Stephanie Doyle - Married...Again

He was an intelligent, handsome, sometimes funny man. She liked him. A date made sense. A date might make her normal again. Two years was a long time to grieve a marriage that she had chosen to end.

They’d had an elegant dinner. They had agreed not to talk about work.

It had been...nice.

So she’d asked him to come to this party with her. Only now, he was suggesting there was something missing in her life.

“And what areas would those be?”

“I don’t know. Maybe thinking about other things than your company. Other things you want in life. You were married once. Don’t you think about getting married again?”

Eleanor flinched. “I don’t like to talk about my marriage.”

Because it was hers. Her marriage. Her memories. And talking about Max...thinking about him hurt too much.

“I can see why this would be painful to discuss...”

“We are at a party,” Eleanor said, raising her glass to her lips trying to change the subject. “Didn’t you say something about it being fun?”

This time it was Daniel who sighed.

“Eleanor, you have to see that I care about you.”

Did she? Did she have to see that? After a bunch of lunches and two dates—the second one not even finished yet. They hadn’t even had sex yet. She didn’t want to think about how even the idea of sex with him made her feel.

Disloyal was the best word she could come up with.

“I only want what is best for you. I feel sometimes like I’m battling this ghost.”

“You’re not.”

“We haven’t talked about this. I’m not sure I know how you feel about children—”

Eleanor pierced him with a look that stopped that sentence. If she wasn’t comfortable talking about her marriage, then she certainly wasn’t comfortable discussing the subject of children with Daniel. Definitely not on a second date.

“There you are!” Marilyn proclaimed as she approached them. “You’re not mingling. Everyone is asking about you, but it seems no one is getting a chance to talk with you.”

For the first time in her life, Eleanor was happy to be admonished by her mother. Anything to get Daniel to stop talking about Max and babies.

“Sorry, Mom. Daniel and I were just having a conversation.”

Marilyn smiled and patted his arm. “Yes, yes. I’m very happy with your new young man, but you two can talk all you want when you’re back in the big city. For now, I would like my daughter to be available for her family.”

“Yes, of course,” Daniel said graciously. “We’ll make our way around the room.”

“That would be lovely. I do hope it’s not too inconvenient that we have you at the B and B in town. I know I’m old-fashioned. However, until a couple is married, I just don’t feel comfortable with them sharing a room—”

“Mom.” Eleanor had told her mother only that she was bringing someone she was currently seeing. She definitely hadn’t gone into detail about their sexual status. “It’s fine. Daniel is only staying for tonight. He has to head back to the city tomorrow.”

Her mother made a face as if the word city was distasteful. Probably because she associated Denver with Eleanor’s business, something else she found distasteful. Her mother still clung to the belief that a woman’s first priority should be securing a husband and having children.

Eleanor had done half of that and had failed. Since then she hadn’t been eager to repeat the experience.

Her business, however, was a nice replacement. Way less pain and heartbreak. More control and financial benefit. As far as Eleanor was concerned, if she never got married again, it wouldn’t be the most tragic thing to happen to her.

Because the most tragic thing had already happened.

Her mother was obviously not pleased by that attitude. It meant fewer grandchildren.

“Oh. Well, let’s hope you’re still in Eleanor’s life for the wedding.”

“I promise to do everything I can to make sure I’m back for that. In the meantime, this will be the first weekend Eleanor’s been away from her company in some time. I hope she has time for some relaxation.”

“Of course it will be relaxing,” Marilyn stated, turning to Eleanor. “She’ll be with family. Now, speaking of, your father’s sister and brother want to talk with you. I suggest you start with them. Since your father’s been gone, they claim to feel left out of your and your sister’s lives. I’m making every effort to change that with this wedding.”

Eleanor didn’t miss the emphasis on the word this. Five years later and she was still being punished for her elopement to Max. One would have thought, considering what she went through with his death, she might have been forgiven.

But her mother had a long memory.

“Yes, Mom. I’ll head over to them shortly.”

Marilyn left them, and Eleanor could hear her greeting some new guests as they came through the front door.

“She really does love to play the hostess,” Daniel noted.

“Yes, she does. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to make small talk with my family, so they can get as much gossip out of me as possible. Most of them want to know how much money I’m making. Truly, they are not even subtle about it.”

Daniel laughed. “I think I’ll stand in this corner and drink myself silly. Mike already promised he would drive me to the B and B.”

“Yes, poor Mike. He and Allie live together on his farm in North Platte, but now my mother is making him pay for a room. It’s so impractical. But Marilyn’s house, Marilyn’s rules.”

“Hmm,” Daniel said. “A strong-minded woman. Sounds like someone else I know.”

Eleanor gasped. “Are you comparing me to my mother? Daniel Reynolds. That’s grounds for murder!”

He laughed again. “I believe you have small talk to make.”

“I’m on it.”

Eleanor had no problem with mingling. Unlike Allie, Eleanor was used to being the center of attention every day at work. Daniel had been accurate. This really was going to be her first real break from the office since its inception almost three years ago. An office that had started with her, then Selena, now housed an IT staff, a customer service department, an advertising and sales department and a buying department comprised mostly of part-time, stay-at-home moms. Eleanor also had a bookkeeper, but now even Shelly was complaining she needed help to keep up.

Yet another hire. Of course that meant the company was growing, which was a good thing, Eleanor told herself.

The point was she dealt with dozens of people, of varying personalities, all day long. Working a room, making people feel comfortable, listening to them was all part of her daily routine. After an hour of small talk, she managed to find her way to Allie and Mike.

Allie’s smile was in place, but Eleanor could see the tension in her shoulders, the strain in her face.

“How are you holding up?” Eleanor asked.

“I’m fine. I’m great. This is amazing.”

“Allie, seriously? This is me you’re talking to.”

“Seriously. I figured out the best way to get through all of this is just to accept it. Mom wanted a party. Mom gets a party. Then in less than a year, after the actual wedding, all of this will be over.”

Eleanor could feel the anger rising. “Allie, your wedding isn’t something to get through. It’s supposed to be about what you want. What you both want?”

Mike chuckled. “Wait a minute. You mean I’m a part of this? That’s news.”

Allie rolled her eyes. “Mike. Please. I need you on my side. This is hard enough as it is.”

Mike, Eleanor thought, was the prototype of a Nebraskan farmer. Medium height, stocky, strong build. He wore a beard that he didn’t always maintain—much to Marilyn’s dismay—so it was hard to know if he was handsome or not.