AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Stop it!The last thing they needed was for Noah to follow Genevieve down Maudlin Road.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Noah. I probably sound a little crazy, don’t I?”
“Um… I don’t think I’ll answer that.”
She chuffed a little laugh. “A lot crazy, then. I was trying to make a point to my children a while back, and I asked them what epitaph they believed was appropriate for my gravestone. Except for Lucas’s meat loaf suggestion, everyone agreed on one word—family. Family has been the focus of my life.”
“That’s… nice?”
“It is. Yes, it is! Only, I grew too dependent on my family. My family was my life. But it smothered my children and me, so I did something about it. I started a new life.”
“That’s great.” Wasn’t it?
“So why am I back at the beginning? I love the time I spend with Emma and Drew, but dammit, I want Bora-Bora, too! Why does family have to be both a lodestone and a millstone? I no sooner find some balance in my life than my chickens come home to roost, and it’s so hard to say no because they’re cute and fluffy, and they grow up so fast.”
Noah decided that keeping his mouth shut was the best thing to do under the circumstances, so he took another sip of his drink and listened.
“So I give up Bora-Bora, but I’ll always have Bogart and Bacall, only, let’s give that to planner chick, which truly is a smart idea, only, what am I going to do with my life because it’s wrong to waste a minute of it because of sands, you know? I have a big birthday this year.”
Drew obviously got his run-on sentences from his grandmother. Despite his best intentions, Noah couldn’t help but ask, “Sands?”
“‘Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives.’ Daytime TV. A soap opera. My life is a soap opera. The most boring one ever!”
This was getting out of hand. “I can see that you have some issues to work through, Genevieve, but I worry that you will regret doing this tonight. What I hear is that you are passionate about your family. This is a family event, and I’m sure you’ve felt passionate about it. If I may, I’ll share a piece of advice. My mom expressed regret until the day she died for the forty minutes of my brother’s wedding reception that she missed because she got stuck in her shapewear.”
“Oh no!” Genevieve said with true horror in her tone. “She didn’t.”
“She did. You need to go back to the party, Genevieve. Jake and Willow will notice you’re gone, and they’ll worry about you.”
“You’re right. I know. Noah, I apologize for dumping all of this on you. I don’t know what came over me. You didn’t deserve it.”
“Don’t worry about me. Actually, I was happy for the distraction. I’ve been battling a few ghosts of my own tonight.”
“Oh.” She blinked up at him. “Do you want to talk about them?”
“Nope. I think we both should get back to the party and the business of having fun. Come with me, Genevieve, and next time something slow comes on that doesn’t require a lot of movement on my part, will you honor me with a dance?”
“Yes. I’d love to dance with you, Noah. Thank you.”
It turned out that just as they reached the reception area, the Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody” began to play. Noah gave her a questioning look. “This one?”
“Perfect.”
“Fair warning, with my bum leg, I sway more than move.”
“Even more perfect.” He set their empty glasses onto a bartray, took her into his arms, and they began to dance. They didn’t speak throughout the first verse, then Genevieve said, “I danced to this song with my husband at our wedding. David was a swayer, too. Not because he had a leg injury, but because he had two left feet.”
Genevieve’s wistful tone suggested that her meltdown might be over. Thank God.
Over Genevieve’s shoulder, Noah caught sight of little Emma Eldridge. She was running around the tables chasing another little girl. Maybe after this, he would track her down and give the dance a go.
Then again, maybe not. Obviously, she hadn’t been as traumatized by his refusal as had he. He probably should just let that idea go.
Genevieve lifted her face toward him and smiled. “I’m sorry I subjected you to my emotional tizzy, Noah.”
“Don’t worry about it. Today’s an emotional day, and it sounds like you’re at a turning point in your life. Sometimes you have to spit those words out before they can start making sense to you. I understand that.”
“A turning point. Yes. I just need to find a new project.”
