The Satin Sash

“A bitch!” Louisa said with such force Toni felt electrocuted in her seat. “And you’re speaking nonsense,” Louisa continued, calming herself with a breath. “I mean, who’s ever heard of that?”

“It’s not that unusual, Louisa.” Toni angled her head and assessed her friend, a little surprised by the sudden, overwhelming ire Louisa was trying and failing to control.“I’ve Googled it.And some people make it work.”

Even while the rest of the world thinks they’re crazy . . .

“But, Toni, you have Grey! How can Grey Richards not be enough for any woman in the world?”

“He’s enough. I adore him! One has nothing to do with the other. Having four children doesn’t mean you don’t love all four of them. Anyway. Enough about me.Tell me about you.”

“You’d be asleep in minutes. No. Explain this to me, because I’m finding it difficult to come to terms with all of this. What would your parents think? I mean, do they even know?”

“I don’t care what they think. I don’t care what anyone thinks except Grey . . . and Heath.” She went red remembering them in Cabo . . . their hands . . . their mouths . . .

Glancing over her shoulder, Louisa scanned the expanse of the restaurant and dropped her voice to a whisper. “How did they . . . Was this at the same time?”

“Sometimes.” Toni cooled her palms with her glass and placed them over her cheeks, refreshing her burning face. “This is a little awkward. Can we talk about you now?”

Louisa sat back, nodded, and for a while they talked. They ate. They laughed.Then an odd, strained silence came, and Louisa said, “No wonder.”

“No wonder what?” Toni asked, munching the last bit of her chicken.

“No wonder Grey has been so distant since his return. He stares blankly off into space, or dictates something while staring at the window. He rubs his face with his hands. Today he hadn’t shaved when he came in. I’ve never seen him looking so scruffy. I thought he was stressed. The wheels in his head never seem to cease, and you know he always seems to be thinking something, evaluating, analyzing? Now I know what he’s . . . stressing about. He’s stressing about you.”

When the words hit—and they took a stunned moment to—her heart clenched awfully tight. If she’d thought she could feel no more anxious, no more confused and miserable, she wasn’t counting on this last.The thought of Grey unhappy . . .

“What do you mean?” she said weakly. “At home he’s . . . at home he’s fine.”

He’d been fine with her all week. At night he whispered to her, told her he loved her, and by day he showered her with attention and welcomed her own eager attempts to be with him. They couldn’t seem to stop calling each other, wanting to be together. She and Grey were fine!

“Really?” Louisa pursed her lips in distaste. “Maybe it’s work stuff, then. I hear there’s an IPO of the company coming up.”

Toni’s eyes dropped to her plate, and she frowned at the remains of her food in puzzlement. Was he closing himself to her? Was he pretending to be all right for her sake? And if he was, could she blame him? Wasn’t she doing the same, desperately attempting to restore their lives as they were before?

As soon as the bill had been paid and they stepped out into the sidewalk,Toni asked, “Want to hit the shops?”

Louisa glanced at her watch. “I need to get back. Lunch hour’s over—”

“Do you know where he is?” Toni whispered, running a hand down her skirt as they hit the busy sidewalks of Michigan Avenue.

“He?”

“Heath.”

Louisa stared at her, then briskly answered,“Oaxaca.” She added meaningfully, “It’s in Mexico.”

Toni waved a hand. “I know where it is.”

“You do? I had to look it up.”

“Louisa?” Pausing as though to think straight, Toni stared at a window display, her eyes on the clothes but her mind far away.“Do you think you could get me his phone number?”

“Might I ask what you want it for?”

“I want to talk to him,” she admitted. To know he is all right, she told herself. “And I want to know if he’s talking to Grey.”

“Give me until this afternoon.”

“Thank you.”