“Two worn-out old women,” I tell her as she snaps the picture.
“Can you believe we were ever as young as she is?” says Jeannette wistfully.
“Were we?” I ask.
“Of course you were,” says Jenny as she hands her mom the camera. “I’ve seen the photos. You were both gorgeous, and you still are. I hope I age as gracefully as the rest of the women in this family.” Then she kisses us both. “And I hope I’m just as smart and good as both of you. Thank you for everything.”
I start to tear up as she gives her mom a long hug, and then we hear a quiet knocking on the door.
“That’s the bridegroom,” says Jeannette as she pauses to blow her nose.
“Don’t keep him waiting,” I tell Jenny as I straighten her corsage and give her one last kiss.
“I love you two,” says Jenny as she opens the door to a smiling Michael.
“You ready for the big getaway?”
She nods. “Let’s do this.”
Jeannette and I trail behind them down the stairs. As we go out a side door, I see a darkly dressed figure entering through the front. “Is that Suzette?” I whisper to my sister.
She pauses to look at the woman walking through the lobby. “I think it is.”
I shake my head. “I wonder what happened to her.”
“Looks like she’s been out rolling in the dirt.”
“Sounds about right,” I say as I hold open the door.
Jeannette giggles once we are outside. “At least she didn’t make too big of a scene tonight. And Jim had the good grace to get her out of there before it got worse.”
I don’t tell Jeannette all the details of Suzette’s marital problems. Maybe another day.
Then we all stand outside the tent where the other guests are gathered, their little net bags open and ready to shower birdseed on the couple. But first Jenny tosses the bouquet. I hope Ingrid catches it, but that Lana girl practically knocks the others down in order to snag it.
Then the newlyweds are off, with everyone chasing them. I follow along in the back, not overly eager to run like the young people, but then someone grabs my hand.
“Come with me,” says Phil. “We have a mission.”
“A mission?”
“Yeah.”
The next thing I know we’re sitting in Eric’s car, and he takes off even before the wedding couple, going down the highway with only his parking lights on until we are out of sight of the lodge. Then he turns on his headlights.
“What’s happening?” I ask.
Phil explains how he and Eric have hidden Michael’s Range Rover just beyond a mountain stream where no cars are able to cross. “We had to park our car on the road, then drive the Range Rover about ten miles on rough terrain just to get it to the right spot,” he tells me. “But it was fun.”
“See, the newlyweds are taking Alex’s fancy Porsche convertible,” continues Eric, “right up to the stream. Then they’ll hike across the stream and take the Range Rover, and no one will be able to follow them.”
“What about Jenny’s outfit?” I ask with concern. I hate to think of that beautiful silk suit all splattered with muddy water.
But the guys don’t answer that question. Eric just pulls over in a wide spot on the side of the road and turns off his lights. “Here they come,” he says in a quiet voice as if the kids parading down the road in their cars might actually hear him.
We watch as first the convertible pulls up, then the others behind them. I can’t actually see what happens after the rest arrive, but I hope that Jenny’s suit won’t get ruined.
Then Eric turns his lights on and pulls across the road and asks Ingrid if the newly-weds got off okay. After he’s assured that all went well, he turns to us.
“See you kids later,” he says.
Then Phil helps me out of the car, and suddenly we’re left standing on the road. “What are we doing?” I ask Phil as the other cars begin to drive away.
He pulls some keys out of his pocket and jingles them. “Want to take a ride?” Then he opens the door of the wildly decorated Porsche and helps me in.
“Nice wheels,” I say as I fasten the seat belt.
“Doesn’t your friend Asher have a car similar to this?” he asks as he gets inside.
I roll my eyes. “As if that matters.”
“What if he wasn’t gay, Elizabeth? What if he came on to you and offered you everything and anything you could ever want? Would you be tempted then?”
“No,” I tell him. “Of course not!”
The rest of the cars are gone now, but we’re still sitting next to the road, close to the stream, and I see the faint glow of the moon coming up on the horizon. It is so quiet that all I can hear is the gurgling of the stream below.
“Why not?” he asks.
“Why not what?”
“What makes you so certain you wouldn’t leave me for someone else, someone younger or richer or better looking, maybe someone like Asher—I mean, if he wasn’t gay? How can you be so sure, Elizabeth?”
I consider this. I know what he’s getting at, but I’m not sure I want to go there. I’m not sure I’m ready to hang my heart out on a limb just yet. I’m still not entirely convinced that there’s nothing between him and Delia. But after a long pause I give in. “Because I love you, Phillip. I always have. I probably always will.” I turn and look at him. “There, you happy now?”
He’s smiling. “Yeah, I am. It’s nice to hear it. I’ve been feeling a little insecure this weekend.”
“You have?” I try not to sound too angry. “What about me?”
“What about you?”
“How do you think I’ve been feeling?”
“But can’t you now see that it was ridiculous? Can’t you see you were imagining things—that we were both imagining things?”
“I know you were imagining things, Phil. But I’m still not entirely sure I was imagining things. You said yourself that Delia is into you—that she likes you and would like your relationship to be something beyond jogging buddies. What about that?”
“I’ve been thinking about that since we talked in the lounge, Elizabeth. And I’ve already decided that I need to completely break off my friendship with Delia. Even if it means that I quit jogging—”
“Oh, I don’t want you to quit—”
“I’m just saying that I’m willing to do whatever it takes. To be honest, I think I’ve been waiting for you to react, honey. I think I wanted to hear that you were feeling a little jealous and that you loved me enough to be concerned about my spending time with Delia. I know it’s immature, and I’m not proud of it, but it’s the truth.”
Now I’m feeling guilty. It occurs to me that I have been a little checked out in our marriage. I’ve probably been shifting my discontent over my job and my age and my place in life onto my husband. I probably haven’t been much fun to live with these past few months, especially these past two days.
“I thought it was you at first, but maybe I’m the one who’s been having a midlife crisis,” I finally admit.
He laughs and reaches for my hand. “I love you, Elizabeth. And if you’re having a crisis of any kind, you need to tell me about it. We’re partners, you know, so you need to involve me in whatever you’re going through. Maybe we can have a midlife crisis together—start a new trend.”
I smile. “Maybe so.”
He points to the back window, which, even read backward, clearly says, “Just Married!” “How about it, sweetie?” he says. “How about we pretend this is us? That we just got married and are starting all over again?”
I reach out and grab him by the shoulders, pulling myself over to him until I’m practically in his lap. “I’m so sorry, Phil,” I say. “I do love you, and I’d happily marry you all over again!”
And then we kiss—really kiss—just like newlyweds!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Over the years Melody Carlson has worn many hats, from preschool teacher to youth counselor to
political activist to senior editor. But most of all, she loves to write! Currently she freelances from her home. In the past nine years, she has published more than a hundred books for children, teens, and adults—with sales totaling more than two million and many titles appearing on the ECPA Bestsellers List. Several of her books have been finalists for, and winners of, various writing awards, including the Gold Medallion and the Rita Award. She has two grown sons and lives in Central Oregon with her husband and chocolate Lab retriever. She and her family enjoy skiing, hiking, gardening, camping, and biking in the beautiful Cascade Mountains.
ON THIS DAY
PUBLISHED BY WATERBROOK PRESS
12265 Oracle Boulevard, Suite 200
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921
A division of Random House, Inc.
The characters and events in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to actual persons or events is coincidental.
Copyright © 2006 by Melody Carlson
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication
Data Carlson, Melody.
On this day : a novel / Melody Carlson.— 1st ed.
p. cm.
1. Female friendship—Fiction. 2. Self-realization—Fiction. 3. Weddings—Fiction.
I. Title.
PS3553.A7325705 2006
813′.54—dc22
2005024090
eISBN: 978-0-307-55097-2
v3.0
On This Day Page 24