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After a quick shower and a change of clothes, Vivian felt restless, so she grabbed her clutch and headed back out.
Food. She would get something to eat. Maybe that would be enough to distract her from her thoughts.
She ended up joining a local food tour group that took her and several others through a tour of the town, teaching them about local history and stopping at some of the best places it had to offer. She tasted the most amazing food and decadent desserts and even tasted a few locally crafted beers that she mostly liked but definitely didn’t hate. Sam Hardin’s beer was tough to beat.
She could almost say she was in love with the place.
The only thing that kept nagging at her was the desire to have someone to share it all with. Every time Vivian found something funny or interesting, she’d turn to the person beside her, only to find a stranger. Sure, she was able to exchange a couple of words here and there, but there was no connection. It just wasn’t the same.
There were some things about being married that had its perks, which was always having someone to tell about your day, someone to touch bases with at the end of one.
Andrew hadn’t been the best companion, but he’d been an artificial source of comfort. Now, Vivian just truly felt alone in the world.
As she stepped off the tour bus and parted ways with the other passengers, on her way back toward her hotel, Vivian’s phone vibrated in her clutch. Taking it out, she saw Gretta’s name appear on the screen and smiled as she answered.
“Hey, old friend, how are you?”
“Old?” Gretta scolded. “I bet I could run laps around you.”
“You probably could,” she laughed. “So what’s up?”
“Nothing. I was just headin’ to bed for the evenin’ and wanted to touch bases.”
Vivian glanced at the skyline, which was still bright, the sun a couple of hours away from setting. “It’s still pretty early. Are you feeling okay?”
“Right as rain, dear. The boys and I had an early dinner, and I shipped them back off to their families. Now I have the house all to myself.” There was a pregnant pause, and then she added, “It’s too quiet around here with ya gone.”
The hotel was within sight, and Vivian thought of returning to the empty hotel room. “I know what you mean.”
“Ready to come home yet?”
They’d been over this before. To avoid hurting her feelings, Vivian said, “I went on a tour today. Tried some pretty nice beers and didn’t fall over drunk once.”
“Well, amen for that! I always did enjoy me a nice draught fresh from the tap in the fall. Of course, it doesn’t mix too well with my meds now, so I have to live vicariously.” She sighed longingly. “Oh to be twenty again.”
“It’s all downhill from thirty,” Vivian lamented with her.
“Says the pinup model. What are ya, thirty-one?”
“Thirty, actually,” Vivian said, somewhat abashed.
Gretta made apishing sound. “You don’t know what downhill is yet. Just wait until you hit fifty and your boobs drop to your kneecaps, and your chin develops a turkey gobble.”
Vivian laughed until she cried. “Oh, Gretta, I miss you.”
“I miss you too, girl. Hurry up and finish your midlife crisis and get your ass home. We got some catchin’ up to do. This phone call business just ain’t cuttin’ it for me.”
The more Gretta pressured her, the more Vivian had to admit it was working. Each time, it grew harder and harder to say no.
“I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”
“I know you will,” Gretta said without missing a beat. Despite never missing an opportunity to throw the offer to return into their conversations, Gretta was good at rolling with Vivian’s deflection.
Reminding her to take her pills and wishing her a good night, Vivian got off the phone and then realized that Gretta hadn’t mentioned Nash this time. She wondered why, her thoughts immediately turning to another woman entering the picture.
Would he move on that fast? Well, she wasn’t his wife, so of course, he could. It had been easy for him to turn his back on her, so she didn’t know why it would be a surprise that he might replace her just as fast.
Why was she even dwelling on this? It wasn’t as if they had ever been together. They hadn’t even been officially dating, and here she was getting jealous and upset over the possibility he might be seeing someone else.
