by Kelsie Fann
Even though she was at a personal low, hearing from him was healing for her. She read the email for the third time before putting her phone back in her purse.
The last part of his email, the paragraph that claimed he was innocent of interfering with Hamilton’s financing, was the part that bothered her. Surely there was more to the story, right? Maybe it was all a misunderstanding? Liz didn’t think Hamilton was the kind of man who would lie, especially about not being able to secure financing. Hamilton admitted that it was an embarrassing topic for him.
Liz pulled out her phone and looked at the email one more time, reading the last section carefully for clues, but she ultimately felt unsure again. What did Hamilton have to gain by lying to her? She threw her phone in her purse. Maybe she would never know.
33.
November and December slipped by as Liz spent her days in Sugar Hill, wondering and wandering. In the mornings, she wondered what happened to her life. With only three dollars left in her bank account, she accepted a part-time gig as a receptionist for the Tire and Lube. She was thankful Coney had gotten her the job, but he wouldn’t stop calling her “Lizzy the Piggy,” so her gratitude didn’t last past the first day.
Luckily, none of the other mechanics thought her childhood nickname was appropriate, so she only had to suffer through the verbal attacks from Coney.
After Liz got off work, she wandered around Sugar Hill. Every day, she walked past the old Chambers’s House where the new owners were investing a lot of money into the large home. It was being repainted and getting new windows and a new roof.
Liz loved watching the workers restore the house while she dreamed about who the new owners might be. Maybe a big family, one where the children ran around outside through a sprinkler while the mom sat outside on the huge porch in yoga pants and a perfectly-coordinating tank top. Or maybe an older, silver-haired couple who were ready to retire in the warm weather.
Every day, when Liz returned to her mom’s house, she couldn’t get over how weird it was to be back at home. She hadn’t lived with her mom since she was eighteen, and even though she couldn’t wait to get back to Savannah, there was something special about spending a little time with Margaret.
Liz noticed little things about her mom that she wouldn’t have seen in a short visit. Margaret was older now and a little slower. She had wrinkles permanently fixed in the corners of her eyes and couldn’t quite understand how to work her new cell phone. Now that Coney was officially taken, their time together was different, sweeter. For the first time, Liz felt like a friend instead of a daughter.
That’s where Liz was, talking to her mom at the kitchen table, on the first day of January, when Dee called.
Liz picked up the phone and walked out to the front porch. “Hi, friend.”
“Hello, Liz,” Dee said. “Sorry I haven’t called in a couple weeks. Getting my dad settled here has been crazy. And Coney likes to talk on the phone every night for at least an hour.”
Liz was glad for her friend. “I get it. You’re really popular,” Liz teased. “How’s it going?”
Liz dangled her feet off the porch, letting her heels hit the cement blocks that made up the house’s foundation. A few seconds passed as Liz looked around at the dead grass in her mom’s front lawn.
“Well, we’re getting married.” The words came quickly out of Dee’s mouth.
Liz checked her phone to make sure she was still talking to Dee. “What did you say?”
Dee didn’t pause. Instead, she threw herself into the announcement. “He asked, and I said yes.”
“Are you okay?” Liz couldn’t stop herself from asking.
“Of course,” Dee answered.
Then Liz remembered there was no way Dee and Coney could get married. Coney was never leaving Sugar Hill, and Dee couldn’t leave the dry climate. “What about Andy? Are you moving back to Georgia?”
“He’s moving here,” Dee said. “Said he wants what’s best for Andy.”
Liz’s heels stuck tight to the foundation of the house. Coney was moving out of Georgia? Pigs truly could fly . . . or fall in love.
Dee continued talking before Liz could protest. “It will be February 28 at the First Baptist Church in Sugar Hill.”
Liz closed her eyes and forced herself to be supportive. “That sounds nice. I’m glad you’re having your wedding here.”
“Coney said he ‘wasn’t gettin hitched anywhere but in God’s country,’” Dee said.
“Sounds about right,” Liz said slowly.
“It is.” Dee let a few seconds of silence pass while Liz racked her brain for something, anything, to say. Luckily, Dee spoke first. “He wants to invite the whole town.”
“Sounds about right, too.”
Dee chuckled a little. “I have a favor to ask. Will you be my maid of honor?”
Despite Liz’s disgust and complete confusion about the groom, she smiled. It was nice getting asked to do something so special for Dee. “Of course.”
“Are you ready for your first maid of honor duty?”
“Yes.” Liz stood up on the porch. She needed to move. Her feet, hands, and entire body was jittery from the aftershock.
“I need your help. I want to do the reception at our old house.”
Liz scrunched her forehead, wondering what Dee wanted her to do.
“I know it’s not ours anymore, but that’s where I grew up. And, I have so many memories of my mom there. I think it will feel like she’s really with me on my wedding day, you know.” There was a tenseness behind Dee’s voice. Her words were filled with pauses and breaks, like she was struggling to get the words out.
Liz paced back and forth on the porch, wanting to comfort her friend, but she wasn’t sure how. She had no idea why Dee had a hard time speaking. “I think it’s a great idea, Dee.”
“Do you mind?” Dee asked.
Liz walked down the concrete stairs into the brown, crispy grass. “Mind what?”
“Asking him if we . . . ” Dee trailed off. “If we could possibly use it?”
“Asking who?”
Dee paused. “I thought he told you, or I wouldn’t have brought it up.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Nothing,” Dee said quickly.
Liz kicked a clump of dirt. “You better spill it, or I’m coming to Denver to get it out of you,” Liz said.
After a few more seconds of silence, Dee continued. Her voice was softer. “I thought he told you. He asked us not to. I thought that’s what you talked about after we all had lunch together.”
“Listen, Dee. I have no idea what you are talking about. You’re going to have to give me some more clues, preferably some names.”
Dee laughed. “Darcy is the reason my dad was able to move to Denver. Darcy bought our old house. He knew my dad needed money to move to Denver, so he even overpaid. Darcy even offered him a consulting job.”
What? Darcy was the mysterious buyer for the Chambers’s House? Liz’s heart felt like it fell out of the soles of her shoes as she paced across the dead grass. Darcy? The same Darcy who had insulted her? Surely, Dee wasn’t talking about the same Darcy. Then she remembered lunch with him and his apology his email. The man who wrote that definitely had a soft side.
Never had anyone surprised her this much, in her entire life. Except, for maybe, Dee—three seconds ago--when she announced she was marrying Coney.
Dee interrupted her thoughts. “Will you ask him?”
Liz covered the speaker so Dee couldn’t hear her let out a deep groan. She’d never replied to Darcy’s last email. She’d meant to reply and apologize for calling him a “rich jerk.” But she was afraid he might reply and ask what she was up to, and she would have to admit the embarrassing truth: Coney’s Tire and Lube. One day passed, and she told herself she would reply the next day. Then another day drifted away. Then weeks were gone.
“What about your dad? Can’t he ask?”
“But you’re there in Sugar Hill, and
I really need someone who can help get the vendors. Plus, I think he likes you.”
Why did she not reply to his email earlier? “Trust me, he doesn’t like me.”
“Please?” Dee asked.
Liz knew she wasn’t going to get out of it. Plus, she would do anything for Dee. “Okay. No problem,” she said slowly.
It was complete lie. This was a huge problem.
34.
A week passed, and January was in full swing. Liz’s part-time job picked up just enough that she could keep procrastinating contacting Darcy. Every bone in her body recoiled from the thought. When Dee asked about it, Liz lied about her progress and told Dee she’d written the email, but she just hadn’t received a response yet. At this rate, she was going to be the worst maid of honor ever.
A few days later, as Liz was about to crawl in bed, Dee sent her a text saying, “Have you heard back yet?”
“Not yet.” Liz clenched her phone tightly and knew she couldn’t put off the request any longer. She walked back upstairs, sat on her twin bed, and opened her laptop.
Liz struggled to figure out what to say. “Um, thanks for your kind apology email that I never responded to because I’m embarrassed that I still don’t have an executive job, but can my friend use your house?”
A wave of nervous butterflies passed through her stomach. After a few minutes, she finally put her fingers on the keys and typed. Then she erased it all. Then she typed again. Then she erased it all. The tenth time, she had something that sounded okay.
To: Darcy Williams
From: Liz Bailey
Subject Line: My apology.
Darcy,
Thank you for your kind apology. Of course, I accept. I would also like to apologize, too. I never should have lost my temper in Savannah and called you a rich jerk. I’m sure you can imagine that watching Chambers’s Media close was traumatic, to say the least.
Just so you know, I was worried about finding employment on the executive level after the closure because I do not have a college degree and I only held my director role for a year.
I tell you this, not to make excuses, but hopefully you will be able to understand my passionate response to you that day. I’m sincerely sorry about how I reacted to your proposal.
Now, I must ask a favor. Dee Chambers is getting married in Sugar Hill, and she asked me to find out if you would let her use the Chambers’s House for their reception.
Sorry to ask this favor from you and apologize at the same time. I should have written you back weeks ago. I guess I was just embarrassed, and I didn’t want to admit to my lack of education and current job opportunities.
Hope you are doing well,
Liz
She finished typing her name, pressing the “z” key with a sense of finality. There it was; everything was on the table. She took a deep breath and hit “Send.” It was up to him now. She looked at the clock; it was 11:00 p.m. She doubted she would get a response tonight, so she got ready for bed.
When Liz woke up, she cracked open her computer. She blearily blinked the fuzziness of sleep out of her eyes and looked at her inbox. No response. Ugh, she thought as her entire body cringed. She got up and headed to the Tire and Lube early, hoping work would be enough to keep her from thinking about Darcy.
Once she clocked out, Liz checked her email for a response from Darcy. Still nothing. She set out to do an afternoon of wandering, absentmindedly heading to the Chambers’s House, where painters were refreshing tall shutters with crisp, black paint.
Liz could picture Dee’s reception. The dance floor set up in the large, grand dining room, and diner served in the spacious living room. She could imagine Dee and Coney cutting the cake beneath the ornate archway that separated the living room from the dining room.
And she wondered about the man who had just bought the grand house. Who was Darcy? When she got back home, she checked her email, and there was his reply.
Re: My Apology.
Liz, thanks for your response. Please tell Dee she may use the Chambers’s House. Below is the information for my property manager. He will be able to get her whatever she needs.
Darcy
That’s it? Liz felt like she’d been hit with a truck. She spilled her guts to him in her last email, and she wanted at least some acknowledgement of her words.
She sighed and texted the property manager’s information to Dee, along with “Darcy said yes!” She added a heart emoji, but she felt anything but love.
35.
The two months before the wedding passed quickly. All Liz’s spare time was spent working with Dee on wedding planning. Since Dee’s mom was gone, Liz felt like she was pulling double duty as maid of honor and mother of the bride. She threw her friend a shower and a bachelorette party, sent out hundreds of invitations, and helped out with too many details to count.
Liz’s phone lit up as she put on her blush bridesmaid dress. She slipped on her shoes, making sure the blush dress wasn’t too long, then she picked up her phone.
“Hello, stranger. I’m in town this weekend. Any room in your schedule?”
She reread the text as butterflies shot through her stomach. It was Hamilton. She still hadn’t figured out if Darcy’s accusation were true. She chalked it up to a business feud.
At that moment, she couldn’t help feel breathless. She could picture Hamilton’s bright blue eyes and tanned skin, and she couldn’t wait to possibly go on a date with him.
Then she looked down at her bridesmaid’s shoes. Of course, she couldn’t go out with him. This weekend was Dee’s wedding. She flopped down on the bed. How did she have the worst luck with this man?
“I’m in a wedding this weekend,” she texted back.
He replied quickly, “Please say you’re not the bride. My heart will be crushed.”
Liz smiled and texted back, “Always a bridesmaid.”
“I thought I lost my chance.”
Liz’s heart skipped a beat, then an idea crossed her mind. What was the perfect pick-me-up for a woman who was living at home with her mom? Taking a super-hot date to Dee’s reception. “Would you want to go with me? The wedding is only an hour outside Savannah.”
She didn’t blink as she waited for a response.
“I’d love to, but I’ve got meetings in Savannah until dinner.”
She exhaled, and all her hopes of dancing the night away with the sun-kissed man faded away. They were going to miss each other again. It was as if their schedules were mortal enemies. “Next time,” Liz texted back, wondering if there would ever be a time when they would be in the same place at the same time.
36.
Hair. Makeup. Nails. Dress. Liz ticked off a mental checklist as she looked at her reflection in the blush, off-the-shoulder bridesmaids dress. Pretty good, she thought, picking at a curl that framed her face. Then she zipped Dee into to the most incredible, delicate, lace-embroidered white gown.
“I’ve got her from here.” Mr. Chambers walked into the bridal suite after all the guests had arrived.
Dee hugged Liz. “Thank you so much for everything.”
“Thanks, Elizabeth,” Mr. Chambers leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.
Chambers whispered something into Dee’s ear, and Liz blinked a little moisture out of her eyes and walked toward the large oak door that lead into the foyer of the church. She looked over her shoulder and saw Mr. Chambers hug Dee and whisper into her ear. Liz felt so much happiness that she almost couldn’t move.
“You ready, miss?” the wedding coordinator asked Liz. She nodded, and the woman opened the double doors for her to walk down the aisle. Liz headed down the long aisle, looking up to see Coney wearing cowboy boots and a camouflage bow tie. Liz gritted her teeth. She had laid out Coney’s clothes the night before, and neither of those accessories were approved.
Liz’s anger disappeared when she looked to Coney’s left-hand side and saw Andy, sitting in his wheelchair, wearing a matching camouflage tie. Tears welled up in Liz’s eyes again.
Maybe Dee was right. Maybe Coney wasn’t so bad.
Liz walked toward the soon to be step-father and step-son, holding back tears. She couldn’t hold them back any longer when the congregation stood, and Dee walked down the aisle with Mr. Chambers.
Dee looked stunning in her three-quarter-sleeve, lace dress, and while the groom was full of grunts and one belch, even Liz could admit the coupled looked completely in love with each other.
At the end of the ceremony, Liz felt happy for her friend. As she walked confidently down the aisle, she scanned the audience, looking into so many smiling faces. Her mom sat at the right, and Elise, Stella, and Rose sat together in the middle. As she looked to the left, she noticed another familiar face in the crowd. Darcy.
Her body tensed. Darcy sat in the very last pew, near the end of the aisle, in a buttoned-up black suit. Her heart pounded as she tried not to make eye contact, staring toward the double doors that led out of the church, as her heart thudded when as she walked past his row.
She couldn’t help but notice the gorgeous young blonde sitting next to him. Wow, his date was young. Really young. Liz tried to get a better look out of the corner of her eye, but the girl was looking down at her lap.
As Liz stepped out of the church, down the stairs, and onto the green lawn, she cringed when she saw the beer cans were tied to the end of the limo, which was also not an approved accessory. Of course, Coney had to have the last say. Liz looked for the culprit and saw him walking with Dee out of the church doors.
Darcy caught her eye and smiled where he stood near the front of the church with his date. Liz politely smiled back, taking a second to study the blonde next to him. She was even prettier and younger than she looked in church. She was wearing a light blue dress that flowed over her rail-thin frame.
