The View from Alameda Island - Robyn Carr Page 0,33

way?” she asked. “Oh Lacey, can you really be that heartless?”

“Me? I’m not the one walking out on the man I promised to love and honor!”

“Lacey, he made those promises, too. And he never kept them. At first I thought I could fix it, our marriage. Then I thought I could live with it until you girls were a little older. Then I thought I could take it until you were through with high school. Then college. Would you really ask me to sacrifice the rest of my life so you can have a fairy-tale wedding to some completely unknown groom?”

“It’s more than that and you know it!”

“Is it? Oh right, who gets to hold the baby first...”

“If you leave Daddy and ruin my family, I will never forgive you!”

Lauren felt the tears rise in her eyes. “That would be such a shame.” She got up and walked around the small table, bending to kiss the top of her daughter’s head. “I know this is hard for you and you need some time to absorb this. But it’s time I stand up for myself and do what’s right for me. I love you,” she said to Lacey as she walked out the door.

* * *

Lauren thought about going to Beth’s house for the night. Most of her things were still in Beth’s spare room, but in the next two days the furniture she’d ordered would be delivered and she’d move in completely. Right now there was only a couch in her new home but it would be comfortable enough for one night. She wanted company but did not want Beth and Chip to see her anguish. If she even saw her sister, she would tell about her conversation with Lacey and Beth would condemn her, pronounce her a spoiled brat.

She knew this would be hard. She had been terrified. She even feared Lacey wouldn’t be sympathetic or supportive. But she hadn’t predicted the cruelty of her words—the echo of Brad’s voice.

Surely she would come around in time...

She went to a little grocery market in Alameda, her new home. She wasn’t exactly hungry but she put a couple of wedges of cheese, a box of crackers and some fruit in her basket. Then she went to the wine case and picked out a nice bottle. There was a part of her that thought she might down the whole thing, but she knew she wouldn’t. The more sensible part of her thought too much wine would only make her cry, and was that such a good idea? She threw a corkscrew and one single knife in her basket.

“Kind of a long way from home, aren’t you?”

She turned abruptly, nearly dropping the basket, which Beau caught very deftly while hanging on to his own. “Did I startle you?” he asked.

“I was surprised at the sound of your voice,” she said. “You’re the last person I expected to run into here.”

“And the last person you expected to run into in a church garden or at a fund-raiser,” he said with a smile. “I live in the neighborhood. If I only need a couple of things, I like this market. If I need a lot, I hit a bigger, cheaper and more crowded store. But this is all fresh. All good.”

“You live around here?” she asked.

“Just a few blocks away,” he said. “Is this on your way home?”

“In a way. I’m renting a house nearby. Also in the neighborhood.”

“Seriously?” he asked, shocked.

She nodded. “This is my first night. Nothing in it but a couch. And soon there will be cheese, fruit and wine. Badly needed wine.”

“Oh boy.”

“Yep, this was the day. A very trying, painful day.”

He reached out and touched her upper arm, giving her a supportive squeeze. “Want to get a cup of coffee? There are lots of nice little spots around here.”

“I...ah... I really need to get out of these shoes. It’s been so stressful.”

“I understand completely. I had a go-around with one of the boys the other night. He was upset about the pending divorce, like it hasn’t been coming for years.”

“Really?”

“His mother got to him, wanting him to pressure me to try again. It was awful.”

“I think that’s what happened in my family. One daughter seems to understand completely and the other thinks I’m a monster. I’m trying so hard not to explode and list the terrible reasons this is the only option for me.”

“You don’t want to blame him to the kids,” Beau said, knowingly. “Eventually you’re going to, you