Ladies' Night by Andrews, Kay (popular books of all time .TXT) 📕

I had to get help. I went online and googled divorce and therapy and Sarasota, and Paula’s name popped up.

“After that first night, I knew there was something off about Paula. Her credentials are actually pretty impressive, but she’s very careful not to advertise herself as a therapist or a marriage counselor. She just calls herself a divorce coach. Which got me to wondering.”

“Why’d you even keep coming to group after that first night? Or even after the second night, when Paula passed out cold?” Grace asked.

Suzanne looked at the faces sitting around the table. “By then, I knew it wasn’t really about her helping me. You all had shared your stories. I knew you were hurting as badly as I was, and I thought maybe you’d help me find a way to deal with this horrible sadness and bitterness that was engulfing me. Turns out, I was right.”

“Awwww,” Ashleigh said, beaming. “That’s so sweet.”

“But Paula’s helped me, too,” Suzanne said. “In her own way. Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m not curious about what you discovered, Camryn.”

“Okay,” Camyrn said. “Here goes.”

*   *   *

Rochelle brought another round of drinks, but Suzanne pushed hers away, untouched. “I did wonder if it was something like that. Paula’s not a bad person, you know. Just … damaged. Like all of us.”

Ashleigh was not convinced. “You mean, I’m paying three hundred dollars an hour to get counseling from a convicted drug addict?”

“Recovering drug addict,” Grace said. “And remember, Paula doesn’t call herself a counselor or a therapist. Just a divorce coach. And who better to coach people through this kind of crap than somebody who’s been through it herself?”

“I still think it’s a rip-off,” Ashleigh insisted. But a moment later, she lowered her voice. “But I don’t even care about Paula anymore. I don’t even care about that stinker Judge Stackpole. I’ve got news, y’all. Boyce called! He wants to meet me for lunch next week. And here’s the best part. We’re meeting at the Ritz!”

“I’ve never eaten at the Ritz-Carlton,” Rochelle said, alighting on an empty chair next to Ashleigh. “Is the food as good as they say?”

“Oh, Rochelle, you’re so cute,” Ashleigh said, with her tinkling laugh. “Do you know, I’ve never actually eaten there? As far as I’m concerned, lunch at the Ritz is totally not about the food.”

“It’s not?” Rochelle looked puzzled.

“Now you’re going to make me tell all my naughty secrets,” Ashleigh said. She cupped her hands and whispered in Rochelle’s ear.

“Ohhh,” Rochelle said knowingly. “Now I get it. The Ritz-Carlton is like a high-priced no-tell motel.”

“Exactly.” Ashleigh giggled.

“Did he say why he wants to have lunch?” Grace asked.

“He didn’t have to,” Ashleigh said. “It’s perfectly clear. He wants me back! I wasn’t going to tell y’all this, but since it’s kind of a moot point, I will. I saw Suchita, that’s his girlfriend, leaving Boyce’s office the other day. She’s getting fat! And Boyce does not DO fat. He’s a plastic surgeon, and appearances have always been important to him.” She looked around the table, pausing when she saw Camryn’s face.

“And before you say one word, let me just say that I don’t intend to let him wriggle off the hook that easily. I mean, please! I do have my pride. I mean to make him pay for what he put me through. Boyce doesn’t know it yet, but he’s going to be buying a major piece of jewelry to make it up to me.”

“Ashleigh,” Grace said, “have you really thought this through? You know Boyce was keeping a mistress. You know he cheated on his first wife when he started dating you. What makes you think he won’t do it again?”

“Yeah, baby,” Camryn said. “I’m sorry, but I do not see this tiger changing his stripes.”

“It’s different with us,” Ashleigh said. “Boyce never loved his first wife. Ever. Their marriage was a joke. I didn’t have to break it up. It was already a done deal. So yes, Boyce cheated on me. I’ve accepted that. Hasn’t Paula been yammering for weeks now about acceptance and finding peace?”

Suzanne patted Ashleigh’s hand. “We just don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

“I’m not going to get hurt,” Ashleigh said. “This is a love story. Plain and simple. Happy ever after. Is that so hard for y’all to believe?”

“It’s not that I don’t believe it,” Camryn said. “It’s just that, so far, I’ve never experienced it.”

Ashleigh tossed her hair over one shoulder. “Rochelle, you’re on my side, right? And you were married a really long time to Grace’s daddy, right? Will you please tell these people that there is such a thing as a happy marriage?”

Rochelle pressed her lips together. “Sorry, honey, that’s one thing I wouldn’t know about.” She looked over Ashleigh’s head, her eyes focused on the bar. “Dammit, there’s Miller and Bud again, taking up space and hogging the popcorn.” She stood. “Next thing you know they’ll be having their welfare checks forwarded here. I’ve gotta go chase them off.”

*   *   *

Grace watched her mother hurry away. What was that crack about not knowing anything about happy marriages? She thought back to all the barbed remarks Rochelle had made recently about Butch. At some point, Grace thought, she and Rochelle needed to sit down and really talk about this stuff. Butch had been dead three years now. Was there something about her parents’ marriage Rochelle had been keeping from her?

“Grace?” Suzanne waved a hand in front of her face. “Earth to Grace. Come in Grace.”

“What?” The others were looking at her expectantly. “Sorry, guess I zoned out for a minute there.”

“I was just asking what you thought about Paula’s assignment. You know—the action plan?”

“I think it’s a good idea,” Grace said. “I know for myself, after I walked out on Ben, I was really sort of … rudderless, I guess would be the word.”

“Paralyzed,” Camryn agreed. “After I kicked Dexter to the curb, I couldn’t make the simplest decision. And y’all know that is not like me. I pulled through Starbucks one morning,