Page 15 of Between the Shady Groves
“Oh my goodness. That stuff smells so good. I hope you open the bakery again. I miss walking down Main Street and just being able to follow my nose to some delightful treat.”
“Well, none of this stuff is healthy. I feel like I would just be selling heart disease to my friends and neighbors, and I don’t really want to do that.”
“So make healthy twists on the favorites. Or sell healthy stuff along with the junk. Honestly, there’s got to be some room for junk in our lives.”
That’s kind of what Matteo had said. Even though he didn’t look like the kind of person who ate much junk.
“What about your husband? Is Cannon following you here? Or is he already here?” Claire asked.
“No. He’s still in Cincinnati.”
“Are you guys…separated?” Grace asked cautiously. Then she put a hand up. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. My husband cheated on me, and I divorced him. We didn’t have any children, so that didn’t complicate the situation.”
“Mine cheated on me too. Only we did have children to complicate the situation, and we tried to work it out. He had an affair with our therapist. So, I guess his idea of working it out didn’t jive with mine, so I came here. Lost, broken, and pretty sure that my life was basically over. I wanted to visit with my grandmother and feel safe again. And then she died.”
“My goodness. You both had it rough.”
“You know, it worked out for good. Because through it all, Josiah stood beside me. And while he wasn’t really someone I was interested in in high school, he…was so strong and steadfast. So different than my husband, and, well, he was there for me. And my ex didn’t want my kids for the entire summer, so they spent two weeks with him in Boston, and now they’re back with me. So I pretty much have everything, except my loser husband, who I do not miss at all.”
Claire looked particularly strong, and Lauren had to laugh.
“I think that’s a pretty good ending,” she said.
“Did your husband cheat on you? Because I feel like we’re developing a theme here,” Grace said, laughing. “Although, part of the theme is the second time around we find men who don’t cheat. Because we’re smarter.”
“You know, that’s one good thing about my husband. Actually, there’s a lot of good things about my husband. Maybe I didn’t appreciate him the way I should have. Because no. He didn’t cheat. He’s not a jerk. He’s actually pretty nice. He’s…maybe more of a doer rather than a talker, if that makes sense?”
“I think a lot of men are that way. They talk with the things that they do. Josiah’s like that. He works with his hands a lot, and I think his love language must be acts of service, because anytime he wants to make me happy, he does a little improvement project around the house. That works for me,” Claire said, laughing.
“Interesting,” Lauren said. Maybe Cannon’s love language was acts of service. She hadn’t even thought about it. Was he trying to tell her he loved her by…working so much?
He insisted that he was working for her, and for them, but…she didn’t really want him to work. She wanted his attention. She wanted his time. Was that a love language—time?
She’d skimmed through the book years and years ago, but she couldn’t really remember. She remembered there was one that was words, and she thought that words were cheap. Words definitely weren’t her love language.
She supposed they could be Cannon’s, but she really wasn’t sure. He didn’t talk that much. So probably not.
“So he didn’t cheat on you?” Grace said.
“You seem disappointed,” Claire said, poking her with her elbow in the side.
“I do not. But it would have made a really cool club. Although,” she looked at Lauren with sincerity, “I wouldn’t wish that kind of pain on anyone. It was the worst year of my life, bar none. I guess I haven’t lost my mother, so I suppose that could be worse.”
“Yeah. Cancer was pretty bad. It’s not an easy disease. And it wasn’t fast, and there was a lot of suffering and pain and disappointment and…just general badness involved. Those last three years are mostly under a dark cloud for me. And I feel heavy when I think about them.” She paused for a moment and then looked at the grove of trees around them. “I guess I still feel heavy. Sad. I wonder sometimes if I’m depressed?”
It was funny, she hadn’t seen these ladies in years, and she’d just said something that she hadn’t mentioned out loud to anyone.
“I think it would be perfectly normal for you to be depressed, after you lost your mother.”
“I had three miscarriages too. I…”
“I’m so sorry,” Grace said, standing up and coming over and putting an arm around her. She guided her to the bench, where they sat.
Claire followed suit, sitting down on the other side, until her friends, rather than facing her, sat beside her with their arms around her. Was this so hard? This is what she wanted her husband to do. To just sit there. And hold her, and tell her that he was sorry.
He hadn’t managed to do it. Not once. He’d encouraged her instead to get off the couch and do something. That exercise made people feel better, and she needed to get out and walk around. And if she wantedhim to, he could give her a job in the business. That would help her get around people, use some of her people skills.
She didn’t want to resent him, but he just didn’t know what she needed. And he hadn’t asked. And to her shame, she hadn’t told him.
