Page 80 of Marriage (Red, White &) Blues

Anyway, he had me put her on speakerphone, not because of some weird control issue, but because he knew how large the house was and the dimensions of each of the rooms. It made sense to have him on the call. In the process, he got to know my new friend.

Come to think of it, I needed to get to know some ofhis friendstoo. Blake rarely went out with friends. I wondered if it was because he didn’t want to leave me alone while I acclimated to my new life. But then, I got the feeling that Parkers didn’t actually have friends in the way that I thought of them. Ant had friends, and he was a McCain. Pen had friends—obviously—and she was a Von Dutton. Same for Sierra, who came from Winthrops. But they were all black sheep in their families.

Blake was the Parker black sheep. He’d married me. How much more black sheep could a person get? Jupiter straddled the line falling somewhere in the middle, but that still left Blake mostly alone and it pissed me off. The poor man spent his whole life as his family’s black sheep but didn’t have any friends hanging around. Who did all these imaginary men think they were snubbing my husband? No one disrespected my?—

“Gloria?” Lorelei said and I heard the telltale snapping of her fingers.

Oh. Right.“Um…what?” I asked, as I was unable to agree or disagree because I’d heard nothing she’d said. Not one thing to cling to as an imaginary life raft. Not one thing to springboard off of back into the warm water of house redecorating.

Blake lifted me from my place on the sofa to move me to nestle me between his legs on the cushion. “Don’t be offended,” he said to Lorelei. “A thousand thoughts run through her head at any one time. With someone as smart as Glory, you couldn’t expect any less.”

I used to hate compliments, but now as a recovering compliment hater, I accepted it graciously. Which was good because he threw his compliments at me like a ten-dollar compliment hooker needing another payout. But he gave them for free, so… a compliment daddy? In any case, I felt loved. Completely. Utterly. All other ‘lys’ that applied here. Even the ones that hadn’t been thought of yet.

“So do you want to get together tomorrow to go over different room designs?” she asked.

“Yes. We can get together. Blake?” I asked him. “Do you want to be there?”

“I have meetings tomorrow. Send me pics in text. When I’m finished with the meetings, I’ll come to the shop.”

“You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into,” she told Blake.

“Doesn’t matter. If it keeps Gloria happy, I’m all in.” Can you guess why he got laid so often?

The next day, Monday morning, I drove to St. Martins, to meet Lorelei, who’d kindly agreed to come in even though she worked the evening shifts. A better friend would’ve waited for her to start work, but we hung out most days now, so why not do it while furniture shopping?

She kind of looked like her sister… if I squinted… and turned my head just so…

“We’re half-sisters,” The woman said, she being the sister. “Different mothers. I see you trying to find any common traits. Lei and I have none. I’m Olivia.” Olivia held her hand out for me to shake. She was right. They looked nothing alike. Where Lorelei hadcurves, Olivia had straight. That was, almost no waist, narrow hips the same width as her narrow shoulders, and she had to be close to six feet tall. Though she had boobs, so curve-ish? Her hair hung down long and straight and very blonde and she had the bluest eyes possibly ever invented—like all of her Nordic ancestors had channeled their DNA into this one woman.

“I’m Gloria,” I replied.

“Yes, Parker,” she said. “I recognize you from the news.”

I sighed softly. That didn’t surprise me. Still, I plastered a mostly genuine smile on my face and said, “My husband will be joining us when he’s done with his meetings.”

Now was it me, or did Olivia look a little too excited by this news? I guess since no one outside the me and Blake and the lawyers knew about the marriage clause from his grandfather’s will, she probably saw him as my walking bank book. Most people did. Especially his family. Oh, did I forget to throw that little nugget of information in here earlier? They were all privy to the reading of the will, where Blake got the bulk of the estate. But the lawyers had asked him to stay after. Andthatwas when they’d dropped the bombshell. Remember that ifyouever get asked to stay behind.

“Let me escort you to the showroom,” Olivia said, leading us through the front of the store to where the space opened up, separated into vignettes to give the buyer ideas for total room makeovers. I got the feeling that people with the money to shop here never just bought a sofa. They bought a room, or they bought nothing.

My problem with this “whole room” concept was that I didn’t much care for matchy-matchy furnishings. I mixed and matched as I saw fit. One piece of antique and another brand new. I actually saw several different pieces from the first few vignettes that we stopped at that I’d love to see in our living room. Also, what was with all the reds and browns? I liked red. I liked brown. But I kind of wanted pastels. Not girly pastel, which was why I needed Blake’s opinions. But I’d always dreamed of decorating in light, happy colors.

I snapped off pictures of rooms rather than pieces of furniture.

Blake texted me back:There a reason you’re showing whole rooms?

Me:That’s all she offers. Boo.

Blake:I’m sure she’d be fine if you picked pieces.

Me:What if she’s not? I’ve never done this before.

Blake:Ask Lorelei.

Me:Then I’ll look uncouthed. Do youwantme to look uncouthed?

Blake:Canceling last meeting to rescue my wife. You want pieces, I’ll get you pieces.

Me:Chief of Finance for Parker Holdings by day. Super-husband by… day?

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