MERLOT AND DIVORCE AND DEADLY REMORSE

by Jodi Vaughn

  But I wasn’t letting this issue slide. I was going to figure out how to take care of Elizabeth Grace.

  “Go brush your teeth.” I smiled as she handed me her plate.

  A few minutes later, we were all in the car and headed into town to shop. Since I had been turned into a vampire, we had not done a lot of the things we used to do. I had been dealing with my own shit since Miles cheated, but I realized that I needed to stay focused on my girls.

  They were all that mattered to me.

  We pulled into the parking lot and got out.

  “Look, girls. They have all new dresses out on display.” I pointed at the window before opening the door for us to enter.

  “Hi, may I help you?” A young woman greeted us at the door.

  “We are here to get our Easter dresses. This is Arianna and Gabriella.” I glanced down at Gabby and Arianna. “They have some ideas for what they are looking for.”

  “Perfect. My name is Hope, and I will be glad to help you. Come on back to the dressing area, and I will pull some dresses for you all to try on.”

  Arianna stepped closer to Hope and lowered her voice. “I don’t want anything too…childish.”

  “Of course.” Hope leaned down. “I think we have a very pretty shade of blue or lilac that will look wonderful on you.”

  I looked at Hope and gave her a grateful smile.

  “Look, Mommy, they have cookies and sparkling water.” Gabby pointed at the small table near the dressing rooms.

  “That’s champagne, you idiot,” Arianna groused.

  “Don’t call your sister an idiot,” I reminded her.

  “I don’t care what it is, can I have some?” Gabby asked.

  “The cookies, yes. The champagne, no.”

  Only a few other customers were browsing. Hope seemed to focus all her attention on us, which I appreciated.

  “Okay, ladies.” Hope appeared with a rolling rack full of dresses in all shades and colors. “I took a guess at everyone’s sizes. So, if I’m wrong, let me know.”

  Hope looked at Arianna. “Arianna, I have a couple of dresses that caught my eye right away. They would both be stunning on you.”

  Arianna’s eyes sparkled with excitement. Hope took a pretty blue dress with lace off the rack and held it up.

  “First is a soft robin’s egg blue with a cinched waist. The sleeves are long and sheer, with tiny lace flowers throughout. I think this would look beautiful with your blue eyes and some really cute heels we just got in the other day.”

  “I really like that.” Arianna reached out and touched a delicate flower.

  “The second option is this two-piece outfit.” Hope held up the second dress. “The white top is scoop neck with tuxedo pleating in the front. The skirt is this beautiful white with a cherry blossom print. With this, I would wear some pretty pink heels to match the cherry blossoms.”

  “I love them both.” Arianna grinned broadly.

  “Try them on,” I said.

  Arianna closed the door behind her, and I turned back to Gabby.

  “All right, Gabriella,” Hope said.

  “You can call me Gabby.”

  “Thank you, I will.” Hope grinned.

  “What do you think?” Arianna stepped out of the dressing room in the light blue dress.

  “It’s beautiful, honey. Although I think the skirt is a little on the short side.”

  “You have your mom’s long legs.” Hope nodded. “You’ll appreciate that when you’re older.”

  “What do you think, Arianna? Do you think you’ve found your dress?” I held my breath, hoping she wasn’t going to choose this one.

  “I still want to try the other one on.” Arianna looked at herself in the four-way mirror one last time before heading back into the dressing room.

  I breathed out a sigh of relief.

  Hope smiled and plucked a dress off the rack. “Now for you, Gabby. This is my favorite dress. It’s a buttercream yellow silk with matching netting overlay. And each of these butterflies is hand-stitched around the edge.”

  “That’s beautiful.” Gabby grinned. “It will make me look like a princess. Plus, I think I can use the netting to catch real butterflies.”

  Hope blinked and then laughed.

  “Well, I don’t think the netting is strong enough for real butterflies, honey.” I laughed. “But I like the way you think. Now, go try it on.”

  She went into the dressing room beside Arianna and closed the door.

  “Hope, you are very good at this. I’m very impressed by your knowledge of fashion, plus you are great with the girls,” I said.

  “Thank you.” She blushed at the compliment. “I’m a senior in high school and want to major in fashion.” She sighed. “My father tells me it’s a foolish idea, and that no one ever makes money in fashion.”

  “Except for Vera Wang, Michael Kors, Versace…” I arched my brow.

  She laughed. “That’s what I keep telling my dad, but he’s old school. He wants me to go into nursing.”

  “Well, I’m sure he just wants you to go into something that is secure. But don’t give up on your dreams. You only live once, you know.” I blinked. Unless you’re a vampire.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Jones. I needed to hear that today.” Hope’s lip quivered a little. She cleared her throat and turned back to the clothes rack.

  Gabby stepped out of the dressing room with her arms held out wide. “What do you guys think?”

  Her dark hair hung in waves across her shoulders. The buttery yellow dress was made for her.

  “It’s perfect.” Hope clapped her hands together.

  Gabby looked up at me.

  “I think you look like a fairy princess.” She actually did.

  “Really?” Her smile grew, and she examined herself in the mirror.

  “You certainly do.” I nodded.

  Arianna stepped out of the dressing room in the white ensemble with the cherry blossom skirt.

  My mouth dropped. “Arianna. You look stunning. And like a young woman.”

  She looked up at me and smiled. She looked back at Gabby and nodded. “That dress looks good on you, Gabby.”

  “Thanks.” Gabby was all smiles. It was probably one of the first compliments she had gotten from her older sister in a while.

  “You look like one of those girls on the front of a magazine.” Gabby nodded.

  Arianna straightened her shoulders and studied her reflection in the mirror. “I think I like this one better than the blue.” She looked at me, eyes full of expectation.

  “I think I do, too.” I smiled. Plus, it wasn’t short.

  “Two down and one to go.” Hope turned to me. “I’m really excited about showing you your choices.” She turned to the rack.

  “You girls go ahead and change. You can both have some cookies while I’m trying on my dress.”

  “You didn’t tell me what color you were looking for, so I decided to give you a lot of different options.” Hope held out a red dress with spaghetti straps.

  “It’s beautiful. But I’m not sure about the spaghetti straps for a woman my age.” I frowned.

  “Mrs. Jones, you are stunning. Even if you don’t choose it, please just try it on. You can always pair it with a wrap for your shoulders.”

  I shrugged. What did I have to lose? “Okay.” I headed into the dressing room with the dress hooked on my finger. A few seconds later, I was stepping out.

  “Wow, Mommy. You look great!” Gabby spoke around a mouthful of cookie.

  “Yeah, you look hot.” Arianna waggled her eyebrows.

  I looked in the mirror. I froze. They were both right. I looked hot. I looked back at Hope.

  “Are you a model?” she asked.

  I snorted. “No, just a housewife.” I looked back at the mirror. “It’s a great dress, but I think a little too much for an Easter service.”

  “It’s more for date night,” Hope agreed. “Not to worry. I have more choices. Next, I have a sapphire blue…�
�

  “No.” I held up my hand. “No dark blue dresses.” The last time I’d worn a sapphire blue dress was when I found out about the length of Miles’ affair while attending the country club party.

  I would always associate the color with bad memories.

  “But it would look stunning with your...”

  “I know, my blue eyes.” I shook my head. My mind was made up. “Sorry. No blue. Not this time.”

  Hope turned back and pulled out a cream-colored dress with tiny flowers. It had bell sleeves and was knee-length. “This is more of a spring dress. The bell sleeves and knee-length will show off your long legs. And it would look great once you get some sun.”

  My face fell.

  Sun.

  I could barely tolerate being out in the sun. Could I even tan anymore since being turned into a vampire?

  “It’s pretty. Do you have something a little more formal? For church.”

  A smile stretched across her face. “Yes, I do. It’s one of my favorites, but it’s a little on the pricey side.”

  “How much on the pricey side?”

  “Five hundred dollars.” She lowered her voice. “It just came in today, so no one has tried it on.”

  “Wow. That’s a lot of money.” For a dress I would likely only wear once.

  “Yes, but you could wear it on different occasions, as well,” Hope said. “Like a wedding, graduation, upscale baby shower, anniversary party, cocktail party…”

  “Okay, let me see it.” I still wasn’t sold on the whole idea of paying five hundred dollars for a dress. I may be married to a doctor—at least for now—and wore designer clothes, but I still liked a good deal.”

  Hope hurried to the back of the store.

  “How are those cookies, girls?”

  “They are wonderful. They’re shortbread. My favorite,” Gabby said.

  “Okay, you are going to love it.” Hope walked towards us with a dress in a zippered white bag. I immediately recognized the name brand as an expensive Italian designer. “I’m going to put it in your dressing room. I want to be surprised when you walk out in it.”

  “Okay. But no matter how much I love it, it’s still very expensive,” I warned. “So, don’t get your hopes up.”

  I shut the dressing room door behind me. I unzipped the bag and pulled out the dress.

  It was a very light shade of pink, almost blush, knee-length with cap sleeves. There was black piping around the hem and sleeves, and an elegant piped black bow around the neckline.

  It was elegant without being fussy.

  It was simplistic beauty.

  I quickly rid myself of my jeans and shirt and unzipped the dress. I managed to slip into it and zip it up. I looked in the full-length mirror of the small dressing room and smiled.

  It fit me like a glove.

  I opened the door and stepped out.

  Hope’s mouth dropped, and the girls gave me a nod of appreciation.

  “What do you think?” I stood in front of the four-way mirror and twisted this way and that.

  “It’s absolute perfection.” Hope pressed her hands together and rested them under her chin as if she were praying.

  “You look like a queen,” Gabby said.

  I looked over at Arianna. She nodded. “She’s right. You look amazing in that dress.”

  “Thank you.” I looked back in the mirror. “I love it, but it’s really expensive.” I looked back at Hope. “What else can I try on at a lower price point?”

  Her expression fell. I understood. My heart tugged in my chest at having to let go of such a beautiful dress. But I needed to be realistic about my budget. In the coming months, I needed to be careful with my money. I didn’t know how much I was going to be awarded by the courts.

  “I do.” Hope gave me a smile. “Let me grab a few more options. I’ll be right back.”

  “You should get that dress,” Arianna said.

  “It’s five hundred dollars, honey. Do you know how many groceries I could buy with five hundred dollars?” I laughed.

  Arianna looked down at the floor. “Maybe we shouldn’t get Easter dresses. I mean, I can wear what I wore last year.”

  I jerked my head over to my daughter. “No, sweetie. We are all getting new dresses. It’s a tradition.”

  Hope arrived in time to stem the conversation about whether or not we could afford new Easter dresses. I didn’t want my daughters to worry about anything. Most of all, money.

  I slid back into the dressing room and tried on a very pretty lavender dress and a fitted cream-colored dress. The last one fit my small waist and hit right above my knee. It was beautiful. It was the one I ended up buying.

  On the drive home, my girls were excited about their dresses, and I was in dire need of a nap.

  Chapter 23

  The whole weekend was dark and rainy. It was the perfect weather for me. In fact, I managed to stay awake for the majority of the day except for a long nap on Saturday, which lasted two hours.

  Gabby invited her friend Lori over, and as promised, we did manis and pedis.

  I tried to get Arianna to invite one of her friends, but she said she didn’t feel like it. I knew that she was still upset over the ruckus Elizabeth Grace was causing at school. It was a situation I would have to handle, despite my promise to Arianna that I would stay out of it. On Sunday, I was prepared to take my girls to church, but Gabby had a slight fever, so we stayed home. I had hoped to go to church at least once before Easter Sunday arrived. I needed to know if I was going to burst into flames.

  I had asked Khalan about it, but he just looked at me like I had grown three heads and then stormed off.

  My Maker was pretty shitty when it came to teaching his progeny about vampire life.

  If there was a chain of command to a high vampire, I would have lodged a complaint.

  Seeing as how there wasn’t, I was left on my own to figure out this new life for myself.

  Sunday, I made homemade chicken soup for Gabby, and we spent the majority of the day in the living room in our pajamas, watching movies and sleeping on and off. Even Arianna joined us for a few movies.

  I realized that I hadn’t allowed myself a lazy weekend like this in a while. It was nice to shut out the world, stay snuggled up with the girls, and just hibernate. It felt wonderful.

  By Monday morning, Gabby was feeling better with no fever. We fell into the normal routine of getting ready for school and getting in the car line. While I was dropping off the girls, I noticed Veronica ahead of me. She got out of her vehicle to open her back door. When she met my gaze, she gave me an evil smirk.

  She knew that I knew about her lying to Miles about me being drunk at the soccer practice.

  If she wanted a war, then the bitch had better be ready.

  I had my sunglasses on, so she really didn’t know if I was looking at her or the radio station. She stayed there for a while, smirking at me, so I did the one thing that I knew would push her buttons.

  I kept my expression neutral and ignored her.

  As soon as the girls were in the building, I drove around Veronica in the car line, not even looking at her.

  On the drive home, I sipped from my travel mug of red sustenance. I had warmed some up before the girls came downstairs. I knew if I kept bringing my tumbler instead of my usual Starbucks cup to the practices, it would just give Veronica more fuel for gossip.

  I was about to remedy that.

  I turned into the shopping center where the Starbucks was located and pulled into the drive-thru.

  “Starbucks, may I help you?”

  “Yes, I need a triple, venti, sugar-free, nonfat, caramel macchiato.”

  “Anything else?” the barista asked.

  “Actually, can I also get another cup, the same size?”

  “You want two drinks?”

  “No. I want the one drink and an empty cup.”

  The girl on the other end of the intercom grew quiet.

  “Ma’am we don’t give
out empty cups.”

  “Can I pay for my drink and one empty cup?”

  I knew from the silence that I had stumped her. I shook my head. “I’ll drive to the window.”

  I pulled up at the drive-thru window. The barista who’d taken my order slid the glass window open.

  I handed her a twenty. “How much for an empty cup?”

  She blinked and sighed. “I don’t know. It’s not listed. No one has ever asked for an empty cup.” She bit her bottom lip in frustration.

  I knew if I pressed her, she would likely have an all-out panic attack. I gave her my best smile.

  “That’s okay. How about I give you a dollar for the cup? Does that sound fair?”

  “I guess.” She gave me my change and reached for my drink. She passed that to me through the window and then handed me an empty Starbucks cup.

  “Oh, and the lid,” I reminded her. I didn’t want people staring into my bloody cup at the soccer fields.

  She nodded and passed me a white lid. I smiled and stuck a five-dollar bill in the tip jar. It was worth it for me.

  Her face brightened, and she seemed to realize that she’d done the right thing in letting me buy an empty cup.

  I had nowhere to be, and after a full weekend with the girls, I was exhausted.

  I pulled into my garage and shut the door behind me. I grabbed my tumbler and quickly finished off the now-room-temperature blood before heading inside.

  I dumped the coffee into the sink and washed the cup out with water. I had wanted two cups because I knew one wouldn’t last long since it was paper.

  Now, I could sit alongside the other moms at soccer with my cup and drink my blood. No one would be the wiser, and Veronica would look like a fool.

  I covered my yawn with the back of my hand. After staying up for most of the day during the weekend, I was beyond exhausted. I stumbled out of the kitchen and slowly made my way to the bedroom. I squinted at the bright sunlight streaming in through the window. I grasped the curtains to pull them shut and froze.

  Carla was standing at the end of her driveway. She slowly bent and picked up the paper. When she stood, I noticed how slumped her shoulders were, and how much weight she’d lost. She tugged her robe tightly together and watched the ground as she made her way back to her house.