Chapter Nine
Maggie and her mother, Brenda, were at the dress shop, waiting for the salesperson to bring the gown out from the back. Maggie was still thinking about her morning with Marc. For some reason, she couldn’t get those text messages out of her mind. So far, she’d accepted his excuses that it was all work. But she couldn’t ignore the growing feeling in her gut that he was hiding something.
“Maggie, are you all right? You seem preoccupied.”
She didn’t want to lie to her mom, but she couldn’t bring herself to talk about her swirling thoughts. She couldn’t wait to get Rose alone so she could dump out all her concerns. Surely Rose would tell her she had nothing to worry about, and she and Marc would live happily ever after just like her parents.
So she prevaricated. “I’m just worried that even with the alterations the dress won’t fit properly. We don’t have a lot of time before the wedding.”
“Everything is going to be fine. I bet the dress will fit you beautifully. You’re going to be a gorgeous bride.”
Will I be a happy one?The thought came unbidden.
Because right now all she could think about was how Joel had left her because he didn’t want children. And Marc seemed to want her because a family would make his own father happy.
That’s not the only reason, she reminded herself. They were good together. Friends. Lovers. They always had fun.
“Honey, is it something else? Are you nervous about the wedding? Because I can tell you, I was before I married your father, too. It’s natural. This is a big step. It’s a commitment. But you and Marc love each other.”
“We do.”
She’d loved Joel, too. It had been there for her and Joel from the moment they met. But in the end, that love hadn’t been enough to keep them together. It wasn’t that she’d fallen out of love with him. It took her a long time to realize she’d always love him, but she couldn’t give up having a family.
Falling in love with Marc had been different. They started with an instant attraction that grew into something more over time as they dated and saw more of each other. Probably because she’d needed to make room in her heart for him.
But had she given her relationship with Marc enough time to reveal the truth of who they both were, separately and together, and to know they truly did belong together forever?
“Love will see you through this,” her mother continued.
But love hadn’t been enough to keep Joel and me together.
She needed to stop thinking about her ex.
For as long as she could remember, she wanted to be a wife and mother. She wanted a happy marriage like her parents. A simple life grounded in family. She wanted the contentment shealways saw in her mother and to feel the pride she always saw in her parents’ eyes when they looked at her.
She thought about a sweet little boy with Marc’s good looks, his charming smile, and his easygoing personality. And a little girl who looked like her, who grew up with pigtails and laughter and a best friend like she had in Rose.
She wanted that dream to be reality.
“How did you and Dad get through thirty years of marriage and make it look easy?”
“Most of the time, it was easy. We like each other as much as we love each other. That’s not to say we haven’t had our fair share of disagreements, angry words, and hurt feelings. We’ve had rough patches and tough times just like any other couple. But we stayed together and made our relationship stronger by putting in the effort to fix what was wrong, even when that meant we had to compromise and change.” Her mother gave her a soft smile. “You and Marc have been happy and in love for the last eight months, right?”
“Yes.” Maggie didn’t even hesitate because everything had been wonderful.
“And you’ve got big plans for the future. Sometimes, sweetheart, it’s overwhelming to think of it all, but if you just focus on one thing at a time, it won’t seem like so many changes all at once.”
Maggie felt centered again. “Right. I’ll focus on the wedding.”
The bell above the door dinged, making her turn. “Rose. You’re here.” Relief swept through her.
Rose smiled. “I am. And look who came with me.” Rose waved a hand out toward her own mom, who walked in behind her.
Maggie hugged Rose, then released her. “I thought it might be fun for all of us to do this together.”
Though Maggie had always avoided going to Rose’s house, she had always been fond of Rose’s mother, Nancy.
The two older women hugged, with Brenda saying, “Nancy, it’s been too long since we’ve seen each other. Just because our girls are grown, that doesn’t mean we can’t still get together and talk about them.”