she had to attend Henrietta’s banquet alone. She’d been told to bring a guest, but when she sheepishly resorted to inviting the other women at Happiness Key, they turned her down. Wanda knew she would be exhausted; Alice was playing bridge; and Dana was babysitting. Even Janya, who rarely left home unless she was working, was going off to dinner with Rishi.
For one split second Tracy had even considered inviting CJ or Marsh. She hoped she never felt that desperate again.
She’d planned an hour to shower and dress, but by the time she got home she had half that. Henrietta had promised to take the “official” tour at six, but for most of the day she had shadowed Tracy, asking questions and offering suggestions. Tracy liked the woman just fine, but Henrietta’s interest in every aspect of the program had doubled the time it took her to finish all the details. Now she was afraid she was going to be late.
At home she showered in less than a minute and sprinted half-naked into her bedroom to pull on the dress she’d chosen, a Nina Ricci strapless sheath with a bolero jacket. The simplicity belied the price, and anybody who knew clothes would understand that. It certainly wasn’t new. She was out of the designer world now, but the dress was classic enough to remain in style. She slipped on the appropriate undergarments, then carefully stepped into the dress and even more carefully zipped it.
Right up to her waist.
She sucked in a breath, and the zipper slid to the point where she had to reach over her shoulder to finish. Except that as she reached, she realized that if she continued, she would have to wear the dress forever, because unzipping it was going to be impossible. If she wanted to eat, if she wanted to breathe, she had to find something else.
She reminded herself the sheath had always fit like a second skin, but previously, she had been too vain and foolish to let that stop her. She unzipped it with some effort and went back to her closet for another look.
She didn’t have time to try on everything appropriate. She reached for a green silk dress with a bow that tied over her breasts and draped gracefully to a skirt that poufed over her hips. So, okay, this one hid more of her body, and it was cute, not sexy, something she’d been forced to buy for her role in a friend’s wedding, but the dress was still a designer original, and she could breathe as often as necessary. Anyway, who was going to notice her tonight?
She did her makeup in record time, left her hair down, and fastened on dangly diamond earrings and a small pendant. Since her shoes still fit, she chose her favorite peep-toe pumps. The woman who looked back from the mirror was not elegant or provocative. She looked fresh, friendly, even pretty. Unfortunately, she still looked like somebody’s maid of honor.
There was no time to do anything about that. Tracy threw the necessities into a little purse that went with the shoes and silently congratulated herself on attending the banquet alone.
At the rec center, she parked in the staff lot and gathered the scripts for the children doing presentations on the tour. If anybody got nervous, she could hand them their lines.
She started toward the front door, reaching the public lot just as a familiar rental car brushed past and screeched to a stop in a space in front of her. A rental car she’d last seen parked in front of Marsh’s house.
Instead of kicking the tires, she stepped around the rental, head held high, as if she hadn’t noticed that Sylvia had nearly run her over when there were dozens of empty parking spaces along the row. She hadn’t expected Sylvia to show up tonight. Yes, Bay was one of the guides, but Tracy had, at most, expected to glimpse Marsh as he delivered or retrieved his son.
The driver’s door opened and Sylvia stepped out. “Oh, Daisy. I’m sorry. I didn’t see you until it was too late to change course.”
The passenger door flew open, too, and Bay popped out. “Tracy!” He circled the car and threw his arms around her waist. Tracy could not ignore him.
“Hey, kiddo, you all prepared for the tour?” She ruffled what was left of his hair after a swim team buzz cut.
“Bay, you’re going to mess up Daisy’s sweet little outfit.” Sylvia looked stunning. Her midthigh-length dress