Season of Sisters (36 page)

"You do it for me, Maggie," Charlene said. "You devise a plan I can present to my board. You're the perfect person for this job. You've done such a great job planning Grace's anniversary party. Please say you'll help?"

"Just like that?" Maggie asked, amazed.

" 'Just like that' is the only way I get anything done," Charlene replied with a laugh.

"Do it." Holly slipped an arm around her waist. "It's just what you need, Maggie, and the job suits you perfectly. You do like your sparkles, after all."

"True," Maggie mused. Excitement sparked to life within her.

Grace nodded. "I agree with Holly and Charlene. This is exactly the challenge you need, honey. It'll be so good for you. It's a very worthwhile project, and I believe that building a program from scratch like this, why, it's like a new baby. A new baby to put in your nest to nurture."

"My empty nest," Maggie said absently while her mind raced. Ideas bloomed. Plans began to form. So caught up in the moment was she that it took her a moment to notice the change in the atmosphere of the room. Finally, belatedly, she spied the delight in Holly's eyes, the approval in Charlene's expression. She heard the wonder in Grace's soft whisper, "Oh, my."

The dress was a knee-length, ivory Italian silk with a matching beaded jacket. Modest, elegant, with timeless lines and classic appeal, it could have been made with Grace in mind.

Then Charlene said, "I can just picture Grace walking down the aisle of that church. It's the perfect dress for the ceremony."

In a cold, quiet voice, Grace asked, "What ceremony?"

* * *

"Uh oh," Holly murmured as tension slowly swept through the room.

Grace held herself like a queen, her back straight, shoulders squared. A pretty Bavarian crystal crown hung on the wedding veil rack behind her, and Holly was tempted to pin it to Grace's hair to complete the look. A stronger temptation was to bolt for the door, saying "I told you so" as she passed Maggie, leaving her to deal with the fallout.

And it looked to be a lot of fallout.

"What ceremony?"

Holly watched Maggie draw a deep breath, then leap from the proverbial plane. "Well, shoot. You weren't supposed to find out. We've planned a surprise for you. It's going to be wonderful, Grace. You deserve so much."

"Tell. Me. What. You've. Done."

Maggie shot Holly a beseeching look, but she kept her mouth zipped. This was Maggie's idea, Maggie's plan. Hadn't Holly tried to warn her? Hadn't Maggie dismissed Holly's caution with a sweep of her hand? To Holly's way of thinking, Maggie had earned the sharp side of Grace's tongue. Up to a point, anyway, for Holly simply couldn't see Grace taking her anger too far.

Maggie walked to the center rack and began straightening the veils. "We wanted your fiftieth wedding anniversary party to be everything you dreamed of and more. It's your Pink Sisterhood wish, sugar, and we wanted it to be something everyone will remember for years and years to come."

"What ceremony!"

"Oh, Grace. You're going to love this." Maggie flashed her a nervous smile. "You and Ben are scheduled to renew your vows at St. Stephen’s. Reverend Banks will preside. It will be a traditional wedding service, the formal wedding you never had. I can't wait for you to see your little granddaughter dressed up as a flower girl. Your daughter is your matron of honor. She has chosen a flattering gown in the prettiest shade of pink. Magnolia pink, in fact. I decided just today we need to add magnolia blossoms to the floral arrangements. I'll do that as soon as I get home. Your sons drew straws to see who gets to walk you down the aisle. I don't remember who won, though. I'd have to check my book. Ben and Sally chose the music, but now that the surprise is out, you might as well look over everything and see what adjustments you'd like to make."

"Who is paying for all this?"

Holly held her breath as Maggie darted a look toward Charlene. She stepped forward and said, "The arrangements are all part of your Pink Sisterhood wish."

"How much has it cost?"

"Cost? Oh, I couldn't say."

"Do I need to call the foundation's wish director and ask her? She's the one who makes the arrangements, right?"

"Ordinarily, yes. But in this case—"

"In this case what?"

Charlene darted a glance toward Maggie. "It's different."

"How?"

"Well... um... it's a directed wish."

"Which means?"

"The funds to pay for your wish are not coming from wedding gown sales. A donor chose your wish to grant. She's paying for everything."

Grace stood silent and still, taking it all in. Holly started to breathe again. Maybe this wouldn't cause a big stink, after all.

She thought too soon. Eyes blazing, Grace whirled on Maggie. Her hand flew out and she slapped Maggie's cheek. "How dare you!"

Oh, no.
Holly gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

Maggie fell back a step, her hand against her cheek. She blinked rapidly, fighting back tears that were clearly due to emotional rather than physical pain. "Grace... I—"

"Don't try to deny it. I know it's you. Maggie Moneybags. Maggie the Manager. You've done it all, haven't you? Your money is paying for everything. Never mind what I wanted, you knew best."

The bitterness in her voice caught even Holly by surprise. Maggie looked like she was about to faint. Charlene had her head bowed and she rubbed her temples with her fingertips.

"Please, Grace," Maggie tried again. "Give me a chance to explain."

"Why should I?" She tore off the jacket, yanked down the zipper on the dress, and shrugged out of it. "Will explaining change a thing? From the very first you knew how I felt about accepting charity from Pink Sisterhood."

She threw the dress at Maggie.

"Now, Grace," Charlene scolded. "It's not charity."

"No? Let's see. Someone else is paying for something for me because I can't afford to do it. I call that charity."

"It's a gift," Maggie snapped, clutching the dress to her chest. "And dad-gummit, Grace, you are not being very gracious about accepting it."

"Maggie's right, Grace," Charlene hastened to say. "It is a gift. She called me right after the Fort Worth sale asking to grant your wish."

"See? That proves my point." Grace's voice was a full octave higher than normal. "She didn't even know me then. She wasn't giving me a gift, she was giving me charity. And I don't want it. I don't need it. I'll have a backyard barbeque just liked I'd planned from the beginning. You can take your wedding gowns and flower arrangements and organists and... and... stick 'em in peach cake."

With a last glance around, she stomped toward the door.

"Hold on," Holly said, stepping in front of her. Panic fluttered in her chest. "Just wait a minute, Grace. Don't you think you might be overreacting just a tad here?"

"Oh, so you're on her side, too. I should have known. Three is always a difficult number in a friendship because two gang up and take sides against one. It was that way when I was growing up. It was that way with my daughters. I should have expected it."

"I'm not on anyone's side. You're not being fair."

"Fair? You want to talk about fair? Going behind a friend's back, lying to her, are acts of fairness?"

"It was a surprise. We were trying to do something nice."

"And I know why." Tears spilled from Grace's eyes and she vibrated with emotion. "I know why. You think I'm dying. You've done all this because you think I'm dying. You've been my friends because I'm
dying!"

The word echoed in the sudden silence.

Chin held high and voice regally chilly, Grace said, "Excuse me. I need to run by the baseball stadium while I'm in town."

Grace left them standing like statues. Charlene sent Maggie and Holly a worried look, then raced after Grace.

Holly whirled on Maggie and said the first thing that came to her mind. "I told you this was a bad idea."

Temper sparked in Maggie's eyes. "Thank you very much. That's just what I needed to hear. 'I told you so.' That really solves the problem, doesn't it." She stomped across the room to where her purse lay on a table.

"Well, it's true. I warned you from the beginning that she wouldn't like it. She doesn't want to be treated special. It plays upon all her fears. You wouldn't have done all this if she weren't sick."

"But she
is
sick." Maggie fished a giant-size bag of M&M's from the depths of her handbag.

"Not with us, she's not. That's why we're her friends."

"Aha." Maggie ripped open the candy bag with a flourish. "So I have to lie to be her friend? Excuse me, but isn't that what her complaint is?"

"Don't yell at me about it."

"Well, she's not here to yell at." Maggie took a handful of M&M's, then offered the bag to Holly. "I'm frustrated. She agreed to be a Pink Sisterhood wish recipient, so I shouldn't get hammered for granting it. I wouldn't have gotten to know her otherwise. You know, Holly, I don't appreciate your holier-than-thou attitude. I could use some support here. Grace is spittin' mad and all I tried to do was help." Hurt colored her tone as she lowered her voice and grumbled, "I can't believe she called me names. Moneybags. Maggie the Manager. That's so rude."

"If the Ferragamo fits," Holly muttered, popping green and yellow pieces of candy into her mouth.

Maggie scowled, swallowed, and said, "Excuse me? What did you say?"

"I said if the shoe fits. It's not always easy for a person with normal resources to pal around with someone who spreads money like dirt. As far as being a manager, you can't deny you have control issues."

Maggie's back snapped straight. She grabbed the candy bag from Holly. "Control issues?"

"Yes, control issues. You try to control everything, Maggie. Speaking from a teacher's perspective, I'll bet you were the PTA mom from hell."

"I resent that. I was a good mother to my sons. My job was to teach them and nurture them and make them feel safe. I taught them values and gave them guidance. I instilled them with self-confidence and self-esteem. They've grown into fine young men. Men to be proud of. I did a good job." She tossed a half-dozen M&M's into her mouth at once.

Holly curled a lip. "Yeah? I guess that's why none of them are talking to you now."

Maggie gasped, choked on her candy. Holly hit her once on the back, then stepped away. She felt a shimmer of shame at the cruelty of her words, but the look on Grace's face, the pain in her voice, had boiled all Holly's insecurities to the surface.

Grace was afraid.

Holly hadn't realized that, not until just now, and it shook her to the core. The strength. The confidence. It was all assumed, an act, just an illusion. Grace was faking it and that made her whole hissy fit about lying downright hypocritical.

Maggie wasn't one to let an attack go unchallenged. Once she found her tongue, she wielded it like a weapon. "At least I have children. I'm not too afraid to live my life. You and your Life List, that's such a joke. You're gonna ski black diamond mountains and dive underwater wrecks, but you're too scared to risk everyday living. Maybe I am too controlling on occasion, but at least I know what control is. You've given yours away."

Holly's spine snapped straight. "I have not."

"Oh? Right. You're basing decisions today on whether or not you might have your boobs cut off in ten years. Now that's command-and-control thinking. Good thing you're not in the military. I'd worry about our country."

"No wonder Mike left you."

Maggie stepped back, lips pinched in a blanched face. She threw down the bag of M&M's. Round, colored candies rolled across the floor. "I think we're done here. Don't you?" Maggie strode toward the door. "The limo will take you to the airport. I'm going to run a few errands before the flight back."

In the empty dressing room, Holly stared at the two wedding gowns lying crumpled on the floor. Crumpled gowns. Crumpled dreams.

Crumpled friendships.

And they still had the long flight home. Holly shuddered at the thought and quoted Bette Davis. "Fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a bumpy night."

Chapter 16

Maggie walked into her living room
and kicked off her Jimmy Choo pumps. She checked her watch and calculated she had an hour to kill before she needed to leave for the hairdresser for her quarterly session with bleach and foils.

It was the one bit of pampering she completely despised. Throughout most of her life, she'd taken great pride in being a natural blonde. Then one morning three years ago, she'd looked into the mirror and saw something worse than the gray other women her age were beginning to see. Maggie saw dull. Faded, flat, washed-out blond. Lifeless blond. She'd rushed to the hairdresser that very afternoon.

She wasn't actually due for a color touch-up for another two weeks, but tomorrow she was scheduled to speak at a chamber of commerce meeting about Pink Sisterhood' new Golden goals program and she wanted to look her best.

Upon returning home from the debacle in St. Louis—which had concluded with a truly tense plane ride home, seated between a scowling Holly to her right and a steaming Grace on her left—a lonely Maggie had jumped feet first into getting her idea up and running. Putting her Junior League experience to work, she had labored around the clock meeting with security specialists, jewelry appraisers, and marketing people to develop a business plan. Now the program was ready to be launched.