Elizabeth gave a twirl in the mirror. She couldnot believe this was her. Two-and-a-half years ago, she was frumpyand dumpy. Of course, in that time, she had nearly committedsuicide, almost lost her daughter, rebuilt her marriage, consideredhaving an affair, had her name and reputation completely ruined,had her husband walk out on her, severed ties with her parents, andwas in the process of divorcing her husband. She couldn't believethat she was still standing, let alone gorgeous andglowing.
In addition to the physical transformation, shehad undergone a mental and emotional one as well. She was sure herfirst instinct would always be to seek approval from the peoplearound her. But tonight, she needed no one's approval. She knew shelooked good. Elizabeth wore her confidence like a suit of armor.She was sure that attending this event, with Peter no less, wouldset tongues wagging. She knew that tonight was the night shestopped hiding. Tonight was the night for her to walk with her headheld high, for although she had been down, there was no way in hellshe was going out.
Elizabeth got in her van and drove over to thehotel where the gala was being held. She knew it was silly,insisting on meeting Peter there, but it gave her a way to escape,should things become overwhelming. She hoped that no one wasblatantly rude to her. She hoped no one made comments about her sexlife. She hoped that she and Peter had a good time and that thingswere not awkward between them. It was a lot to hope for from onebrief evening.
Elizabeth found a relatively close parkingspot, and texted Peter to let him know she had arrived. He wasstill on his way, so she sat in the warm van and waited beforegoing out in the cold weather. Although she had a black cape thathad been her grandmother's, the red chiffon provided little warmth,and Elizabeth had had enough of freezing out in the cold. When herphone signaled another text, she expected that it was Peterannouncing his arrival. But it wasn't. It was Jack.
"Plans for tonight?"
She hadn't communicated with him in weeks. Hehad texted her, but she somehow found the resolve not to answer.Tonight though, her nerves took up most of her extra energy, andshe replied, "Nothing special."
Elizabeth was startled by a light tap on herwindow. Her heart racing from the guilt, she saw Peter smiling ather. She hurriedly dropped her phone in her purse. She exited thevan and allowed him to escort her inside.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: February 16,2013
As she could have predicted, and despite hernewfound confidence, Elizabeth started to panic as they walked intothe main room. She and Peter walked side-by-side but not touching.Peter had never been one for public displays of affection. However,she had hoped their familiarity would have at least made him offerher his arm or place a hand on her back as they entered the vastballroom. Red and silver were attached to every surface, almostoverwhelmingly so. Elizabeth smiled inwardly. Dressed in redherself, she would most likely blend into the background, and shedoubted anyone would even notice her.
She and Peter made it into the room andimmediately went to the side, circumnavigating the room to accessthe bar in the back. As good as she felt, and as proud of herselfas she was, Elizabeth did not think she would ever be the type tobe able to walk directly across the middle of the room. Peterdisappeared from her side for a moment to get drinks from the bar.Elizabeth slid up to a high table and put her purse down to wait.Out of habit, she pulled her phone from her small clutch. She knewthat Peter's mother would contact him if there was a problem, stillshe couldn't help but check.
Jack had texted her back. She rolled her eyeswhen she saw his message. "What exactly does one wear for nothingspecial?"
She took the bait, unable to resist his pull,even through the technology. "Why do you want to know?"
Peter had returned and put a glass of whitewine down on the table. She picked it up and lifted it in a smalltoast to Peter. She held his gaze as she took a long sip from herwine. He looked uncomfortable, and looked away quickly. He was notcomfortable with eye contact. As predicted, he had not commented onher appearance. Elizabeth would not let it bother her tonight. Shesupposed that he would not flatter or compliment her. She had madeit crystal clear that she did not want to be with him. At least shedidn't think she did. Being with Peter was easy. It fit, like acomfortable pair of old jeans. He never pushed her to be more.Hell, he hadn't even realized she was lacking to beginwith.
But was that what she wanted? Did she wantsomeone who was content with the shell of a person? Should she holdout for something more? For someone who wanted all of her, herentire soul. She wasn't sure that person even existed. She drainedher wine glass without ever putting it down. She didn't need tofigure this out tonight. Tonight was just about havingfun.
Peter had turned to greet a colleague asElizabeth put down her now-empty wine glass. She wouldn't be ableto drink much tonight, since she had driven herself, but she couldhave another drink before dinner. After dinner, she would notdrink. She picked up her phone to put it back into her purse whenshe noticed that Jack had texted her again. "Because, for doingnothing special, red is an excellent choice. It's the color onewears when she wants to be noticed."
Holy shit, Jack was here. Elizabeth looked upand tried to appear casual as she glanced around the room. Oh, thiswas
