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ade a gesture to indicate shame. “The Savannah grapevine is buzzing once again about your foolish heart. Don’t blame me. What a mess.”
Fancy took a step closer to Meryl. Meryl took a step backward, her face reflecting nervousness. “This isn’t the first time you did this, is it? You’re the one who spread the stories about the two of us the last go-round, wasn’t it?”
Meryl let out a harsh laugh. “Be careful, Fancy. That’s slanderous.”
Fancy scoffed. “That’s pretty ironic considering the false rumors you’ve been spreading. There’s nothing between Marc and I. Truth is, there really never was. And the gossip pipeline is going to shut down fairly quickly,” Fancy said, tilting her chin upward. “You can’t hurt me anymore, Meryl.”
Meryl arched an eyebrow. “You sound mighty confident.”
“I am,” Fancy said in a strong voice. “Case gives me confidence. Or should I say, his love gives me wings and allows me to fly.”
Meryl narrowed her gaze. “Are you two back together?”
Fancy smiled. “Surprised? I’m guessing that you thought circulating a few salacious rumors would end things permanently for Case and I. Am I right?”
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just assumed he wouldn’t want to be with someone who is destined to repeat the mistakes of the past. Someone who can’t tell the truth to save her life,” Meryl seethed.
“Wow. You must have missed the day in Bible class when we learned about not judging others. Judge not lest ye be judged. Sound familiar?”
“I really don’t think you have the right to lecture anyone,” Meryl jeered. “You always did think you were better than the rest of us, didn’t you?”
“You weren’t a very happy kid, were you?” Fancy tossed the comment out matter-of-factly.
Meryl simply glared at her. She began tapping her shoe on the floor, hands folded across her chest. “What’s your point, Francine?”
“It wasn’t until I was an adult that I realized that you must’ve been miserable in your own skin. Kids who are unhappy try to inflict pain on others. Kids who are content with themselves and their lives don’t feel the need to bully others. You were nothing more than a mean-spirited bully.”
Meryl let out an indelicate snort. “Give me a break. We were kids. And it wasn’t bullying. You were always way too sensitive.”
“You just keep on telling yourself that.” Memories cut through her—like tiny razors—serving as a reminder that she hadn’t imagined a single thing. If anything, she had minimized it at the time, never having wanted to be anything other than Fancy Tolliver, the pretty princess with the perfect life. Her mother had always encouraged her to ignore the malicious acts perpetrated by Meryl and Georgia.
“Cornering me in the girls’ room and cutting off my hair. Smearing jelly all over the back of my dress on picture day. Writing disgusting things about me in the boys’ bathroom. And many, many more things over the years, culminating in this vindictive smear campaign.”
“This is ancient history and you have no proof I did any of those things!” Meryl jeered.
Be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving…even as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32
She had come here for one reason and one reason only. To blast Meryl. To look her enemy in the eye and let her know that she’d figured out her agenda. To tell her that she saw right through her, all the way down to her rotten heart. Suddenly, a feeling of calm settled over her. She didn’t need to worry about this a moment longer. Case knew the truth. And as he’d told her, he had her back. He loved her.
“I forgive you, Meryl. For everything.” The words slipped out of Fancy’s mouth, and suddenly she felt lighter. Free as a bird. Twenty years of negativity fell away. She didn’t need to confront Meryl in order to move forward in her life. There was nothing this woman could do to her because Fancy was the one holding the power. To forgive. To move forward with her life. To do what God would want her to do for a lost soul. Grant her forgiveness.
Meryl’s jaw dropped. She began to sputter. “I don’t need your forgiveness.”
Fancy nodded. “Maybe not. But I’m extending it to you anyway. I’m not going to carry any more bitterness toward you around with me. Case taught me that. Because he’s forgiven me for my mistakes. So now, I’m giving myself a gift. It’s for me. Not you, Meryl. Because it’s very clear you’re not ready to receive it. But it’s still yours for the taking.”
“What is this? Some kind of Pollyanna act to impress Case?” Meryl snapped. She twisted her mouth angrily. “Give it a rest. I could care less about your forgiveness.”
Fancy knew there wasn’t anything more to say to Meryl. She was too trapped in her own negative head space to embrace change. She wanted nothing to do with the olive branch Fancy had extended to her. More than ever, Fancy pitied Meryl, and anyone like her who was so blinded by hate and envy that she couldn’t see straight.
“I’ll be praying for you,” Fancy said in a low voice. She turned around and walked away from Meryl and the negativity that hung around her like a shroud. She could hear Meryl muttering angrily in her wake, but she had no interest in listening to her venom. Fancy kept walking until she was inside her car and zooming away from Meryl’s place.
“Friendship is like water. We need it to live.” Fancy Tolliver
Chapter Ten
Fancy drove straight to the Duvall mansion after she left Meryl. Case had asked her to meet him there for dinner with his family. The entire drive she had talked to God and thanked him for her endless blessings. Ridding herself of years of negativity with Meryl was the icing on the cake. As far as she was concerned, her future was full of promise and hope. And an infinite amount of love.
As she pulled up in front of the Duvall mansion, Fancy paused for a moment to appreciate the view. The stunning home was smaller than the one Callie and Luke had grown up in, but it was a stunning Greek revival style mansion. Several antique cars sat in front of the house. Lincoln Duvall was an automobile buff who enjoyed collecting antique cars. He could often be spotted driving around Savannah with his wife at his side in one of his collectibles. In Fancy’s opinion, Case and Charlotte had always been pretty down to earth despite the Duvall family fortune.
