Chapter 16
Tonya pulled alongside the curb in front of Hannah’s house and parked. She had kept her promise to leave the party at the beginning of the halftime entertainment, and she drove back to the Garden District. She had accepted compliments from the McNairs’ guests, while graciously rejecting their offers to cater parties for them. With the exception of Eustace and Gage, LeAnn, and Paige, the other attendees were St. John’s colleagues and his and Hannah’s former high school classmates.
She had filled the bathtub with her favorite scented bath salt and lost track of time soaking in the water until it cooled too much for her to remain. Fortified with a glass of wine, she crawled into bed and went to sleep.
* * *
Tonya woke early Monday morning refreshed and ready to begin her day mixing dough for bread. Eustace was unusually quiet, and when she asked if he was okay, he grunted that he had wrecked his diet and now had to work out twice as hard to shed the extra pounds he gained from overindulging at the party. She had decided not to remind him that he could have chosen from the vegetarian platters instead of wings, meatballs, and sweetened chicken dishes. Nicole and Melinda, sensing their father’s dark mood, kept their distance, and the day ended with little or no conversation. She stayed an extra hour after closing to put up several batches of dough to get a jump on the next day’s baked goods before returning home to shower and change.
Hannah was waiting on the McNairs’ porch when she shut off the engine and alighted from the Pilot. She climbed the steps and hugged her friend. “You don’t look any worse for wear after last night,” she said, smiling.
Hannah rolled her eyes upward. “I may look okay, but I’m still recovering from eating too much.”
“Now you sound like Eustace.”
“That’s because the man’s on a mission to lose weight before his high school reunion.” She looped arms with Tonya. “Come inside and rest yourself. St. John won’t be home until six. Thankfully, there’re still a few leftovers so I don’t have to cook tonight.”
“Do you cook every night?”
Hannah shook her head as pale, layered strands grazing her chin swayed with the motion. “No. St. John and I take turns, depending on what we want to eat. Most times LeAnn and Paige don’t join us. I still believe they’re not comfortable living here, even though I told them this is as much their home as mine.”
Tonya walked with Hannah into the sunroom and sat on facing cushioned chaises. “Maybe if you and St. John weren’t newlyweds, they wouldn’t feel like interlopers.”
“Their bedrooms are at the opposite end of the hallway from ours, so we rarely run into one another. Just the other day they hinted about taking another cruise, this time to the French and Italian Riviera.”
“It’s nice when you have the time to globetrot.”
“My cousins never married or had children, which meant they always lived their lives by their leave. They were the sole heirs to my uncle’s estate, so they don’t have to subsist on a fixed income.”
“Good for them.”
Turning fifty had been a reawakening for Tonya; she sat down to prioritize her future. The first item was learning to live healthier, which meant losing weight and eating clean. She had also directed her financial planner to unload her shares in several Wall Street–traded companies and purchase tax-free municipal bonds. The seven years she worked for Wakefield Hamilton allowed her financial stability with a salary commensurate with her education and experience, and she had anticipated working for the investment bank until she retired.
“Where are my manners? Can I get you anything to eat or drink?” Hannah asked, breaking into her musings.
“No, thank you.” Tonya sucked in a lungful of air, and then slowly exhaled. “I need your advice about how I should proceed with Gage.”
“You’re not sleeping with him.” It was a statement.
“No, but it’s not as if I don’t want to.”
“Has he hinted that he wants more than friendship?” Tonya nodded. “Then what’s stopping you? You’re both consenting adults.”
“My attraction to your husband’s cousin is similar to what I experienced when I first met my ex.”
“Weren’t you in high school when you got involved with your ex-husband?”
“Yes, but—”
“No buts, Tonya. Fast-forward thirty years and you are not the same wide-eyed young girl you were then.”
“I know that, Hannah! It’s not about age, but my initial reaction to him.” Tonya saw pinpoints of red dotting her friend’s fair complexion. “I’m sorry I snapped at you.” She covered her face with her hands. “I may as well tell you the whole story about my marriage.”
She watched Hannah’s expression change from curiosity to shock when she told her about having to defer her dreams in order to save her marriage. “After my divorce I swore I’d never get so involved with a man that I’d have to give up or sacrifice my own happiness for him.”
“Do you think you have a monopoly on loving and losing?” Hannah questioned. “I was still in high school when I fell in love with Robert. And he wasn’t that different from your Samuel, because he tried to talk me out of going to law school, and if he hadn’t been away so much, I probably would’ve given in to him. There are some men who resent independent women because they want them to need them. Are you in love with Gage?”
“Not yet.”
