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Authors: Sara M. Barton
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the
social grapevine. Florence saw it as her “Nightingale” moment, her
chance to play nurse to the patient in need. She found out he was
booked at the inn and called to make her own reservation. Expecting
him to be delighted to see her, she was stunned by his lack of
response when they finally reconnected at the Four Acorns Inn.
That’s the trouble with one-sided romance. It’s like hitting the
proverbial brick wall at a hundred miles an hour when rejection
sets in.
“Well, at least now she
is spared the embarrassment of seeing Dr. Van Zandt and Laurel
together,” Lacey said. She poured herself a diet soda in a short
tumbler and added a couple of ice cubes before swirling the liquid
around a few times. She watched the contents bounce against the ice
and then took a long swig. Her unexpected silence caught my
attention.
“Is something wrong?” I
asked.
“Oh, I’m fine. I just
realized something, Scarlet. All those years ago, when my husband
had his many affairs, I never thought I could ever forgive the
women who betrayed me. To me, they were temptresses who seduced
him. But when I was talking to Florence today, I was struck by the
realization that it really does take two to tango. I wasted too
many years being angry at him for the wrong
reasons.”
“Wrong in what
way?”
“I convinced myself
those shameless hussies threw themselves at him, tempting a weak
man, but I realized for the first time today that it was always his
choice to have the affairs. I blamed the women for breaking up our
marriage, but he was the real problem. He encouraged them. Hell, he
even welcomed them into his bed.”
“It sounds like
Florence really got to you, Lacey.”
“She did. Or rather,
Reverend Hoskins’ sermon did. Maybe if we hadn’t gone to church
this morning, I wouldn’t have made the effort to be compassionate.
She fooled herself into believing that Thaddeus only stopped
himself from having an affair with her out of respect for his wife.
But the doctor really loved the woman he married. He never had any
intention of having an affair with Ms. Vinson.”
“And that makes him a
good guy?”
“It does. After years
of feeling like I didn’t put enough effort into my marriage, even
thinking that if I had paid a little more attention to the bastard,
he wouldn’t have strayed, I realize now that it really didn’t
matter what I did. My husband loved chasing and being chased more
than he loved me. It’s a hard lesson to learn, but learn it I
must.”
“That’s a pretty big
serving of humble pie,” I pointed out, as I laid the top crust over
the blueberries and began to crimp the edges. She smiled at my
feeble attempt at humor.
“Yes and no. I wasted a
lot of time trying to have the upper hand. I must confess I enjoyed
having men chase me all these years. It turns out I don’t really
have as much power over them as I imagined. In some ways, it’s
almost a relief to know that several of them spent time with me
because they genuinely liked me, not because I fooled them into
it.”
“Funny how romance is
never what we think it is,” I sighed, reaching over and patting her
hand affectionately. “Just out of curiosity, was there ever anyone
you thought was a keeper?”
She took a long, deep
breath and let it out slowly. “Gee, I wish you hadn’t asked me that
question, Scarlet.”
“Sorry.”
“Oh, forget it. And
now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go have a quick cry and a
long bath, so I can pull myself together for the Scrabble
tournament tonight.”
“Shoot!” I groaned,
tapping my forehead. “I completely forgot about that. I have to
call Myrtle and Willow to find a substitute, since Florence
left.”
“We’re short a player?”
It was the way she said that, with a slight excitement in her
voice, that made me think she was going to skip that sob
session.
“Do you know someone
who might want to join us?”
“Perhaps. Yes, I just
might,” she replied, more to herself than to me. It
social grapevine. Florence saw it as her “Nightingale” moment, her
chance to play nurse to the patient in need. She found out he was
booked at the inn and called to make her own reservation. Expecting
him to be delighted to see her, she was stunned by his lack of
response when they finally reconnected at the Four Acorns Inn.
That’s the trouble with one-sided romance. It’s like hitting the
proverbial brick wall at a hundred miles an hour when rejection
sets in.
“Well, at least now she
is spared the embarrassment of seeing Dr. Van Zandt and Laurel
together,” Lacey said. She poured herself a diet soda in a short
tumbler and added a couple of ice cubes before swirling the liquid
around a few times. She watched the contents bounce against the ice
and then took a long swig. Her unexpected silence caught my
attention.
“Is something wrong?” I
asked.
“Oh, I’m fine. I just
realized something, Scarlet. All those years ago, when my husband
had his many affairs, I never thought I could ever forgive the
women who betrayed me. To me, they were temptresses who seduced
him. But when I was talking to Florence today, I was struck by the
realization that it really does take two to tango. I wasted too
many years being angry at him for the wrong
reasons.”
“Wrong in what
way?”
“I convinced myself
those shameless hussies threw themselves at him, tempting a weak
man, but I realized for the first time today that it was always his
choice to have the affairs. I blamed the women for breaking up our
marriage, but he was the real problem. He encouraged them. Hell, he
even welcomed them into his bed.”
“It sounds like
Florence really got to you, Lacey.”
“She did. Or rather,
Reverend Hoskins’ sermon did. Maybe if we hadn’t gone to church
this morning, I wouldn’t have made the effort to be compassionate.
She fooled herself into believing that Thaddeus only stopped
himself from having an affair with her out of respect for his wife.
But the doctor really loved the woman he married. He never had any
intention of having an affair with Ms. Vinson.”
“And that makes him a
good guy?”
“It does. After years
of feeling like I didn’t put enough effort into my marriage, even
thinking that if I had paid a little more attention to the bastard,
he wouldn’t have strayed, I realize now that it really didn’t
matter what I did. My husband loved chasing and being chased more
than he loved me. It’s a hard lesson to learn, but learn it I
must.”
“That’s a pretty big
serving of humble pie,” I pointed out, as I laid the top crust over
the blueberries and began to crimp the edges. She smiled at my
feeble attempt at humor.
“Yes and no. I wasted a
lot of time trying to have the upper hand. I must confess I enjoyed
having men chase me all these years. It turns out I don’t really
have as much power over them as I imagined. In some ways, it’s
almost a relief to know that several of them spent time with me
because they genuinely liked me, not because I fooled them into
it.”
“Funny how romance is
never what we think it is,” I sighed, reaching over and patting her
hand affectionately. “Just out of curiosity, was there ever anyone
you thought was a keeper?”
She took a long, deep
breath and let it out slowly. “Gee, I wish you hadn’t asked me that
question, Scarlet.”
“Sorry.”
“Oh, forget it. And
now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go have a quick cry and a
long bath, so I can pull myself together for the Scrabble
tournament tonight.”
“Shoot!” I groaned,
tapping my forehead. “I completely forgot about that. I have to
call Myrtle and Willow to find a substitute, since Florence
left.”
“We’re short a player?”
It was the way she said that, with a slight excitement in her
voice, that made me think she was going to skip that sob
session.
“Do you know someone
who might want to join us?”
“Perhaps. Yes, I just
might,” she replied, more to herself than to me. It
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