Well done.
I spy Vlad at the edge of the crowd, clapping his hands along with everyone else. Then more champagne is poured, the cake served, and I turn my attention to helping Frey and his son clean frosting off their clothes.
I sense the tenseness in the air before seeing David and Tracey approach. They are not holding hands. She tries to smile at me, but it falls a hundred kilowatts short of her usual high-beam grin. David is tight-lipped, shoulders bunched.
“Uh-oh,” I whisper to Frey. “Here comes trouble.” I hand him the napkin I was using to help John-John clean up. “You take Tracey, I’ll take David.” And I’m off to grab David’s arm, pulling him to the edge of the garden where we can have some privacy.
“What the fuck, Anna?” he snaps, rubbing his bicep.
I guess I grabbed him harder than I realized. But he’s not going to sidetrack me. “Fine way to talk to a bride,” I snap right back. “What did you do to Tracey?”
His face softens from aggravation to something that looks a lot like guilt. “I broke up with her.”
Now I wish I’d grabbed him harder. “You broke up with her? At my wedding? What the fuck, David?”
“Fine way for a bride to talk,” he growls right back. But now it’s guilt plainly stamped on his face. “I just couldn’t let her go on thinking we had a future. It wasn’t fair.”
“Jesus, David. Tell me it’s not because of Gloria.”
“It’s not because of Gloria.”
Too fast, and not at all convincing. “So all that bullshit you fed me about you and Gloria just being friends was just that? Bullshit?” I don’t give him time to respond. “You had sex with Tracey last night.”
His head jerks up. “How do you know that?”
“Because I heard you.”
Color floods up his face. “God. You could hear us?”
He’s embarrassed. Good. No sense letting him off the hook by telling him it was because of my super-acute sense of hearing. “Yes. So, you had sex with her last night and broke up with her this morning. Real classy, David.”
His jaw tightens. “We’re both adults. She wanted to have sex. So did I.”
“Last night. So did you just wake up this morning and think, today Anna is getting married. Good time to break up with Tracey.”
He looks down at his hands. “It wasn’t like that. Exactly.”
“I don’t even want to know what it was like. Exactly. John-John is more mature than you are.” But I soften my voice. “Can’t you make things right with Tracey?”
“How am I supposed to do that?” For the first time in our conversation, his eyes spark defensively. “Tracey knew all along I wasn’t prepared to get serious. I told her so. I told you so, remember? But with all the wedding preparations and watching you and Frey so crazy in love, it suddenly hit me that I wasn’t being fair to Tracey. She deserves someone who can give her what you have. It isn’t me.”
I take his arm and turn him to face Frey and Tracey still standing by the wedding cake. “Are you sure? Look at Tracey. She’s beautiful, smart, strong, sexy, and she cares about you.”
He looks at Tracey. The sadness tugging at her mouth and clouding her eyes makes my heart heavy. But the look quickly morphs into one of grim determination when she catches David’s eyes on her. She squares her shoulders and deliberately turns her back on him.
Tracey is a tough chick. A truth suddenly dawns on me with such clarity, I can’t believe I hadn’t seen it before. One of those “aha” moments you read about in books but seldom experience in real life.
This one hits me with the force of a sledgehammer. Maybe it’s because of my mother or what Frey and I just went through or maybe it’s because of the conversation I had with Vlad. Only one thing matters in this life. And it’s about time I stopped trying to force David into a relationship he doesn’t want because it’s a relationship I think he should.
I take a deep breath and plunge in. “I can’t force you to make things right with Tracey. And I’m about to utter words you never in your wildest dreams imagined I’d ever say.”
David’s face darkens. “What now?”
Are the words going to get caught in my throat? Choke me? Shit. Let’s get this over with. I look David square in the eyes. “If it’s really Gloria you love, don’t waste any more time. Go get her.”
I couldn’t have surprised David more if I’d declared my own undying love for him. His eyes widen, his mouth falls open.
I don’t wait for him to regain composure. I’m afraid if I do, I’ll take it all back. I rush on, “I think you’re going to regret it. Big-time. And please, don’t bring her around the office. I may lose control and shoot her. But I’ve learned something these last few weeks. Life is too short and love is too important to squander. I’m doing this for Tracey as much as I’m doing this for you. Tracey is all the things I mentioned and more and you are absolutely right. There is someone out there for her. If it isn’t you, she shouldn’t waste any more time finding him.”
David’s expression changes from astonishment to deeply suspicious in the blink of an eye. “How much champagne have you had today?”
“Not enough. And I’m going to have to drink a lot more to be able to forget this conversation.”
“Well, I’m going to call Gloria before you do.” He glances at Tracey. “Will you tell Tracey I’m leaving?”
“Oh no. It’s up to you to tell her. Maybe she’ll want to stay on for a few days. Maybe she’ll want to leave with you. In any case, I can have the pilot ready to fly in a few hours.”
David leans down to kiss my cheek. “Thanks, Anna.”
“Don’t thank me yet. In fact, don’t thank me for this ever.”
But David is already off, moving toward Frey and Tracey. I watch as Tracey listens to David tell her he’s going back to San Diego. But there are no histrionics on her part, no recriminations. She’s put on her big-girl panties and it’s in that moment I know she’s going to be fine. She merely shrugs and then they both move toward the house.
I move to Frey’s side. “Tracey tell you David broke up with her?”
He nods. “They’re going back to San Diego as soon as possible.” He tilts his head to look at me. “So you couldn’t talk him into trying again, huh?”
“Actually, I did.” I slip my arm in Frey’s. “But not the way you think. I’ll tell you about it later.” I watch David and Tracey disappear into the house. “Do you have your cell phone on you? I’ve got to make a call.”
LUCKILY THERE ARE NO MORE CRISES FOR THE REST OF the afternoon. By four, Frey and I have said thank you and good-bye to all the guests.
David and Tracey have gone to dinner in town. They’ll be leaving tomorrow to go back to San Diego—something about weather patterns making it impossible to leave tonight. It will sadden me to see them go, the only consolation being the knowledge that in time, Gloria will certainly fuck things up with David. If he’s lucky, when it happens Tracey won’t have found her Prince Charming yet and David might get another chance with her. Maybe then he’ll be wise enough to appreciate it.
God knows, it took me long enough with Frey.
I look around. Only family left.
Now we’re gathered at the big oak table at the side of the house, out of the way of the cleanup crew. John-John has his head down on the table, an afternoon of partying finally catching up with him. Frey lifts him up gently and takes him upstairs for a nap while Dad pops the cork on a bottle of wine. When Frey returns, Dad has filled glasses for all of us, Trish included, though hers is less than a quarter filled.