Page 26 of Barron's Second Chance
"Oh, I know, dear, but you were such a lovely couple," she pressed on.
Yes, tell that to your precious Simon,she thought snidely.
Instead, she gave Gail a small smile and indulged her a bit. She knew that the older woman was fishing for a reaction which was quite rude since she barely knew her, but she was used to subtle snipes from people disguised as goodwill. You couldn't survive in her world without a bit of sass.
"The bar was too high between yourselves, Kelly, and Gavin," she quipped. "Now there's a relationship for the ages. Tell me, how long have you two been married now?"
Worked like a charm. Gail preened under the compliment and wrapped her hand around Ray's arm in glee before launching into their dating history, which unfortunately started from their first meeting in high school.
She was saved from hearing about the night Ray proposed when Kelly, looking fresh as a daisy in a sleeveless yellow blouse, rushed over to hug her.
"Oh, I'm so glad you came!" Kelly exclaimed, clasping her hands and holding her body out in front of her. "Oh, you look so beautiful."
"Well, she is a top model. Kinda hard to look ugly, sis," Gail interjected, rolling her eyes.
"You should see me coming off a twenty-hour flight!" She joked. Kill 'em with grace and kindness.
She may have taken extra care with her appearance today, though. Because her job required her to wear make-up, she often let her skin breathe. So today, Eden only wore a cherry lip balm and a little mascara. If she didn't need to wear it, she wouldn't.
Same with her hair. She had run a brush through it and put it in a high ponytail to avoid it sticking to her neck in the heat. But she left her hair in its natural wavy state. Since she had countless hot irons stroked through the strands when she was working, any opportunity not to do anything to it, she didn't.
However, Eden decided to dress a little sexy casual in a floral, square-necked slip dress that ended just above the knee. She teamed it with white sliders to show off her pretty pedicure. She finished off her look with black round Ray-Bans to protect her eyes from the harsh sun once she stepped outside.
"Thank you so much for inviting me," she told Kelly. "I've missed your infamous barbeques."
Kelly gave a sad smile and nodded at her remark. They turned to stare outside, both overcome by memories of happier times. Fighting with Barron on who would be in charge of the music, Gavin sneaking her a barbequed sausage fresh off the grill, playing a very competitive game of volleyball in the pool, curling her arms around Barron's neck while swimming, using the covering of water to hide what he was doing to her below the surface, risky blowjobs in the bathroom when the adults were tipsy and lazing by the pool. Feeling like she could bottle the emotion of love she felt for Barron at that moment and carry it with her forever.
As Eden gazed at the pool, new memories assaulted her. How her heart was in her throat as a broken-hearted seventeen-year-old climbing the front steps of their home to confront Barron. Approaching the pool and watching her formerly faithful boyfriend with his lips on another girl.
Eden blinked out of the slideshow of memories before she got carried away. She was surprised to find her eyes a little moist. But was it due to the sentimental snapshot in time or the person who made those memories so bittersweet?
"Go outside and join the fun, Eden." Kelly softly told her. "Us oldies will be getting the food ready for when the men are done pretending to grill."
Eden laughed and nodded. She had put it off long enough. But before she put on her happy face, she needed a little liquid courage. Her Mom was two steps ahead of her, pressing a chilled bottle of cider in her hands and shooing her outside.
With no excuses left, Eden stepped through the patio doors and immediately put her sunglasses down to cover her eyes from the bright afternoon sun. She wished it was an invisible cloak, given the number of heads that immediately turned toward her.
Pasting on an extra bright smile that she used to promote Sephora's new lipstick line, she awkwardly waved her bottle at the awaiting crowd.
"Hey, y'all!" She called out.
Hey, y'all?She had never uttered those words before in her life.
She spotted Sofia and Ryan's heads pop up from behind whatever magazine they were reading, and they enthusiastically waved her over.
Right. She just needed to walk past the patio area where the large grill, men, and a certain someone were gathered.
Head held high, Eden nodded at the group, murmuring a "hey, how are ya?" to the loiters on the side. Barron, luckily, was standing away on the other side, so she made sure to keep the grill between them. She could sense him watching her, beer in hand and his other hand buried into the pocket of his shorts.
Gavin waved his grilling fork at her, a semi-burnt sausage hanging off the end. "Come and have a sausage," he called out.
She heard a bark of laughter and internally rolled her eyes. Simon.
"Thanks." She was about to say,"I love your sausages,"but she thought that would cause Simon to have an aneurysm.
She accepted the hot meat, wrapped in a paper towel, before returning Gavin's hug. Mike tipped his beer at her.
"How are they doin' in there?" He asked.
