Something about his tone made her nervous. Eliana didn’t know about Gerard, so it couldn’t be that, but Horace sounded so serious.
“She mentioned that you were trying to set her up with Asher. I thought we were just convincing her that she could fall in love again.”
“I am, but we’re also setting her up with Asher,” she said slowly, not sure where he was going with this.
“We. Meaning you and the rest of your friends?”
She nodded and stared at him through the mirror. He was very carefully not looking at her, but instead focusing on getting his part just right.
“I thought I’d be helping this time.”
Oh no. She knew him well enough to recognize that he felt hurt for not being included. But to be fair, it wasn’t like he was ever around anymore. “And when would you have helped, Horace? You’re with Smitty all the time.”
He scowled. “That’s not true.”
“Yes it is. You’re with him more than you’re with me. You didn’t even make it to the rehearsal last night because you two were so busy together. So, yes, I had my friends help me matchmake Eliana. Maybe if you were here more, you could have helped too.”
His face clouded with frustration. “You purposely left me out, and I had to find out from her this weekend.”
“Huh. I wonder what it feels like to be left out—” She smelled something burning and realized she’d been holding the curling iron for too long against her hair. She pulled it away, along with a burnt-off chunk of hair.
Both she and Horace stared at it in horror. Her eyes filled with tears that she blinked back as rapidly as she could, and she threw the curling iron down onto the counter.
“Winnie—”
She held out her hand. “Don’t say a word. I just did my make-up and I can’t cry.”
“But—”
“Not. One. Word,” she hissed. She pivoted away from him and went into the closet to get dressed. When she returned to the bathroom, Horace was gone. She stared at her reflection, and at the huge, burnt chunk of hair near the front of her face. It smelled bad too.
She tried to pin it back but it wouldn’t stay. She dropped the pin with a thunk and allowed that piece of hair to stick up on the side of her head. She stormed to the kitchen and grabbed her purse. Horace watched her with wide eyes.
“Aren’t you going to—”
“Nope.” One of these days, she was going to let him speak again, but it wasn’t going to be today. “Let’s go.”
They left the house, not talking, the distance between them growing greater by the second. She didn’t want to show up at Julia’s wedding walking six feet away from her scowling husband, but she had no desire to be any closer to him either.
The car ride was frostier than a northern winter, and she felt nothing but relief as they pulled into the conservation center parking lot. She got out of the car and bustled toward the entrance. Every time the wind shifted, she got another whiff of her burnt hair. But she threw her shoulders back and walked faster.
Horace huffed in his attempt to keep up with her.
They turned the corner into the elephant enclosure, around the copse of trees that would provide a background for the guests. Rows of white chairs draped in white linen had been set up in front of a metal archway being decorated with a gorgeous array of flowers. A white rug ran down the center aisle for the bride and groom to walk down. The decorations were minimal, but not much was needed with the natural background of lush trees and bushes surrounding them.
They drew closer to the small crowd, and Winnie gasped. Because sitting beside Polly in the back row of white chairs was none other than Gerard. As if he sensed her arrival, he turned and spotted her, his eyes lighting up when they landed on her.
He waved, but she grabbed a surprised Horace by the arm and redirected him away from Gerard.
“I think that man’s waving at us. Do we know him?”
“Nope,” she said abruptly. She approached Eliana and gave her a tight hug, then pulled her away as if she had something very important to talk about.
Eliana wore a pair of jean shorts and a white, dirt-streaked T-shirt. Her hair was in a messy bun, and she didn’t have make-up on yet.
“Is everything okay, Grandma?” Eliana eyed her burnt hair with a frown. “Can I help you with this?” She tried to tuck it under some other hair, but Winnie pushed her hand away, irritated.
“I like it,” she said petulantly. “Do you need help withyourhair?” she looked pointedly at Eliana’s messy do.
