Episode 647: Part Of Me

She’d barely been more than a kid back then. She hadn’t really seen any other option. She’d made sure a good woman raised Avalon. She’d done the best she could by her little girl. She didn’t deserve to suffer.

So why was she doing this to herself, staring at this magazine, unable to think of anything else since she’d received that call three hours before.

"A bridal magazine?" Her husband asked.

Sarette briefly closed her eyes, and silently cursed herself for not hearing him enter the room. It took a moment, but she threw out the best excuse she could muster. "Um, yeah. Constance’s daughter is getting married. You know Constance and I go way back so she asked if I might give my two cents on some of the preparations." Technically, it was true, though not at all the reason she’d bought a clutch of bridal magazines that afternoon.

"Hmm," Rodney said, weighing her words as he did everyone’s words. Her husband had never done anything without calculating ahead of time. "That sounds good. You’ll be good at that. Maybe you’ll enjoy it. You don’t seem to enjoy much lately."

"It was just a holiday funk, Rod, it happens to the best of us." It was more than that, though. It was the magazine on her lap. It instantly pulled her focus again. She wondered how Ava would look in the strapless column or the fairytale princess.

Sarette was so caught up envisioning her daughter’s big day that she didn’t notice her husband scrolling through the old calls on her phone.

"Why were you talking to Calvin Baird on Christmas day? And again, today?"

Startled by the inquiry, Sarette sprang from her seat and snatched the phone back. "Why are snooping?"

"I was looking for Donna Alvin’s number. I heard she’s looking to sell one of her companies and you were speaking with her about your charity work the other day. I figured it would be faster to find her number here and I didn’t want to pull you away from your wedding planning. Why so defensive?"

"I’m not being defensive," Sarette lied. She had no other choice. "I just don’t want you accidentally deleting any phone numbers. I need them for my fundraising, including Calvin Baird."

Episode 648: You And I