“You gonna eat the rest of your burger?” JC was sitting across from Beckett at a restaurant off of Broughton Street. His son had been quiet the whole time at lunch, only replying with an occasional “yes” or “I dunno.” JC looked at him and reached over to tap Beckett’s hand.

“Hey.” He waited for Beckett to look up at him.

“What?” Beckett seemed oblivious but JC knew something was up.

“You okay?” JC waited for Beckett to answer. For a ten-year-old, he was a smart kid and didn’t miss much and JC knew it.

“Do you really like her, Dad?” Beckett cut right to the chase. “Tinsley, I mean?” as though JC didn’t already know who he was talking about.

“I do.” JC nodded and wondered if Beckett’s question had come out of a conversation with his mother. “Why? Do you not like her?”

Beckett bit on his lower lip and looked at his dad. He shrugged. “I mean, she’s pretty and stuff. She just, I don’t know. She’s really giggly.”

JC had to chuckle. “Giggly, huh?”

“Yeah. And she gets all excited about stuff. Like my tuxedo or whatever.” Beckett picked at a french fry and dipped it in ketchup but then placed it on the side of his plate. “I just don’t want you to get divorced again.”

JC raised an eyebrow and let out a breath that he didn’t realize he was holding in. “Wow. Yeah, I don’t want to get divorced either, Beck.”

“But if you like her and stuff then you won’t, right?” Beckett’s question was so innocent and the way he framed it made sense in his ten-year-old brain. But it made JC anxious all of the sudden. He shook his head and forced a smile.

“Right.”

Sabrina sat alone at a table in a crowded restaurant on Broughton Street. The Ordinary Pub had been recommended by the concierge at the hotel and after a whole day with Kelsey and Tinsley, Sabrina needed this time to herself. She was grateful to JC, who’d taken Aria and Beckett out for “dad time” as he’d called it.

She studied the legs on her glass of wine. Normally, she’d have just ordered a gin and tonic, but it felt like a wine night. She was dressed in skinny jeans and a flowy, white top. Nothing too fancy, but enough to make her feel that she was pretty. She’d ordered a side of fries and picked at a salad, but Sabrina wasn’t really hungry. She’d had a pit in her stomach all day and couldn’t for the life of her figure out what it was that was bothering her so much. If anything she should have felt good about the fact that JC’s mother had spent most of the bridal luncheon talking to her and barely looked at Kelsey or Tinsley. Karen had even confided to Sabrina that she was gutted over JC going through with a third marriage, especially to someone like Tinsley.

“I just wish he’d worked it out with you.” Karen had told Sabrina, patting her arm. Sabrina could only nod. By now she’d gotten over JC. She was just still harboring anger towards the woman who’d stolen him away from her.

As if on cue, she looked up to see Kelsey coming down the stairs that led into the restaurant. She was with a friend - Sarah Kate? Sarah Beth? Sabrina couldn’t remember. She just knew the friend had two first names. Kelsey and her friend were casually dressed and didn’t see Sabrina watching them. They sat down in a booth and Kelsey immediately pulled out her phone. Sabrina saw her roll her eyes and show a message to the friend sitting across from her. The friend shook her head but because of her position in the booth, Sabrina couldn’t detect what her face was saying.

Sabrina pondered going over to them. What harm could it do? She was sitting alone in a restaurant in a city where she knew absolutely nobody except the bridal party. She looked over at Kelsey again and the memories began to haunt her all over again. She remembered the thoughts she’d had of JC and Kelsey together with Aria. The pictures she’d seen of them kissing in public. The same smile he’d had for Aria that he’d had for Beckett. The feelings of remorse, of hurt, of anger.

Sabrina downed her glass of wine and asked her server for a double gin and tonic on the rocks.

Kelsey scanned the menu and sighed, placing it on the table. The text message had been from JC telling her that Beckett’s tux didn’t fit and could she somehow get him to the tailor early the next morning.

“He’s just making more work for you. Again.” Sarah Kate told her. “I swear Kelsey, I know Beckett is a great kid but you sure did go through hell with his dad.”

Kelsey shrugged. “It wasn’t all bad. There were times that were great. I just think he never really got over Sabrina. I was a fling that somehow turned into a marriage. And you can’t build a marriage on that.”

Sarah Kate raised an eyebrow. “Wow. I never would have thought you’d say anything like that.”

“I probably wouldn’t have a few years ago. But seeing Tinsley and being around Sabrina and everything else this weekend just reminds me that I was never the love of his life. The sex was great and there were times that we really did feel like a family. I just don’t think he’s meant to really settle down.” Kelsey strummed her fingers on the table.

“So, do you think it will last with the third one?” Sarah Kate asked.

Kelsey snorted. “Please. I give it six months. Nine months if I’m really being generous. But his mom can’t stand her. I mean, she couldn’t really stand me, but that was because I was the ‘other woman.’.” Kelsey cringed. “Geez, Sarah Kate, I was the other woman. I never would have thought I’d be a mistress!”

Sarah Kate chuckled. “I’d hardly call you a mistress.” She saw the look of disbelief on Kelsey’s face. “Ok, fine. You were a mistress.”

“It’s a wonder Sabrina can still be in the same room with me without wanting to punch me in the face.” Kelsey shook her head. “I mean, yeah, it’s been a few years but I don’t know if she’s ever gotten over that.”

Sabrina couldn’t hear the conversation but it looked as though Kelsey and her friend were having a decent time catching up. She’d hardly paid attention to how fast she’d downed her second drink. Not to mention the fact she hadn’t eaten much that day so the alcohol was hitting her quicker than she could feel it.

“Did you want to eat, ma’am?” Sabrina looked up at the server and grimaced. She hated being called ‘ma’am’ but she knew she was in the heart of the Deep South and calling people ‘sir’ and ‘ma’am’ was part of this “Southern Hospitality” as she’d kept hearing people refer to it.

“Uh, sure. Um, I’ll have the poached salmon and crab spread.” Sabrina had barely looked at the food menu but she knew she needed to eat before she had anything else to drink.

“And another gin and tonic?” the server asked her.

“Sure.” Sabrina handed off the menu and glanced over at Kelsey, who was resting her elbow on the table and leaning into her hand, propping up her face. She was smiling languidly at her friend and sipping on her drink. They were sharing a plate of tater tots and occasionally Kelsey would glance at her phone.

“Um, Kel, I think that’s Sabrina across from us.” Sarah Kate whispered to Kelsey. Kelsey looked over and saw Sabrina staring right at her. They both waved at each other awkwardly.

“Should I invite her over?” Kelsey was talking out of the side of her mouth while still wearing a smile plastered to her face.

“If you want. She’s all alone it looks like.” Sarah Kate was a true blue Southerner and would just as soon talk about someone behind their back and then invite them over for dinner. Kelsey knew that much had never changed with her friend.

“Okay.” Kelsey slowly stood up and walked over to Sabrina.

“Shit.” Sabrina muttered under her breath as she watched Kelsey walking towards her.

“Hey,” Kelsey smiled and it felt as fake as it looked. “Wanna join us?”

“Um…” Sabrina was at a loss. On one hand she was all alone in a restaurant that was seemingly getting more and more crowded. On the other hand, there were only a handful of people that she knew. Unfortunately, she disliked more of them than she liked.

“You don’t have to. I just wanted to let you know we had room,” Kelsey said.

Sabrina hated it that Kelsey was genuinely being nice to her. She wanted her to be the bitch that she’d created in her mind for all of these years. Unfortunately, the more she’d been around Kelsey, the more she thought of her as a nice person.

“Sure. Thanks.” Sabrina grabbed her purse and her drink, made eye contact with the waiter to let him know she was moving seats, and headed towards Kelsey and Sarah Kate.

“This is my best friend, Sarah Kate.” Kelsey made the introduction for the other two women. “Sarah Kate, this is Sabrina. Aria’s mom.”

Aria’s mom, Sabrina thought. Yes, that’s all I am to you. Aria’s mom.

Sabrina and Sarah Kate exchanged formal hellos and then Kelsey ordered more appetizers for the three of them. Sarah Kate was showing off pictures of her son, Wyn, to both ladies. Sabrina thought she was nice enough, but could see right through the fake, Southern facade she gave off.

Within an hour or so, Sabrina was feeling a buzz but was enjoying it. She ordered another glass of wine and then Kelsey surprised her by ordering a bottle of wine for the table.

“Oh, Kel. You’re so sweet, but I gotta get home to my boy.” Sarah Kate drawled, then  leaned over and hugged Kelsey. She looked at Sabrina. “It was so nice to meet you.”

“It was nice to meet you, too.” Sabrina pursed her lips into a thin smile and wondered what the hell she and Kelsey were going to do now.

*****

Aria had survived dinner the night before. She had survived the bridal luncheon. She had survived dinner again with her father, her brother, and Tinsley, who’d tagged along at the last minute. Now she was sitting with her dad and brother in the hotel lobby and her dad was doing his best to try to get them to like their soon-to-be-stepmother.

“...and she danced on her school’s dance team, too.” He was talking to her now and Aria finally let out a sigh and rolled her eyes at him.

“Dad,” she said and shook her head. “Look, I’m just gonna be straight with you. I don’t like her. I don’t care that she did dance or theatre or whatever. I think she’s fake and I think you’re making a mistake marrying her.”

“Aria….” JC was taken aback by his daughter’s words. He didn’t know whether to be angry at her or really what emotion to feel. “Aria, you don’t understand -”

“I do understand, Dad. You don’t like being alone.” Aria almost couldn’t believe she was saying it out loud. She wondered if her mother would kill her for being so honest. But somebody had to tell him.

“Aria, that’s not fair!” JC snapped at his daughter, then relented. “I’m sorry. But you don’t understand. Tinsley understands me. She gets me.”

“She gets you? How?” Aria folded her arms in front of her chest. JC was reminded of when she was little and she would do the same thing when she was mad at him. Now she was on the verge of adulthood, wise beyond her years, and staring her father down with that same look.

Beckett had been playing Roblox on his iPad and hadn’t been paying attention, but suddenly looked up to see his dad and sister facing off against each other.

“Aria, you really don’t understand, okay? We’re two adults, we’re in love, and we’re getting married.” JC sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

“Until you cheat on her?” Aria wished she hadn’t said it but it was too late. She’d never seen the look her father was giving her. He was angry. She’d crossed a line and she knew it.

“This discussion is over. You need to go to your room and take Beckett with you.” JC stood up abruptly. “You’re still a kid, Aria. Don’t undermine me like that ever again.”

Aria glared at her dad and looked down at Beckett. “Let’s go.”

***

The bottle of wine had long disappeared and Kelsey was tipsy now. Sabrina had left tipsy and entered a drunken state an hour ago. Kelsey eyed Sabrina and then smiled at her.

“See? I’m not so bad once you’re forced to sit in a restaurant alone with me.” Kelsey was teasing but Sabrina didn’t return the smile.

“Nobody said you were bad.” Sabrina snapped and Kelsey raised an eyebrow. “It’s not my fault all of America hated you for stealing my husband.”

Well, give her alcohol and the claws came out, was Kelsey’s first thought. Then, “Um, look, I’m just trying to be nice, okay? I can’t help it JC was weak and I was there.” It was an honest statement but the way Kelsey had said it, she knew Sabrina was going to take it in the worst way possible.

“Yes, you were there, weren’t you?” Sabrina leaned forward over the empty glasses of wine. “Tell me, Kelsey, did you even think at all before you decided it would be ok to fuck him?”

“Sabrina-” Kelsey shook her head but Sabrina cut her off.

“No, you didn’t. You just swooped in there with your little cute ass and didn’t care that he was married with a child. How do you live with yourself everyday?” Sabrina was spitting venom now at Kelsey and Kelsey stood to her feet.

“I don’t have to listen to this!” She was trying to find a server to get their check but naturally nobody was around. She faced Sabrina and said, “And obviously he wasn’t getting what he wanted with you, was he?” Kelsey felt like she was 21 all over again. It hadn’t mattered when she was younger and for some reason it didn’t matter now. Clearly Sabrina was still pissed off after all these years and Kelsey wasn’t going to let her walk all over her like this.

“You bitch!” Sabrina raised her voice. “Do not put your little affair on me. You don’t know half the shit I went through with him!”

“So why is it all my fault? Why are you still mad at me? Is it because I’m close with Aria? Is that it? Or is it because you’re really pissed off at Tinsley for marrying him and taking it out on me?” Kelsey was facing off with Sabrina now and both women were standing next to the table. The restaurant was quiet. They hadn’t realized how loud they were both being.

Sabrina felt the anger coursing through her like never before. She clenched her fist and the next thing she knew Kelsey was holding her face and looking at her in shock.

“Uh, excuse me, ladies. We’re going to have to ask you to leave now.” A manager was suddenly beside them. “We don’t tolerate this kind of behavior here.”

Sabrina couldn’t believe it. She’d actually punched Kelsey. Not only that, they were getting kicked out of a restaurant because of it. She didn’t know whether she should be proud or embarrassed. She did know that the drunken stupor had taken over and she prayed she wouldn’t remember any of it tomorrow.

Kelsey’s lip was bleeding. Sabrina’s nail had clipped it in the punch and that was all the damage that had been done. It still hurt like hell and Kelsey knew there’d be a bruise. Before she’d left, she’d paid the bill and the manager had kindly given her a bag of ice to put on it. She walked back to the hotel alone. She didn’t know where Sabrina had gotten off to, but she didn’t care. She’d never been punched before and she’d never had it out with Sabrina like that.

“Kelsey?” Kelsey heard Sabrina’s voice behind her. The street was busy but she’d recognize that voice anywhere.

Kelsey slowly turned around and glared at Sabrina. “Get away from me.”

“Kelsey, please. I’m drunk. I was out of line. I know it. And I mean, I don’t give a fuck about JC. I was just...I dunno...this whole weekend has -”

“Save it, Sabrina. I don’t care. I just want to get done with this stupid event and go back to New York.” Kelsey continued walking and suddenly Sabrina was next to her.

“Kelsey, please.” Sabrina grabbed Kelsey’s arm and Kelsey pushed her off. “Fine, then I’ll just follow you back to the hotel!”

Kelsey paused. “Ok.” She sat down on an empty bench next to a bus stop.  “Ok, then let’s have it out, Sabrina. Since you obviously didn’t get it all out back there.”

Sabrina was feeling dizzy and eased herself down onto the bench.“I never understood how you decided it was OK to take him away from me. And you continued the affair even when you knew he had a wife and a kid. I’ll never, ever forget that time the three of us went out to eat and I looked like the biggest idiot because you two were cheating behind my back. I’ve just never understood how a person could take something away from someone like that. I mean, you didn’t even care.”

Kelsey stared at her and looked down at her hands. “I wasn’t thinking. I was being selfish. I just...I don’t know. It all happened so fast and honestly, Sabrina, I don’t even think about it anymore.”

“Because you got closure,” Sabrina said softly.

“Did I?” Kelsey shrugged. “I guess I did. I don’t know. I ended up with a horrible marriage if that makes you feel better.”

“It doesn’t.” Sabrina was being honest and Kelsey let out a loud huff.

“You’re still the favored one. Did you notice how Karen barely said two words to me today? She’s never forgiven me for taking him away from you. I know what I did was wrong. I live with that everyday. But I’m not sorry we got together and I’m not sorry we had Beckett. I’m sorry for how it happened but I’m not going to tell you I regret being with him if that’s what you want me to say.” Kelsey stood to her feet and started to slowly walk in the direction of the hotel.

“Kelsey, you were right.” Sabrina called after her and Kelsey turned around. “ What you said...back there in the restaurant. I am jealous of your relationship with Aria. It’s always been a thing with me. I know I’m her mom but….I can’t help it. You’ve always been a threat there.”

Kelsey stopped walking and looked at Sabrina. “I admit that I took JC away and didn’t give two shits about you. But I never, ever wanted to take your place in Aria’s life.”

“I know. I know, Kelsey. I just needed a reason to hate you after you and JC got divorced.” Sabrina knew it was the alcohol. She’d never been this open with Kelsey before, especially to this degree.

Kelsey gave her the once over and slowly nodded her head. “I get that. I don’t really know what to tell you, though. I can tell you over and over that I’m not trying to get in the way of you and Aria’s relationship but I can’t force you to believe it.”

Sabrina let Kelsey walk ahead of her. “Damn.” She muttered to herself and slowly walked behind her. Kelsey stopped again and turned around.

“You know, it’s a shame we can’t be friends. I think we’d probably have a lot in common.” She waited for Sabrina to catch up with her again and the two women began to walk side by side.

“I can’t believe I punched you,” was Sabrina’s response. “I’ve never hit anyone before!”

Kelsey let out a breath and had to smirk. “Yeah, well, you only clipped my upper lip with your nail. So, you should practice if you want to hit Tinsletown.”

Sabrina snorted and doubled over with laughter. “I can’t, Kelsey. I just can’t get over the fact that he’s marrying her! What the actual hell?” Her laughter was contagious and soon both women were in a giggling fit.