Page 58 of Love Unforgettable
“You wouldn’t happen to have anything kid-friendly back there, would you?” she sighs.
“Absolutely,” I say, I hand the lady two bottles of water and then turn to the little girl. “How would you like to do your very own wine tasting along with all the grown-ups?”
The little girl nods eagerly as the woman sputters her first sip of the water. “Excuse me?”
“Oh, no, I’m sorry, it’s notrealwine, of course. It’s juice. White grape and red cranberry, in shatterproof glasses,” I say. She looks at me as though still not trusting what I’m saying. So I pull out our kid friendly “tasting” menu with the accompanying crayons to show her that we do this all the time. She nods and then waves her hand dismissively. I get the little girl set up with her juice tasting while making small talk with the mom. I find out they recently moved and don’t know a lot of people in the area, that she’s nine months pregnant and can’t wait for the baby to come, and that her name is Elise and her daughter is Paisley.
I introduce myself to her daughter first, bending down to meet her eyes. “My name is Lexie.”
“Is this your house?” Paisley asks, looking around.
“No,” I laugh. “I live in a different house just down the way. This is where I work, so I’m here a lot. At my house, I have seven dogs. And sometimes I bring them here with me. Not tonight though. There’s too many people.”
“I’m allergic to dogs.” Paisley frowns.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
“Crazy, right?” Elise asks. “Veterinarian for a father who wants to bring home every stray he can find, and a daughter who is deathly allergic. What are the chances?”
“Oh, that’s funny,” I say. “Do you have other animals then? That you bring to Trevor?” Wondering why her husband doesn’t just treat them himself. Is it like how a doctor shouldn’t operate on their own children? Which I’ve always found silly, since wouldn’t they be the most careful out of anyone?
Wait a minute.
What did she just say?
“I’m sorry, I spaced for a second. What did you say?” I interrupt my thoughts to ask.
You already know what she said, Lexie.
“I said,” Elise continues, “That Trevor is my husband.”
“This whole party is for my daddy,” Paisley pipes in.
She just moved here. She’s pregnant. She has another child. Her husband is a veterinarian . . .
Her husband is Trevor.
How can that be?
“You’re TrevorVaughn’swife?” I confirm.
“Theputz?” Mavis asks loudly at the mention of Trevor’s name. I give her my very bestshut uplook, hoping it works.
I don’t think Elise heard Mavis. Since I’m fairly certain Elise is still talking, something about moving while pregnant. But all I hear is a buzzing in my ears. My vision starts to go black.
Trevor is married.
And clearly has been for a while.
“Will you excuse me for a moment?” I ask, running from behind the bar in search of the restroom, feeling everything in my stomach about to swiftly come up. I push through a group of women entering the restroom. “Excuse me. Sorry. Emergency. I think I ate something bad.”
I barely make it into the stall before I vomit for the first time.
“Oh my gosh, did you eat the food here?” one of the women asks her friends. “I don’t want to get sick. Maybe we should go.”
Idiot, Lexie. You don’t cry food poisoning at your own party!
“Not from here,” I yell slightly before vomiting again.
