Buela helped watch Claire so that Mimi could go to school. She enrolled in the community college and began a part time job working a few hours every morning at Colleen’s Bakery in town. Those early years had been hard. Zeke would come home beat, but always found enough energy to play with his little daughter so that Mimi could catch up on her homework. At night, they’d collapse in bed, too tired to do much more than mumble goodnight to one another. But inevitably, sometime before morning he’d nudge her on the shoulder, or kiss her forehead, or better yet, she’d wake up to find his fingers or his mouth working between her legs. They’d make love, sometimes more than once, and end up exhausted and sweaty. But they were happy.
Zeke graduated from the police academy at the top of his class and went to work for the Panama City Beach police department. He worked night shifts and took all the overtime he could, even working private security on his off days. Mimi finished her two year degree and transferred to the University of West Florida in Pensacola, where she was able to commute a couple of days a week and finish a degree in English. About that time an opening came up in Whispering Bay’s small police department and Zeke decided to take it. They bought a modest little house close to the beach that had been in foreclosure and Mimi had reveled in fixing it up.
They’d been married almost five years and accomplished what a lot of other young couples hadn’t been able to. Momma and Daddy had eventually come around and offered to pay off the rest of their mortgage as a belated wedding gift. “It’s about the same amount of money I’d have spent on a big fancy wedding,” Daddy had said. Zeke had refused to take the money, but Mimi persuaded him to accept it on the condition that they put it into a college fund for their children.
Then Buela died suddenly of a heart attack and it hit the Grant family hard. Allie was eighteen and on her way to college, and Mimi was a few weeks pregnant with a new baby. Buela left Allie and Zeke a life insurance policy that allowed Allie to pay for college and even travel around the world on her summers off. Zeke used the money to pay off their mortgage and invested what was left. They weren’t rich, but they were comfortable enough that Mimi could stay home with the kids and Zeke didn’t have to work a second job anymore.
The years went by and they settled into a comfortable routine. Mimi became PTA president and Zeke coached little league and soccer. They went on family camping trips and to Disney World and bought a minivan. When the old chief retired, Zeke was promoted to his current job. And because life is so not fair, over time Mimi’s hair began to get those ugly grays around the temple, while Zeke…well, like most men, Zeke only seemed to get better with age.
At nineteen he’d been gorgeous the way young men could be. Tall and muscular with a strong chin and piercing dark eyes. As a man, though, he grew to be exceptional. With the years came a confidence only hinted at before. Men respected him and people liked him (maybe not Bruce and Larry and the other members of the city council, but that was because they couldn’t bend Zeke to their will). And women…well, Mimi had long since grown used to the idea that women envied her.
And it wasn’t just the Betty Jeans of Whispering Bay. That she could laugh off. Once, Mimi found a pair of black lace bikini underwear (certainly no laughing matter) in the pocket of Zeke’s jeans. She’d never had reason to suspect that Zeke might be cheating on her and even the damning evidence of those panties (while making her see red) hadn’t been enough to make her distrust her husband. Still. She needed to know exactly whose they were and how they ended up in Zeke’s possession.
So she confronted him. “Somehow I just can’t see you wearing these.” She held the panties up by the inside label with the tips of her fingers, like they were going to explode.
Zeke had glanced up from his morning paper. He chuckled and shook his head. “Those belong to some chick who works at the gas station over near the bridge.”
“And?” she prompted.
“And, I went to fill the car with gas and when I was paying, she slipped them to me along with my receipt.”
“So you put them in your pocket?”
“What the hell else was I supposed to do? There were people in line behind me. Should I have tossed them in the trashcan in front of an audience? I shoved ‘em in my pocket and forgot about them.”
“You forgot about them? Really? Zeke, she was propositioning you!”
“No shit. C’mon, Mimi, be real. You can’t be jealous of a pair of skanky panties.”
No, she wasn’t. But she had a right to be indignant about the whole thing. It was obvious by Zeke’s attitude that this type of “encounter” wasn’t a rare occurrence and that he’d learned to brush it off as inconsequential.
She was making something out of nothing. It shouldn’t bother her, but it did. After all, she was only human. But it wasn’t Zeke’s fault that the girl at the gas station had no class. So Mimi went about her regular routine and everything seemed fine. But little by little something changed. She didn’t suspect Zeke of being unfaithful to her, but he’d become moody, when he’d never been that before. She asked him if it was problems at work, but he denied it. And with the moodiness came the running every night. At first, she’d encouraged it. Not that Zeke wasn’t already supremely fit, but everyone knew that running released endorphins and that was good f
or you. But the moodiness only seemed to get worse and with it came a new autocratic demeanor with their children. That, she found hard to swallow.
Was he having a mid-life crisis? He was only thirty-seven, a little on the young side for something like that, but maybe that was it.
And then came the day she’d found something else she wasn’t supposed to find. And that she hadn’t been able to brush off. Or to forgive.
*~*~*
The Harbor House was Whispering Bay’s fanciest restaurant. It was located on the gulf and its specialty was seafood, done up southern style. Mimi had come out here last week to speak to the manager regarding the “urgent” situation going on in the lot next door to the restaurant. She couldn’t do anything about the construction per se, but she was able to speak to Tom, who worked for Pappas Hernandez Construction, the company doing the work, and they promised to have their crew off the premises by five p.m. so that it wouldn’t interfere with The Harbor House’s dinner time traffic crowd.
The manager had been grateful and offered to comp Mimi a meal. She’d refused the meal (it didn’t seem kosher, what with her being a public servant and all) but revisiting the place had given her an idea. The restaurant had a large deck that overlooked the water and a banquet room that was perfect for not-too-large parties. In other words, it was the ideal venue for a wedding reception.
As planned, Lauren came fifteen minutes earlier than the time they’d told Allie. Her chin length blonde hair was pulled back in a headband and she wore a red linen sixties style shift dress, which Mimi supposed she either bought at an estate sale or made herself to look like a retro piece. Mimi gave her friend a swift hug. “How’s business?” she asked, referring to Baby Got Bump.
“Busy crazy,” Lauren said, looking a little flushed. “Is Allie here yet?”
“Not yet,” Mimi said, instinctively lowering her voice. “Let’s go out to my car.” Meticulously laid out in the back seat of the minivan, was Buela’s wedding dress. “What do you think?” Mimi asked.
“Oh my God. If Nate and I weren’t already married I’d so steal this dress in a heartbeat.”
Mimi giggled. “Then let me help you.” She carefully lifted the dress off the seat and between the two of them they transferred the gown to Lauren’s car. “Remember, not a word to Allie.”
“Cross my heart and hope to die,” Lauren said. “It’ll take me a couple of days to study it and see what I have to work with. Allie’s tall, but I think I can make this happen.” She paused. “Do you think she’ll love it as much as we hope she does?”
Normally, Mimi would never interfere with another woman’s wedding dress. It was like sacred ground. She’d watched enough episodes of Say Yes to the Dress to know that even the sweetest, most down to earth girl could turn into a Bridezilla when it came to the dress she planned to wear on her special day. She just had a feeling that this was the right thing to do. And she wanted Allie to see the gown in its full potential before she presented her with the idea of wearing her grandmother’s dress.