Roseanne glanced toward the entrance of the bar once again. She'd come down early, hoping Lisa would be there, but there'd been no sign of her. The group dinner was in an hour, and her mother had two vans waiting to take them to the steakhouse where she'd reserved the back room for the wedding party. Lisa had said that she planned to go, but after their hike—after their talk—Lisa had seemed even more distant than before. That haunted look in her eyes was more pronounced, overshadowing any semblance of light.
Maybe she shouldn't have pushed Lisa to talk. It seemed to only have reinforced her guilt. It was as if Lisa took full responsibility for her friend's death, which was absurd, given the details that Lisa had shared with her.
She sighed. It really wasn't any of her business. She'd offered an ear to Lisa and that was it. There wasn't anything more she could do.
"Figured I would find you here."
Roseanne turned, smiling as Vivianne sat down beside her. "Hi."
"Where have you been all day? We had so much fun shopping," Vivianne said.
"I went hiking down at Big Thompson Canyon," she said. "I took Lisa along."
Vivianne leaned closer. "You two sure seem to be getting along. Something I should know about?" she teased.
"Simply being friendly," she said. "Nothing more."
"Oh, and Mark said you told him you were gay." She laughed. "He doesn't believe you, of course, and he said he would spend the next week trying to, and I quote, 'get some sugar' from you. Beware of mistletoe."
Roseanne rolled her eyes. "Some sugar? God," she groaned. "Who says that?"
"He's quite taken by you, apparently. He said he loves it when women play hard to get." She laughed again. "Jackson and I didn't have the heart to tell him it was true."
"Thanks a lot," she said dryly. "You'll be lucky if I even stick around for the wedding."
"Now that would push Mother over the edge." Vivianne leaned closer again. "I bet Dad is thankful there was a problem in Aspen and he doesn't have to be here. She would drive me crazy if I had to live with her every single day."
Roseanne knew all too well that the alleged problem in Aspen was only an excuse...but yes, her mother would drive her crazy as well. Actually, she found it amazing that they'd stayed married all these years. Neither she nor Vivianne would be surprised if he divorced her. She also wouldn't be shocked if he was having an affair. She suspected that he was, based on his numerous absences, but her mother had never said one word to her that suggested she was aware of an affair.
"There was a problem, right?" Vivianne prompted.
Roseanne looked at her. "What do you mean?"
"I know we've talked about this before, but do you think—"
"It's none of our business, Viv," she said.
"I can't believe Mother doesn't suspect," she said, her voice low. "He's never around anymore."
"I know. But Mother lives in a different world, you know that."
"Yes, she does." Vivianne sighed. "Well, I'm not going to worry about it. Like you said, it's none of our business." She pointed at her empty glass. "Gin and tonic? I may join you for one."
"Sure." She got Eric's attention and pointed at her glass and held up two fingers. "So where's Jackson?"
"Oh, he and Mark and two of their cousins were playing cards. He said it's like a family reunion. He hadn't seen Duke in nearly five years." She laughed. "Don't you just love that name? Duke?"
