and walked her toward the exit. “I feel like we’ve known each other our whole lives. And that’s not the case, but you are the woman who seems to make everything in my life make sense.”
“I’ve never seen myself as a damsel in distress, but here you are again rescuing me.”
“You’re the most capable woman I’ve ever met.”
“You bring me a peaceful balance.” As the words came out of her mouth, she realized she’d been praying for that for a long time, not exactly knowing what it was supposed to even look, or feel, like. “Thank you.”
Her life was changing, she could feel it.
“Can I drive you home?” he asked.
“I was hoping you would.”