“This is fabulous!” another couple exclaimed on their way inside the country club. I smiled and said everything I was supposed to, but I felt as if I was an actor performing lines.
No matter how many people told me I’d done a great job or that it was the best Orchid Ball in years, the one person I wanted to hear it from wasn’t there.
He wasn’t late. He hadn’t texted to say he was sorry or that he was on his way.
No, the later it got, the more I realized that he just wasn’t going to come. And he was completely inconsiderate. No texts. No voicemails. Just… nothing.
I’d thought it was embarrassing to walk in on my own, but that was nothing compared to having to come up with excuses all night for why Thatcher wasn’t there. I swear, every single person in the damn ball had asked where he was. I didn’t even know they all knew his name. I was beyond relieved when Melinda, Sadie, Blair, and Natalie all ran interference for me and spread the word that Thatcher wasn’t at the ball due to a last-minute emergency at work. I knew nobody believed it, but at least they smiled and pretended to.
Thankfully, after the first hour or so, everyone focused on the decorations, the dancing, the food, and the items up for bid in the auction.
My mom and dad were pissed. “You mean to tell me he’s not coming?” Mom was incredulous. She kept looking towards the entrance and the bathrooms as if Thatcher was going to magically pop out and smooth everything over.
“Where the hell is he?” Dad asked.
I had a couple of guesses, but I didn’t want to traumatize my father too much. “I think I need a good divorce lawyer, Dad,” I whispered, not wanting my mom to hear me. No one in my family had ever gotten a divorce—not even the extended family of cousins, great aunts, etc. The scandal would crush her. But she was just going to have to be crushed. I wasn’t willing to stay with someone who thought of me as second best, or just an adequate replacement until the woman he’d really loved returned to him. Idoubt I would’ve ever married him if I’d known I was a rebound. And more and more, that’s what I believed I was to him. Now his first love was back, and he was done with me.
It hurt terribly, but there was no use sugar coating it.
Dad looked at me sharply. “Are you sure?”
I nodded. “I’m not quite ready to file yet. I’m going to ask him to go to counseling first, but I have the feeling he’s going to say no. I’d like to meet with an attorney to find out my options.”
“Okay.” He gave me a hug. “I’m so sorry, baby. I thought he was your forever guy.”
I felt tears coming on, waved my hands in front of my eyes, and said, “Don’t. I’m going to cry, and I can’t break down right now.”
“You’re right.” He stood back and held me at arm’s length. “You look gorgeous. You’ve worked so hard to make this night incredible. He’s a goddamn fool, Carrie. But you need to put him out of your mind and enjoy what you created.”
I smiled, starting to feel a bit better. “It does look good, doesn’t it?”
“It’s better than good. I feel like I’m actually in the Garden District. Go have fun. Dance with handsome men. Laugh with your friends. You deserve to have an amazing night.”
He was right. I wasn’t going to stand here crying over Thatcher when I’d poured my heart and soul into making the Orchid Ball perfect. I looked around and saw that Tim wasn’t dancing with anyone.
I wasn’t interested in him romantically; he was Sadie’s little brother, and that’s who he’d always be to me. But he was good-looking, hilarious, and thought of me like another big sister.
“Care to dance?” I asked as I walked up to him.
He looked startled for a moment before he put down his glass, gave me a ridiculous bow, and said, “Why, of course my dear.”
I laughed as he pulled me into his arms and spun me out on the dance floor. “What was that?”
He looked mock offended. “You couldn’t tell I was trying to have the accent of a vampire from New Orleans? Clearly, I need to practice more.”
We danced together a few times that night, and I was just as interested in having a good time as I was observing how often Tim stared at Natalie with Heath Reyes. It was quite entertaining. Something told me Tim had finally realized he had feelings for his best friend. It just took her falling for someone else for him to wake up and see it.
I filed that bit of information away to talk to Sadie about later.
The night flew by. I danced with all my friends’ husbands as well as some single men. I flirted like I hadn’t since I’d first started dating Thatcher. It felt good, like exercising an underused muscle.
And it gave me hope for the future. I wasn’t planning on divorcing Thatcher and getting right back in the dating game by any means. But it was nice to know he hadn’t broken that part of me.
Later, as I was driving home, I started to feel more relaxed than I had in several months. The weight of the Orchid Ball was off my shoulders, and I could just focus on what to do about my marriage. I needed to see if it could be repaired, or if it was hopelessly broken.
And that’s if Thatcher even wanted to stay together. I bit my lip. For all I knew, he already had divorce papers drawn up to give me.
I slowed down as I reached our driveway, my mouth agape. Thatcher’s car still wasn’t in the driveway. It was past midnight! Where the hell was he? I checked my phone for about the millionth time, but there were still no messages from him.
