by Kim Gatlin
Sharon had on a beautiful white blouse but it didn’t close exactly right at the bust. The buttons pulled and, as they say, there were boobs everywhere. Amanda had to do a double take because yes, she had seen what she thought she saw: a denim prairie skirt. Her skirt was so long, it literally dragged the ground and she’d probably given up and sat down to get a break from other people stepping on her hem all night. Even though “Rhinestone Cowboy” had been last year’s theme, it looked like Sharon had purchased and worn every faux diamond in the city.
They were a ghastly sight.
Amanda watched for a few minutes and as different people would walk by—either a girl headed to the ladies’ room or a couple walking in that direction—Sharon, Heather, or both would almost perk up for a moment and speak. No one stopped and very few even really spoke, just gave a halfhearted wave and moved on. The girls would then deflate back to their original position.
Even as awful as those two had been to her, Amanda was a better hostess than to sit there and watch someone have such a miserable time. It took a few minutes, but Amanda finally made her way over to where Sharon and Heather were sitting.
“Hi, girls! How are you?” Amanda yelled out as she approached them.
They immediately perked up. “Oh, hey, Amanda!! We’re great! Good job—this is really phenomenal what you’ve done. We were just sitting here talking about how we wished you’d asked us to help you,” Heather said in the sweet Sunday school tone that only she could muster in a situation like this.
Sharon, of course, flipped her head around like it was on a swivel and looked at Heather with an absolute glare her drunkenness couldn’t disguise and said, “What in the hell are you talking about, Heather? We were not.”
To which Heather gave her a swift, very obvious kick to the shin with her cowboy boot and said between clenched teeth, “Yes, we were, Sharon.”
Amanda decided she should probably break this up before it got even uglier. “Oh, girls, that’s so sweet of you. I thought you’d probably had enough after last year and didn’t want to put you on the spot. Since last year was technically just last month, I figured you were still recovering, I’m sorry. You know you could’ve called me and offered and I’d have gladly set you to work.”
They looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Amanda couldn’t decide who they were more disgusted with, her or themselves.
“Where is Darlene? I haven’t seen her all night,” Amanda said.
This was the first time either one of them seemed a bit pleased since Amanda first spotted them.
They both looked at each other with big, goofy grins, then just busted out laughing.
“What? What’s so funny?” Amanda asked.
“Oh, let’s not go there,” Heather ordered.
“Oh, why not?” Sharon wondered. “She’d not hesitate a minute if it were one of us.”
Heather gave her a dirty look, then almost fell off the hay bale as she turned away from her, having to put her hands out and steady herself on the ground before she could raise back up.
Sharon gave a shrug and said, “Well, it seems her husband was always going to be out of town tonight, but she had a surprise phone call from his current affair. You know, the kind where they finally get impatient and call the wife? Only it turns out the other woman was another man this time.”
“Oh, no. I hate that for her. I can’t imagine . . .” Amanda’s voice trailed off.
All of a sudden, Heather started to get a little aggressive.
“Oh, do you, really? Sweet little Amanda, do you really just hate that for her?”
Amanda was totally caught off guard, but quickly recovered. “Well, of course I do, Heather. You’re her dear friend, don’t you feel for her, too?”
“I’ll tell you what I think,” Heather started, but was interrupted by the auctioneer calling Amanda’s name.
Everyone around started saying, “Amanda, he’s trying to get your attention!! Amanda, look up at the stage.” It seemed everyone around her was telling her to look in that direction and like they’d been trying to get her attention for a minute or two.
Amanda looked up, bright red in the face. She put her hand over her mouth and was laughing when she saw Nancy, Dallas, Mary, Kathleen, and Tom all walking toward her.
They all walked up and hugged her, Tom put his arm around her, and she could hear Sharon say very loudly, “Oh, I think I’m going to be sick,” then she heard Heather say, “Shut up, Sharon.”
Amanda was really confused now. She looked at Tom and Nancy and said, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t hear what was going on! Did you need me?”
Nancy looked at Tom and grinned really big. “Well, Amanda, we had to stop the auction because we didn’t want you to miss this.”
“Miss what?” Amanda said. “What item are we on?”
“The one we told Tom you’ve been coveting since it came into the office last week,” she said. All four girls smiled and nodded, as if they were finally letting Amanda in on a big secret.
“Oh, no, you didn’t. I’m so embarrassed.” Amanda wanted to die.
“Don’t be. We wouldn’t tell him the first hundred times he asked because we knew you wouldn’t want us to, but the man is persistent.” Nancy gave Tom the nod as she spoke.
The next auction item was a magnificent, one-of-a-kind platinum and diamond cross donated by Mary’s dear friend of many, many years, Jude Steele of the Jude Frances Jewelry Company. It was enormous and the design was incredible. The cross had about five carats of diamonds, total, and half-carat diamonds were set every few inches in the chain. It was a fabulous piece, and Amanda adored it. The auctioneer started the bidding at ten thousand dollars and there was a frenzy of bidding. Amanda stuck her fingers in her ears and playfully shook her head back and forth at Tom and Nancy.
Amanda turned her back to the crowd and looked up just in time to see what she thought was fire coming out of Heather’s eyes. Sharon gave her an equally disgusted look. When she heard “Sold” and everyone started clapping, Nancy, Mary, Dallas, and Kathleen all came over and gave her a group hug, very pleased that they’d managed to surprise her.
She gave Tom a big hug and kiss and as she pulled away from him, caught the backsides of both Heather and Sharon stomping away.
“Oh, Tom, I think Sharon’s upset.” Amanda felt genuinely bad for her.
“Amanda, look. One of my favorite things about you is that you care about how other people feel, but one thing you have to realize, or I guess Sharon has to realize, is that I still wouldn’t be interested in her if you were still happily married, living in Newport.”
“I know, Tom, I guess it’s just easier for her to blame me than believe that, so let her. I just can’t worry about it.”
“No, you can’t and neither can I, for that matter. Now, I told you there were lots of surprises tonight, so let’s go to the main stage. The live auction only has a few more items, and we want to beat the stampede.”
Tom took her hand and they walked past the other people watching the rest of the auction and headed for their table in front of the main stage. As they sat at their front-row table, they waited for the live auction to end and the main stage act to begin, which at this point was still a mystery.
They looked up and saw the girls and their husbands heading toward the table. It was a constant stream of conversation about how “so-and-so can’t believe we pulled this off, they said we couldn’t do it and we did,” or “so-and-so says this is the best Longhorn Ball ever and it’s not even a Longhorn Ball, technically,” and “I’ve had a million people tell me tonight these are the best auction items we’ve ever had.”
Tom made a toast before the band started, while you could still hear, to Nancy and the girls for rallying and for knowing what it really means to be there for a friend when they really need you. Amanda made one to the husbands for being such great guys and for being so supportive when they could’ve been anything but. It was a “love fest,” all in all.
They looked up on the stage and there was Guy, Tom’s driver. He announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, would you please help me welcome to the thank-you party for the Longhorn Ball . . . Mr. George Strait!” and the crowd erupted in applause.
Tom grabbed Amanda and said, “You owe me a dance!”
She jumped up, took his hand as he led her to the dance floor, and said, “I believe I do,” and they danced together for the first time since they met.
After the concert, everyone headed back over to the other side of the party for the late-night dance band. Tom and Amanda stayed at their table, still just taking in the whole thing, enjoying some time to themselves. They were the only people left in that whole, huge concert area.
“Tom, I just can’t believe how completely perfect this entire evening has been, from beginning to end! My heart is so touched by the immeasurable kindness and generosity of people who were near strangers, just a month ago.”
“Yeah, it kind of renews your faith in people in general, doesn’t it?” he said, smiling and kissing her on the head.
“It really does—I was just thinking about how grateful I am for my mom, my children, for Nancy, and for my new friends. I’m even so grateful for their husbands, even though I can’t remember half of their names right now, I’m so tired!” and she and Tom both laughed.
“What do you say we walk on over to the late-night party just to make sure everything’s going okay, and then we’ll sneak out,” Amanda suggested.
Tom stood up quickly as if to say, “I thought you’d never ask,” and they headed to the other side of the ranch.
Amanda knew Tom could never understand how truly happy she was to be home. It was so wonderful to be back in her old neighborhood, especially the familiarity of everything about it. Sure, it had changed some in the years she’d been gone, but there were so many things about it that were the same. It gave her a comfort and joy she really hadn’t anticipated when she was considering the move back from California. There was something magical about the neighborhood that Amanda never could appreciate or understand until she’d moved away. She’d always been a little puzzled by the fascination outsiders had with Hillside Park—especially the Dallasites who had their own history in their own neighborhoods. It really never made sense to her that they all seemed to have an almost “let’s move to Camelot, where it never rains till after sundown” idealism about Hillside Park, but after being away and coming home, she had more empathy and less curiosity for these people.
Her relationship with her mother had never been better. Amanda didn’t know whether to attribute the new ease in their relationship to time lost, the fact that Amanda was now a mother, herself, or maturity on her part, but regardless, she was so very delighted to be close to her mother again—literally as well as emotionally. Will and Sarah would learn things from Elizabeth that they should learn from a grandmother. Family history and stories should really come from their grandmother. They were too important for Amanda to share when she was so unclear on the details. Also, the unconditional love and traditional spoiling that are a grandmother’s duty would’ve been missed had Amanda not brought the children back home. This environment was so nurturing for them—something lacking when they were in California, and Amanda was so excited to establish new family traditions that would include their Gigi.
Elizabeth would never know how it warmed Amanda’s heart to have her mother rally around her and lead the defensive against the “good Christian bitches.” She had given sound advice and encouraged her to maintain a cool head while carefully traversing the potential pitfalls of social life, just within what seemed like the first few minutes of her being home. Amanda had needed a mentor for this, and her mother proved to be the perfect ally to survive such a senseless attack. Amanda had always been such a mother bear with her own children, so it did her heart good to see her own mother react the same way to her struggles. Having lived in the middle of the social swirl her entire life and having seen it all at her age, Elizabeth not only took her daughter under her wing and protected her, she also stood firm behind her and protected her to the nth degree.
Her mother, like most mothers, had the typical advice of, “Honey, five years from now this won’t matter at all,” but at the same time, Elizabeth had been around long enough that she had seen people’s lives destroyed by spiteful, mean-spirited gossip and wasn’t about to let her daughter’s fate be determined by jackals. It’s true that the high road is always the best route and you can still prevail by doing the right thing. With success truly being the best revenge, Amanda had triumphed over the “good Christian bitches” with her dignity intact.
Tom and Amanda decided to skip the after-party, and headed home, with Guy driving. Tom dozed off before they were off ranch property, and Amanda decided maybe he was the only person who had worked harder than her mother these last few weeks. She stared at him, holding her breath, praying that he wasn’t a snorer. “Oh, thank God,” she laughed to herself, when he stayed quiet. Tom was such an amazing man. He had more than proved himself in so many ways. Maybe he was the man for her, but maybe he wasn’t—but right now, she was just thrilled to feel something she hadn’t experienced in years: contentment. She knew that come what may, she would be absolutely all right because she was home. This time for good.
Acknowledgments
To Rosi, for loving me from day one and leading me to all the right people who hold you as dear as I do.
To Melanie, for walking me out of the dark. This wouldn’t be the same book without your wise counsel.
To Fred Gaines, my “Super Fred,” for being the smartest guy in the whole world and always having the right answers.
To Mel Berger, for being the second smartest guy in the world and making this happen.
To everyone at Hyperion, especially Ellen Archer, Kristin Kiser, Elisabeth Dyssegaard, Megan Vidulich, Karen Minster, Jill Schwartzman, Sam O’Brien, and designer Victoria Hartman.
To my amazing girlfriends, who have been so supportive throughout this journey. You know who you are and continue to be an enormous blessing in my life.
To David Bower, who has had the joy of being my guardian angel since age twelve. No wonder your hair is all gone. This book would’ve never happened without you, and I’m so glad you said, “Just write it.” Thank you for giving me the courage and ability to write GCB.
To Wonly, for going over and above the call of stepfather always. I love you.
To Marc Meijer, for being the best in the world and giving me my life back.
And to “Young Apollo,” for knowing me better than I know myself and loving me anyway.
About the Author
KIM GATLIN lives in the Park Cities area of Dallas with her two children, Austin and Lauren. Good Christian Bitches is her first book.
Copyright
An earlier edition of this book was published in 2009 by Brown Books Publishing Group.
Copyright © 2008 Kim Gatlin
Hyperion Edition Copyright © 2012 Laustin Productions, Inc.
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For information address Hyperion, 114 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10011.
The Library of Congress has catalogued the original print edition of this book as follows:
Gatlin, Kim.
Good Christian bitches / Kim Gatlin. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-4013-1070-7
1. Divorced women—Fiction. 2. Suburban life—Texas—Fiction. 3. Church membership—Fiction. 4. Christian women-Fiction. 5. Domestic fiction. I. Title.
PS3607.A86G66 2011
813'.6—dc22
2011021175
eBook Edition ISBN: 978-1-4013-0398-3
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Cover photo by American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
Author photo by David Woo
First eBook Edition
Original paperback edition printed in the United States of America.
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