If only he could be courageous enough to accept that it was time to move on.
11
Even though it had been a couple weeks since Agnes had graced Carolina Pediatrics with her presence, today had been set aside to give her a proper sendoff. Sophia was quite impressed that Wes had taken it upon himself to plan the entire party, even having it catered. He might not be a man quick to start a conversation, but he was on top of caring for others.
The employee kitchen was filled with the guests and a celebratory vibe, yet Sophia’s phone and thoughts wouldn’t allow her to join in. She continuously hit the Ignore button and would have turned it off altogether had it not been for the need to be available in case her mother called about Collin. No matter how many times she hit Ignore, Ty wouldn’t give up.
Somehow the media had gotten wind of the IRS debacle, and Ty and his manager thought Sophia would happily agree to a few public appearances to help redirect the focus and maybe fuel a rumor of their reconciliation. He’d already called to try talking her into it and she had refused. His response was all sugar and love, but she should have known he wouldn’t give up that easily.
After Agnes opened her gifts and said her last goodbyes, Sophia sent the rest of the staff out the door in Agnes’s wake, assuring them she’d handle the cleanup. She dropped her shoes off in her office and was heading back to the kitchen when the phone began buzzing once again in her pocket. Knowing Wes hadn’t left yet, she glanced over her shoulder to make sure she was alone in the hallway before answering.
“What do you want, Ty?” Sophia asked, and from there an excess of slurred curse words and vile accusations spilled from Ty’s end of the phone.
“You vowed to be by my side. Good times or bad. I thought you were stronger than this, you little coward!” Ty spat the words out and followed it by calling her a more colorful name. Forget the sugar and love. This time it was all vinegar and hate.
“And you vowed to honor me. Not abuse me or cheat on me . . .” Her voice rose, so she tried quieting it down by releasing a cough before continuing. “You broke the vows first.”
“You drove me to do those things!”
Sophia sputtered a haughty laugh. “Oh, wow. Who’s being the coward now? You won’t even take responsibility for what you did wrong.” She blinked the sting from her eyes and swallowed the tears wanting their freedom. “And just so we’re clear, you’re the one who demanded control over our finances. It’s after you took over that this mess happened, so don’t you dare try blaming it on me!”
“How can you turn your back on me after all I’ve done for you?” Ty growled.
She rubbed her forehead and tried to tamp down the escalating rage building as quickly as a tornado. “I don’t owe you anything. Have you forgotten we are no longer married?”
Instead of answering her, Ty continued to sling insults mixed with the guilt trip, so she hung up on him and hit Ignore as soon as the phone began ringing again.
Shaking her head, Sophia turned to go put the phone in her office but bumped into Wes standing in the way. His hands, gently yet firmly, grasped her shoulders to steady her. When he kept them there and tilted his head slightly to search her eyes with his attentive ones, an entire conversation seemed to pass between them.
Are you all right?
No.
Will you be?
Hopefully.
“Do you need to talk about it?” Wes finally asked after they stood in silence for several long moments.
Sophia pressed her lips together to keep from unloading the weight of her worries. Even though they were forming a friendship constructed from a foundation of similar heartache, she didn’t want to add to his burdens.
“I’ll listen,” Wes added, bending slightly to try recapturing her gaze, but she didn’t allow it. “Letting it out can be good medicine.”
Truthfully, Sophia was embarrassed by her predicament, which seemed cliché and shallow compared to what Wes had endured. Their pain might have had the same symptoms, but the cause couldn’t have been more different.
“Good medicine would have been using some common sense to keep from getting to this point in the first place.” Her muttered words finally had Wes’s hands releasing her, so she bolted and left a lot unsaid in the hall.
•••
Another celebration showed up two weeks later, and Sophia was actually going to be able to enjoy it. The mess with Ty had finally died down when some other celebrity figure was caught doing something deemed more scandalous than tax fraud.
Labor Day was considered the last hurrah for summer in the beach communities, and most tourists found their way back home after the long weekend, leaving Sunset Cove to settle down for a spell. The Sand Queens had always viewed the holiday weekend as their time to pay tribute to their summer achievements and make resolutions for the seasons ahead. The tradition went all the way back to their preteen years when the achievements had been easier and the resolutions simpler.
While others barbecued and lounged on the beach, the girls would sneak into Driftwood Diner and set up fancy finger foods and summer punch along the counter. For a splash of fun, purple Kool-Aid was always added to the punch, and flashy outfits were a requirement. Early on, the attire was plundered from their mothers’ closets, and then later it was last year’s prom or winter formal dresses. As the adult years knocked on their doors, the flashy dresses evolved to who could dress the tackiest. Opal won, hands down, most years. The girl could come up with a doozy of an outfit on a normal day, even more so when she put forth a little effort in the kooky department.
“This is going to be the best year to date,” Josie mused while setting up the punch bowl. “We’ve never included guys in our fun. Makes me feel all grown-up.”
Sophia placed a platter of crudités on the counter and gave Josie a dubious look. In wonky-patterned golf bloomers that looked more like shorts on her long legs and a silk blouse with a purple bowler hat on her head, she looked anything but grown-up. “We’ve matured greatly,” Sophia said dryly while straightening the front of her psychedelic mod dress. She even lucked out and found a pair of pleather white boots and a platinum-blonde Afro wig.
“Honey, I’m here!” Opal sang out as she entered with a tray. “Momma made us some of those pineapple cream cheese tea sandwiches. Aren’t they just darling?” She held the tray out for their inspection, but both women scrutinized her outfit instead.
Sophia’s hope of winning the tackiest trophy—which was a beauty queen trophy Opal purchased years ago from a consignment shop—plummeted at the sight of her. “Where on earth did you find that getup? You look like a Christmas leprechaun.” Sophia waved a hand at Opal’s ridiculous outfit—a green sequined top with a black bedazzled vest, metallic-gold Lycra pants, and red fur booties. Even the green-glittered headband nestled in the mess of red, blonde-tipped curls sparkled.
Opal set the platter down and shimmied. “You like it?”
“No, it’s awful. You win,” Josie grumbled. She redirected her attention to Sophia. “Wes is coming, right?”
“Yes, but only after I promised another public date.” Sophia wrinkled her nose.
Opal settled on top of a stool and rubbed her small belly. “I’ve never seen two people so much alike. You’re all posh and neat and too stubborn for your own good. What’s so wrong with the dates that you have to give him such a hard time when he asks you out?”