Love Letters From Ladybug Farm - Donna Ball [109]
Cici tried to lift her head to look at her, winced in pain, and settled back again. “You did not just say that to me.”
“Well, I mean, except for the storm.”
“Tornado,” corrected Lindsay.
“That hasn’t been confirmed yet,” Bridget objected.
“And the dog,” Cici said without opening her eyes.
“And the groom’s mother.”
“And the groom.”
“And the explosion.”
“And the goat.”
“Like I said,” Bridget said uncomfortably. “All things considered.”
No one spoke for a measure of time. No one had the energy.
“You know what the problem was, don’t you?” Bridget said after a moment.
“Personally,” replied Lindsay, a rather tired smile twitching at her lips, “I blame Michelle Obama.”
Bridget smothered a giggle, and even Cici, without opening her eyes, managed a lopsided smile.
“Okay,” Cici said. “Tell me what the problem was.”
“Sex.”
Cici opened her eyes, and lifted her head to look at her two best friends. The three women thought about that for a while. Then Cici gave a slow, reflective nod of her head. “Do you know, Bridget,” she said, “this time I think you’ve got it exactly right.”
Lindsay agreed regretfully, “Sad but true.”
“But it was a beautiful ceremony,” Bridget said.
Cici glanced at one of the half-empty champagne glasses on the small table beside her chair. She had no idea to whom it belonged. She picked it up dubiously, sniffed the contents, gave the rim a cursory examination for lip marks, and drank it down.
“Yeah,” she said, and smiled just a little. “It was.”
Bridget sighed. “I’d like to think that, after all this effort, those kids will have a good marriage. But I don’t know.”
“Well,” Lindsay said, “the groom did agree not to spend his wedding night at a baseball game with his brother. That’s a step in the right direction.” The screen door squeaked open, held by Mark, and Lori clumped out on her crutches, accompanied by Noah. She had changed from her formal wedding clothes to a floral cotton skirt and T-shirt, although she was still beautifully made up, her hair cascading from a clip in curls around her shoulders. Mark had removed his tie and jacket, and Noah, in apparent solidarity, still wore his suit pants and dress shirt—although he had changed into running shoes.
“Hey, Mom,” Lori announced. “Noah’s taking us out for pizza. Do you want us to bring you some?”
Noah shrugged at the questioning look from the older women. “I lost a bet,” he admitted, deadpan. “I said you couldn’t catch that goat.”
“Very funny.” Cici deliberately removed the frozen peas to show offher black eye, and Lori winced.
“Been there, done that, Mom,” she said sympathetically. “Two words: pancake makeup.”
Mark said, “It was a great party, Ms. Burke. I hope you feel better.”
“Thank you, Mark,” Cici replied. “Please drive carefully.”
“Don’t worry.” He grinned. “I’m much better behind the wheel of a car.”
She couldn’t help smiling a little as she watched the attentiveness with which he helped Lori negotiate the steps. When they reached the car Lindsay commented, “Now that’s a nice young man, to take Noah along on their first date.”
“I like him,” Bridget agreed.
“Me, too,” Cici said. “Although...” Her tone grew speculative. “Sergio has a lot going for him, too.”
Lindsay slanted a grin at Bridget. “Say Bridget, Farley can really dance, can’t he? If we hadn’t invited him, I don’t think the groom’s mother would have had any fun at all.”
“You know something?” Bridget said, sounding only a little surprised. “I had a really good time. I’d forgotten how much I missed being treated like a lady—having someone hold my chair and bring me drinks and ask me to dance. And even keeping that horrid woman occupied—it all made me feel important. Taken care of.”
“Yeah,” agreed Lindsay and Cici simultaneously. Their voices were wistful.
And when the other two women looked at her questioningly, Cici shrugged. “The one thing Richard knows is how to treat a lady. And it was nice, having a date at a party.”
Lindsay nodded. “I think that’s one of the things we forgot when we were trying