Sea Glass Inn - FF by Karis Walsh - FF

Author:Karis Walsh - FF [FF, Karis Walsh -]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General Fiction, Usernet, C429, Kat, Extratorrents
ISBN: 9781602827714
Publisher: Bold Strokes
Published: 2013-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter FOurteen

Mel sat next to Pam in the back row of chairs as the grooms

recited vows under the trellis she had made and decorated.

She hadn’t been convinced of Pam’s vision for what she had seen as

an ugly, spider-covered piece of junk until she saw the boat in place.

Pam had draped it with netting and glass floats that matched those on

Mel’s trellis. Suddenly the garden had been transformed into a grotto

by the sea, with a magical quality that added to the otherworldly feel

of the ceremony. As she watched the two men exchange the vows they

had written, Mel really did feel as if she had been transported out of

everyday life—where not everyone would approve of or accept the

love she was witnessing—and into a world where only love mattered.

The differences between this ceremony and her own wedding

were enormous. Hers had been formal, traditional, officially

sanctioned. She had loved the planning involved. Her days had been

filled with lists and meetings, decisions and structure. Yes, she had

dated women and experimented with lesbian life while in college.

But she had loved Richard in some ways and had been convinced she

could make a conventional marriage work. Her friends had done it.

One of her sisters had done it. Give up the experiments and youthful

flings and settle into the life everyone expected of her. And for a few

years Mel had been able to keep pretending she was satisfied and

fulfilled. Especially after Danny was born. Until she had a meeting

with his second-grade teacher. And she had been hit hard with the

realization that what she had seen as a choice was really a matter of a

nature she couldn’t deny.

• 115 •

KarIS WalSh

Mel watched the two grooms kiss and then turn to accept the

congratulations from their guests in an informal receiving line. She

had been irritated to have guests in the inn. Scared, intimidated, full

of doubts. But the truth was, she was jealous. Strangers had come into

her home. They had arranged to have this most intimate of ceremonies

in her backyard, had eagerly insisted she attend, had been so excited

to share their happiness. And all she could feel was envy because she

wished she had been married, body and soul, to someone she really

loved.

But she had given up her chance when she married Richard,

and again when she told him about her crush on Danny’s teacher.

They had decided to remain married for their families, for Danny.

She might have declared to Pam that she didn’t want to get married

again, but she wanted… something. A lover, a friend. She wanted to

make up for lost time. To finally get it right, without giving up the

self-sufficiency and strength she had found on her own. She had been

raised to believe in the expected route from dating to love to marriage,

but she wasn’t sure what love would look like this time around. She’d

have to invent a new paradigm, forge her own way. The thought was

exciting. And scary as hell.

And not something Mel needed to deal with tonight. Tonight she

was on the outskirts, hosting the celebration and not really a part of it.

She hovered around the edges as her guests moved to the studio.

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