Tahiry rolled her eyes, like that was the craziest thing she’d ever heard of.
“She’s supposed to be my friend. Why would she go talking about me?”
“You’re supposed to be her friend, and you’re not even giving her the benefit of the doubt,” I replied. She saw some sense in that, and I continued, “You guys have been friends since the third grade. You have to find a way to forgive her.”
“Forgive her? That’s not going to happen. I do like Andrew. But he’s never going to ask me out now after she put me on blast like that.”
I let some sternness enter my voice. “First of all, he doesn’t need to ask you out because you’re too young to date.”
“Uggh. Mom, you’re missing the point,” she protested.
“Second,” I continued, “any guy that is interested in you is not going to let some stupid post change his mind.”
She stopped short, like she was thinking about what I said.
I patted her hand. “Honey, people make mistakes, they do selfish things, and even intentionally try to hurt one another. It’s going to happen. But you owe it to your friendship to try to work past the problems. Don’t throw away years of friendship over a single mistake.” I brushed my fingers along her cheek. “Talk to her.”
She paused. “You really think I should?”
I nodded. “Nothing should come in the way of good friends.”
Tahiry finally smiled. “I’m going to call her now.” She stood. “Thanks, Mom. You’re the best.”
I smiled as she darted off. Then I went back to party planning for my own best friend. I couldn’t wait for the day when Tahiry could know true friendship like that I shared with Felise.
51
Felise
GOD HAD TRULY TURNED OUR family around. While I knew I had a long road ahead with Greg, we were truly on the right track. I think seeing that Liz was okay helped the healing. Greg was still standoffish, and I could see the pain in his eyes every time we talked, but he was trying. He’d returned to our bedroom last night, and we’d made love. The sex was passionate, almost angry, but I knew he was feeling all kinds of mixed emotions, so I let him release his frustrations in the bedroom. I was just grateful to be with him again. I was grateful for his ability to forgive.
And this—my surprise birthday party—that he’d carefully planned hammered home how there could be healing after hurt.
Liz seemed like she understood. She was with Tahiry tonight. At first, I was nervous about that, but she’d assured me that she wouldn’t tell Tahiry what had happened. Sabrina was still a potential problem and part of why I knew, despite what Greg said, I was going to have to come clean with Paula. And since Sabrina would be expecting another payment soon, I was going to have to do that sooner rather than later.
Tonight, though, I wanted to focus all my attention on my party—the first glimpse at happiness I’d had in a long time.
“If I may have everyone’s attention, please?”
I smiled as my husband lightly tapped his fork against his wineglass. He looked magnificent in a tan blazer, a black Calvin Klein shirt, and my favorite jeans. When we’d arrived to the Hyatt, Greg had told me we were going to the Spindletop restaurant for an intimate dinner. We’d gotten a room so we didn’t have to go home tonight.
Greg cleared his throat and continued as the room grew silent. “These past few weeks have been very trying for the people we love”—he looked at Paula and smiled—“and the people who love them.” He looked at me.
I returned his smile. I was genuinely grateful. If you had asked me six weeks ago if I could ever love my husband more, I’d tell you no. Here we were, surrounded by family and friends. My sisters waved at me. I knew they were happy to see me happy. Some of my sorority sisters were here, as well as a couple of my colleagues. I didn’t know how the night could get any more perfect.
Greg turned his attention back to Paula. “Paula, I want you to know that I have always admired your commitment to your family and your dedication to your friends. I want you to know no matter what, I will always be there for you.”
That made me frown. “I will always be there”? Seems like it would have been more appropriate for Greg to say we will always be there. But I shook off that thought and continued listening.
He stared out at the audience. “I’m so glad you all are here to help me celebrate my wife’s birthday. She has given so much to everyone. It’s time that we gave her something back.”
I found myself wishing Liz had come, but Greg had been adamant that he wanted our “dinner” to include just the two of us, so we’d done dinner with the three of us last night.