Starting Over by Cheryl Douglas

out of the car.
    “I was thinking
about that night… the first time I brought you home.” She smiled.
“Sharon loved you, just like I knew she would. I couldn’t wait for
you two to meet.”
    “I felt like
I’d known her forever,” Alex said, smiling at the memory. “You’d
told me so many stories about her… I’d even read a few chapters of
her books that you left lying around your apartment. They were kind
of like a glimpse into who she was. It’s great that you’ll always
have that part of her to hold on to.”
    “I think so
too.” Inhaling deeply, she appreciated the crisp evening air
coupled with the beautiful perfume from Sharon’s prize-winning rose
bushes. “She’s left me with so much. I just feel blessed to have
been a part of her life.”
    “She felt the
same way about you, Eve,” Alex said.
    Footsteps on
the path behind them caught Eve’s attention, and she turned around
to see her mother walking toward them with two wineglasses. “I
thought you could use a drink after the day you had,” Jane said,
smiling as she offered red wine to her daughter and son-in-law.
    “Thanks, Jane,”
Alex said, accepting the wine. “That was nice of you.”
    Lifting a
shoulder, she said, “It was the least I could do.” Looking uneasy,
she shifted from one foot to the other as she spoke to Eve. “Um,
Dan said that most of the people who’d checked in for the funeral
have left already.”
    “That’s true,”
Eve said warily. “Why?”
    “I was
wondering if it would be okay if I stayed for a little while?” When
Eve sighed, Jane said, “I don’t want to impose. I just thought you
could use some help, you know, packing up Sharon’s things and…”
    Eve looked to
Alex, as she often did, when she needed a second opinion. It had
become a habit, one she would have to break since they were no
longer a couple.
    As though Alex
sensed his wife’s uncertainty, he said, “We’ve all had a long day.
I’m sure you’re tired, Jane. Why don’t you spend the night, and you
and Eve can talk in the morning, when she’s had a chance to sleep
on your proposal?”
    “Of course,”
Jane said quickly. “Whatever you decide is fine, Eve. I know you
don’t owe me anything. I just thought it would be nice if you had
someone to lean on.” She glanced at Alex. “Your sister told me you
two are separating, Alex. I can’t tell you how sorry I am to hear
that.”
     
    ***
     
    Alex would deal
with his sister and her big mouth later. “I appreciate that. I’m
not too happy about it myself.” He hadn’t intended his comment as a
dig, but when he saw Eve’s body tense, he suspected that’s how
she’d perceived it.
    “I’ll leave you
two alone,” Jane said quietly. “I’m sure you have a lot to talk
about. Good night.”
    “Good night,
Jane,” Alex said when Eve didn’t respond. He turned to her. “I’m
sorry, are you upset that I told your mother the divorce is your
idea?”
    A muscle in her
jaw flexed. “You’re making it sound like I’m the one who initiated
this. I wasn’t. I wanted our marriage to work. You were the one who
checked out a long time ago.”
    “That’s not
true. I’m as invested in this marriage now as I was the day we took
our vows. Hell, maybe more so.”
    Raising her
wine glass, she got a determined look in her eye. “Why don’t we
agree to disagree and drink to starting over?”
    Touching his
glass to hers, he said, “I’m all for starting over… with you.” He
knew he was pushing his luck, but he had nothing left to lose.
    “Why are you
making this so hard?” she asked, taking a sip of her wine.
    He turned to
face her, tucking one leg under the other. “You don’t really expect
me to make this easy for you, do you? You’re my wife. I love you. I
want to be married to you. I don’t know how else to make you
understand this divorce is the last thing I want.”
    She watched
several guests enjoying drinks on the inn’s patio several hundred
yards away. “Can’t