Chapter 1

 On beautiful days like today, Tracy longed for a career that allowed her to be outdoors from dawn to dusk. The sky shown so blue and clear. The breeze gently lifted her hair. The birds soared playfully in the air. Even the flowers appeared to be dancing in the wind just for her pleasure.

Tracy settled into her car and left the parking lot of her office building. As she prepared to dial Paul’s number, her phone rang.

“Are you ready for the weekend, Girl?” Nikki’s bright and slightly mischievous voice greeted Tracy’s ear.

“Of course, I’m ready. I’m a good girl and always prepared for anything,” Tracy answered. Tracy had met Nikki in grade school. They had been best friends and inseparable ever since.

“Good girls are boring. Haven’t I always told you that?” Nikki smirked. “I suppose you are on your way to your weekly dinner with your in-laws.”

“I am driving to Robert and Catherine’s estate for our weekly cigars and cognac by the fireplace,” Tracy replied in a pompous voice. “They are not my in-laws yet, and you know it. You know I don’t like it when you make fun of them. They are the sweetest people on the planet. They even like you.”

“Yes, they really are the nicest people on the planet,” Nikki agreed with a heavy sigh. “You have all the luck. Landing the most eligible bachelor in the county and snagging the loveliest in-laws to boot. Are you sure they don’t have any skeletons in their closets? No long-lost mistresses or black sheep siblings that no one talks about in polite company?”

Tracy laughed. “Well, if no one talks about them, how would I know?”

“So, when are you and Paul going to set a date for the wedding? What’s the hold up?

“I’m waiting for you to get a boyfriend so you’ll have a date for the wedding. You are the one holding it up.”

Tracy did not like discussing her wedding plans. It was like a small pebble stuck in her shoe. She could still walk with it there, but life was not as comfortable. If she were actually engaged to be married, perhaps the pebble would not feel quite so much like a boulder.

“Silly girl. You have it all mixed up. Weddings are where you meet the men, not where you take the men. All that romance and misty-eyed business. Men are suckers for that sort of thing.”

“I can hear you snarling over the phone, Nikki. You really need to embrace your feminine side one of these days. No man is going to want to date you when your claws are so sharp and visible. Find your inner diva and flaunt it to the world,” Tracy encouraged with a tad bit of mocked seriousness.

“Enough of that. Can we please get back to the reason I called?” pleaded Nikki.

“I thought you just wanted to hear my voice.”

“Right. That, too. Seriously, is everything set for our girl’s night tomorrow? You aren’t going to back out at the last minute like you did last time. Surely you can have a night off to let your hair down.”

“Yes, yes, and yes. I have not forgotten. I will be there with a permission slip safety-pinned to my shirt. Please let me bring something though. You never let me contribute anything.”

“If I let you bring something, we’ll end up eating tofu and eggplant rolled into a lettuce wrap with organic raspberry lemonade as our only drink option. I want real food, so I will do the shopping.”

“Whatever!” Tracy laughed. “Now you have me hungry. Tofu and eggplant rolled in lettuce wraps sounds yummy right about now.”

“Instead you go to your in-law’s house where their personal chef will prepare something worthy of a state dinner at the White House,” Nikki complained.

“You are always welcome to join us. You know that.”

“I’m not sure they would appreciate that. I’m covered in paint and haven’t washed my hair today. I’m not sure the butler would let me past the front door. He would probably hose me off like a dog.”

“You are welcome anytime,” Tracy assured Nikki. “You know they love you, paint and all.”

“Well, they do have one of my oils in their dining room, so I guess they appreciate my talent at least.”

“Nikki, look. I’m here now. Are you sure I can’t bring any tofu tomorrow?”

 “Nope, just your pretty face. Now go be the perfect daughter-in-law-in-waiting and tell everyone I said hello.

 “Of course. See you tomorrow,” Tracy chirped as she disconnected the call and gracefully swung out of her car.

“Good evening, Ms. Tracy,” intoned Thomas, the butler, as he opened the door. “The family is gathered in the front room.”

“Thank you, Thomas. Am I late? I hope they have not been waiting for me.”

“No, they have not been waiting. I’m sure all of your questions will be answered shortly,” Thomas responded.

“Oh, now you have that look that makes me nervous, Thomas,” Tracy grinned playfully.

Thomas only smiled and gave a slight bow. Tracy could not help wondering if the formalities of this family would wear thin in the years to come. But they are such gracious people. Kind, caring, and generous. They had taken Tracy into the fold as one of their own at a time when she so desperately needed family. Tracy turned into the front room while stifling a sigh and pasting a public smile on her private thoughts.

Robert, the family patriarch, was immediately on his feet, moving toward Tracy with a welcoming hug. Robert’s embrace was formal, but also compassionate and sincere. It felt like a warm blanket being wrapped around her on a cold, winter’s day. Tracy welcomed his embrace while a quiet, nagging voice tickled her ear with doubt and worry. Will this feel claustrophobic after twenty years?

Catherine, the matriarch of the family, did not rise, but her greeting was personal in her own way. She was more formal, more reserved than her husband. Tracy always believed that if Catherine’s inner emotions were set free, she might be like a small puppy when its master came home after a long day apart. Perhaps that is why she controls her physical responses when greeting people. Nikki called Catherine the “Ice Princess” and thought Tracy was crazy to believe Catherine had any emotions at all. Sometimes Tracy worried that Nikki was right. Still, Tracy continued to trust that Catherine was all heart and was simply careful not to show it.

“Tracy, my dear, I’m so glad to see you. You are the sunshine on a cloudy day now, aren’t you? That suit looks divine on you. That particular shade of blue really draws out the color of your eyes, and the cut really flatters your figure. I think you should buy twenty more like it. One in every color they make,” Catherine suggested from her brocade winged-back chair by the window. The way the evening sunlight came into the room almost made it appear that Catherine had a halo.

“Hello, Catherine,” Tracy greeted Catherine and exchanged air kisses on their right cheeks. Tracy never understood why Catherine insisted on the right cheek. Even as she thought this, Tracy admonished herself to stop picking apart the details tonight. She had a delightful life. The Webbers were wonderful people. She was part of this family, even though Paul had yet to put a ring on her finger, and she loved her job. Why was she dissecting the particulars? Perhaps it was a good thing that tomorrow night was girl’s night with Nikki. Tracy needed to relax.

The last person in the room to approach Tracy was Paul, her intended. As the most junior member of the family, he was trained to wait his turn while his parents offered their greetings first. Even though they dined together regularly and claimed to have a wonderful relationship, the formalities still remained.

“Hello, Princess!” Paul received Tracy with a smile that was genuinely heartfelt and personal.

Tracy wondered if that was the trained warm and personal smile that Paul had been taught since his toddler years to give to his future wife. Tracy mentally kicked herself, yet again, for thinking such ideas. What brought all of this up now? Why were all these routine and normal things getting under her skin today?

To avoid dwelling on those questions, Tracy focused instead on asking Catherine about her upcoming charity event. Paul and Robert were chatting about some work issues, leaving the ladies free to catch up on their own news. Technically, Tracy acted as co-chair with Catherine for this event. Since Catherine had hired a battalion of people to handle the details, there was very little that Tracy, or Catherine for that matter, would actually have to do.

As Catherine reviewed the plans for the event, Tracy’s mind wandered to how her life had gotten to this point. Considering her past and all that she had overcome in her childhood, this meticulously-appointed drawing room in a mansion (well, a mansion compared to her childhood home) in the finest neighborhood in town was the last place she ever imagined she would be. Yet here she sat. And they considered her part of their family, part of their future. Would she and Paul own a home similar to this one day? Would she be the matron of a glorious house ten years from now? Would her future daughter-in-law work on her charity events with her like Tracy did with Catherine?

Funny. This is the first time Tracy had ever considered what her home would look like after she and Paul were married. People often questioned her about why they had not set a wedding date yet. There was constant chatter about the wedding day itself. But what came after the wedding? Tracy had never seriously planned that part. Did the fact that she had never envisioned their future together mean she was not ready to marry Paul after all?

“Tracy?” came the far-away voice of Catherine. “Tracy, Dear, are you all right? You suddenly turned very pale. We can change the color of the tablecloths if that is what you want now, can’t we? It’s not too late.”

Tracy mentally shook her head in the hopes of shaking those nagging questions out of her mind. “Yes, Catherine. I’m fine. I was thinking of something else for a moment. I apologize for not being more attentive. I’m sure the tablecloths you’ve selected will be perfect.”

Tracy was not entirely sure that her fake smile was convincing, but Catherine let it pass.

“Think nothing of it, Dear. You simply work too hard and have too many things on your plate right now. After this event, you and Paul can think of nothing else but the details of your wedding,” Catherine assured her as she patted Tracy’s hand. Her touch was warm and comforting.

If that warmth could reach Tracy’s heart, the fairytale might become reality.