Murder Before Marriage Read online

  “I- I didn’t…” Desmond began. He trailed off as if he couldn’t finish the sentence.

  Tiffany recovered from the odd looks she was getting and marched the rest of the way to the table. “Hey there. I recognized Rowen’s car out front. I thought it would just be Eric and her in here. I didn’t realize…” She had zeroed in on Desmond who was staring right back at her. “God,” breathed Tiffany. “It’s been forever.”

  Desmond nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, it has.” His eyes moved over her, taking her in. “You look good. You look the same.”

  Tiffany laughed. “I’m sure that’s not true.” He was right, though. She was older now but she had stayed fairly consistent as long as Rowen had known her. She still dressed like the hippie she was. Even now, blue and yellow wildflowers were woven into the thick red braid of her hair. “You look good too. Older, but still good.”

  Desmond laughed. “Thanks, I think.”

  A brief silence followed. It was only a few seconds, but it was enough for reality to set in. “Well, clearly I’m interrupting something here,” said Tiffany, like barging in on Rowen and Eric enjoying a meal wouldn’t have been interrupting.

  “It’s all right,” Desmond said, quickly, before Tiffany could turn around. He must have realized it wasn’t his place to speak for the entire table. He cleared his throat and looked to Gaby in particular. “I mean, if that’s all right with everyone. We have business to take care of anyway.”

  That business Desmond was speaking of was signing divorce papers, assuming they weren’t divorced already. Rowen really didn’t have a clue about what was going on with her birth parents. She didn’t really care. Mention of business to take care of seemed to win over Gaby, though. She put on that smile of hers and aimed it right at Tiffany. “Gaby,” she said, holding her hand out daintily. “The fiancé.”

  Tiffany took her hand and shook it. “Tiffany. Rowen’s mother. Nice to meet you.”

  “Likewise.”

  “Mind scooting over, Sweetie?” Tiffany asked as she sat down beside her daughter, forcing her and Coreen to make room regardless of how they felt about it. “And you’re…” Tiffany looked past Rowen and to Coreen as if only now noticing her.

  “Coreen. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard anything about me. I’m… Desmond’s daughter.”

  “Ah! Coreen. That’s a pretty name.” If Coreen’s existence bothered Tiffany, she didn’t let it show. She pulled her own daughter into a side hug instead. “That must be new for you. Having a sister.”

  “It is,” said Rowen, not sure what else to say.

  The waitress returned, likely a little puzzled by the growing population of her table. She took an additional order from Tiffany and brought her a drink. An awkward silence threatened to follow, but thankfully Desmond filled it. “I’m glad we were finally able to get a hold of you.”

  “Oh, I’m not that hard to track down. It’s not like I’m living off the grid these days.” Tiffany had lived off the grid before. Rowen wouldn’t have been surprised to hear she was doing it again. She had been next to impossible to track down. Not that Rowen had been trying. Tiffany came around when she wanted; that was a fact of life that had been difficult for Desmond.

  “I didn’t even know which state to start in. No one did.” It might have sounded like Desmond was complaining, but there was a smile on his face. Paired with the soft way he was looking at Tiffany made Rowen inclined to believe the smile was genuine. He knew the sort of woman he had married. Rowen might not like Tiffany’s wandering spirit, but Desmond had fallen in love with it at some point. He did a lot of wandering himself, after all. Despite splitting up, they still had a lot in common.

  Gaby cleared her throat and forced her way into the conversation. “Who was it that finally got a hold of you?” she asked Tiffany, loudly, like she was reminding her that she was there.

  “It was my sister Lydia who told me you were looking for me. I called her, though. Sometimes I call in to check how things are going.”

  That was news to Rowen. She didn’t know her mother even knew how to work a phone. It wasn’t like she owned a cell. Aunt Lydia had never said that her mother called. Rowen wondered if it was a regular thing. Did she call in once a month? Once a year? If that was the case, why hadn’t Rowen ever been told? Did her mother simply not want to talk with her? She would call Rowen herself if she did, most likely. Of course, with the question reversed, Rowen wasn’t so sure if she would want to talk with her mother if she got a phone call out of the blue. Maybe Lydia never said anything because she didn’t want to bother Rowen with things she would rather not think about anyway. Aunt Lydia had been more of a mother to Rowen than Tiffany ever had. She and Aunt Nadine had both looked out for her in Tiffany’s absence. They were good people, and they loved her. Not that Tiffany didn’t love Rowen too… in her own way.

  “It’s a shame we left the papers back at the hotel room,” said Gaby.

  “Oh, there’s plenty of time for that,” said Desmond, waving a hand like that was the last thing on his mind all of a sudden. Rowen didn’t miss the way Gaby’s sparse brows knitted together in response. “Let’s just enjoy a nice, big family meal together while we have everyone here.”

  Tiffany sighed dreamily. “Divorce papers,” she said. “So weird. I didn’t even realize we were still married. I don’t really pay attention to that sort of nonsense anymore.” By ‘that sort of nonsense’ Rowen assumed that her mother meant laws.

  Desmond chuckled, most likely inferring the same thing. “Did you ever?”

  “I suppose not.” Tiffany’s expression grew distant like she was remembering their shared past. “I don’t think I even wanted to marry you back then. I was fine with letting things fall where they may. If it hadn’t been for Mother pushing me and you wanting to spite your parents, I don’t think we would have bothered with the red tape.”

  “Grammy pushed you into marrying Desmond?” Rowen asked. She couldn’t help it. Given how much every member of the Greensmith family seemed to loathe Desmond, Grammy agreeing to the marriage sounded ludicrous.

  “It was because of you,” said Tiffany, which said enough. It wasn’t the marriage Grammy had approved of. She hadn’t liked Desmond, but she had probably just been trying to keep him from up and abandoning the new life he had helped to create. Not that any of that had tied him or even Tiffany to Lainswich. They had both taken off early on in Rowen’s life.

  “We can swing by the hotel after dinner,” Gaby suggested.

  Tiffany looked at Gaby and didn’t even bother with beating around the bush. “I’m not trying to wriggle out of signing the papers, if that’s what you were afraid of.” Her words were blunt, but her tone was kind. “I’m happy for you. For both of you. All this paperwork is nonsense as far as I’m concerned. The government has no business in matters of the heart.”

  Rowen wondered if Tiffany would be so accepting of the relationship if she knew Desmond almost certainly had ulterior motives. This wasn’t a matter of the heart so much as it was business. Still, it made Gaby relax a bit. Her shoulders sagged and she settled down in her seat. “I couldn’t agree more.”

  “So tell me,” Desmond began, like the conversation hadn’t been diverted for a moment there. “What have you been up to over all these years?”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

  “Wherever you want. I’m sure you have plenty of interesting stories.”

  Tiffany didn’t need any more invitation than that. She began with where she had last been, a forested area up north where she had found the “most magical” waterfall. The way she described it made it sound like something out of a fairy tale. Rowen almost got swept up in the story herself before she remembered that she lived in reality. In reality, you couldn’t take off and live your life camping in whatever corner of the world caught your fancy. Not if you had people besides yourself in your life, and not if their lives didn’t revolve around a desire to live solely to see the “most magical” waterfall.<
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  Tiffany’s stories kept Desmond captivated anyway. Tiffany kept right on talking, describing one place she had visited after another. Desmond let her, captivated. It was easy to see why they had fallen in love. It was so easy to see that Rowen was certain it was a complete accident on Desmond’s part. Gaby had grown tense again. Desmond and Tiffany’s conversation wasn’t just dominating the conversation at the table, it was tuning out everything else around it. After the food came, Gaby had to ask Desmond three times to pass her the salt.

  “Sorry,” Rowen said to Gaby, forcing a smile. “My mother likes to talk.” Proving her point, Tiffany went right on talking to Desmond through that statement. “It’s been a long time since they last saw each other. First love. A lot of catching up to do. You know how that goes.” That was about the nicest thing Rowen could have said, even if it didn’t sound like it. It was the kind thing to do to warn Gaby, to let her make a run for it. The sooner she realized Desmond was only in this for the money, the better.

  ***

  Dinner ended and Desmond insisted on paying for everyone. He made a big fuss waving everyone’s wallets away but went oddly still when no one argued with him. He’d clearly been expecting someone to object. As it was, he was left paying for everyone’s meal.

  “I’m going to step outside. I need to smoke,” said Gaby, sliding out of the booth with her purse as Desmond thumbed through a wad of cash.

  Desmond nodded. “All right,” he said, his tone absent. He hadn’t even bothered to look at Gaby while speaking. She rolled her eyes as she turned from the table.

  “I’ll be in the parking lot.” Rowen slipped out of the booth as well. Now was probably the best time to warn Gaby away from her father. She did her best not to draw extra attention to herself as she went after her.

  Gaby had gone to the corner of the restaurant. The sun was going down and she was cursing as she dug through her purse in the dim orange light. There was a cigarette in her hand but no lighter. She looked up when Rowen approached. With a deep breath, she withdrew from her purse and squared her shoulders. “Have a light?”

  “No, sorry. I don’t smoke.”

  Gaby’s eyes darted to the door. No one else had followed Rowen. “What are you doing out here then?”

  Rowen shrugged. “Just getting some fresh air.”

  Gaby raised her eyebrows and went back to digging in her purse. This time, she came away with a lighter. “I’d advise standing away from me then,” she said, finally bringing her cigarette to her lips. She cupped her hand around the flame and sucked in as the tip began to glow. After a long inhale came an even longer exhale.

  Rowen faced away, trying not to breathe in the smoke. She hated smoking. How anyone could maintain such a costly and uncomfortable habit was a mystery to her. Passing judgment over Gaby wasn't what she was here to do, though. “You can do a lot better than my dad.”

  More smoke was exhaled out into the air. “I’m sorry?” Gaby turned to face Rowen, her cigarette dangling between her index and middle finger.

  “Look, I…” Rowen trailed off. She wished she had planned for this. She had never met Gaby before now, and she hadn’t expected to have a moment alone with her. “Not to pry, but… You’re worth a lot, right?”

  Gaby’s eyebrow’s shot up. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”

  “It isn’t,” Rowen said quickly. “But you are, aren’t you?”

  Gaby raised her shoulders in something akin to a shrug. “I do well for myself,” she said with a self-important sniff.

  “Well, my father doesn’t. I don’t know what he’s told you, but—”

  “Oh, Rowen.” Gaby sighed and shook her head slowly, catching Rowen by surprise. She hadn’t expected to hear her name said, certainly not in the almost condescending way Gaby was using it. “I know your mother coming in might have stirred up some feelings for you. It’s natural, I think. Every child wants their parents to stay together. That little reunion in there stirred up some emotions for you, didn’t it?”

  “What?” Rowen was so caught off guard, she couldn’t immediately think of an appropriate answer. “N-no. That’s not it at all,” she finally managed, sputtering.

  The corners of Gaby’s mouth tugged upwards into a smile as she took another long drag. “It’s okay,” she said afterward. “Like I said, it’s perfectly understandable. I was the same way when I was a girl. My parents divorced too, you know.”

  “I’m not a little girl.” Rowen was stunned she had to say that out loud. “And those two in there didn’t really raise me.” She felt her face warming up. She hadn’t planned on having to explain that to someone tonight. She shouldn’t have to say it now. “My aunts raised me. I didn’t even know my parents were still married. My mother has brought home new men more than once. I figured their relationship was over long before I even met my dad. I could literally not care less about whether they get married or not.”

  “So why all this then?” Gaby gestured widely with her cigarette, motioning to Rowen and flicking ash down around their feet in the process. “What are you trying to get at?”

  Hadn’t she made it obvious? “I just don’t want my father taking advantage of you. I wanted to warn you before—"

  “Oh, Rowen.” Gaby interrupted her again. “Don’t you worry about me.”

  Rowen started to press the matter some more but stopped herself. Maybe Gaby had a point. Maybe she was underestimating her. “So long as you know what kind of man he is… What he’s capable of.”

  Gaby nodded. She turned away from Rowen and faced forward, taking yet another long drag. In profile, she looked older, more thoughtful. “Desmond has told me a lot about you, you know.”

  “Has he?”

  “Oh, yes.” Gaby flicked more ash from her cigarette, taking care not to get any on her beige pumps. “Your father has a lot of regrets. He told me he wasn’t there for you like he was there for Coreen.”

  Knowing Coreen’s past, Rowen wasn’t so sure that her father had actually been there for Coreen. He had visited, sure. That had still left Coreen with a neglectful mother for a good chunk of her life. It was only after her mother OD’d and passed away that Desmond took his daughter in. And that was only if you could call having a child join you on the road “taking him or her in.” He hadn’t exactly been a dutiful father, settling down with Coreen. He hadn’t given her a stable home life or any shot at finishing school, going to college, finding a career.

  “I consider myself lucky to have been raised by my aunts, thanks.” Rowen meant that too. Her aunts had their own kids that they, undoubtedly, loved more than Rowen. Even so, they were far and away better parents than most.

  “Oh, I’m sure,” Gaby said quickly. “But, I understand that there has to be some resentment there. You have complex feelings toward your father. It can’t be helped.”

  Rowen opened her mouth to object, but what could she say? Gaby wasn’t wrong. Her feelings toward her father were complex. He was someone she thought about a lot lately. Just last night, she had stayed awake for hours, listening to her husband snore and staring at the ceiling. There was no mystery to solve when it came to dwelling on her father, but that made it worse.

  The doors to the restaurant opened again. Desmond, Tiffany, and Coreen all walked out. Desmond and Tiffany were still talking animatedly. Rowen turned to see what Gaby thought of that and saw that her eyes had narrowed.

  Tiffany noticed Gaby looking before Desmond did. “How about I follow you two to the hotel and get those papers signed?”

  That helped Gaby perk up. “Sounds great!” she chirped, dropping the cigarette and grinding it out beneath her toe. She trotted over to Desmond’s side and leaned into him when he put his arm around her.

  Tiffany frowned at the cigarette butt on the ground. She couldn’t stand the sight of it, Rowen realized. Picking it up would mean insulting Gaby in a roundabout way. She was clearly trying to resist doing that, but the flower child inside of her couldn’t hold out. She hurried
over and snatched up the butt. “Sorry,” she said, carrying it to a combination trash can and ashtray nearby.

  “She’s very into nature,” Desmond told Gaby.

  Gaby was gaping at Tiffany, speechless for a few seconds. “Sorry,” she said when Tiffany had turned to her again. “I wasn’t thinking. I’m so used to living in large cities where everyone just tosses their litter everywhere.”

  “That doesn’t make it okay.” Tiffany fixed Gaby with a serious expression. Saving the planet was serious business to her.

  Gaby’s smile faded. “Of course.” She was reaching for words like Rowen had been just a little while ago. “Planet Earth is important to me too. I give a lot to different charities. One of them gives to the rain forest, I think.”

  “That’s wonderful,” said Tiffany, and it sounded like she meant it.

  Desmond stepped between the women and planted a hand on both their shoulders. “Sounds like you two found some common ground. Come on. Let’s get back to the hotel. We can talk some more there.” They hadn’t found common ground and he knew it. He was just trying to call a time out between the two.

  “All right. I’ll be behind you guys.” Tiffany went to Rowen and gave her a hug. “I’ll see you again real soon,” she said, squeezing her tight.

  “I know.” It wasn’t like Rowen had a choice in the matter.

  Tiffany stepped back and looked at Coreen next. She looked her up and down and then held her arms open for another hug. “It was nice to finally meet you, too.”

  “Oh, um…” Coreen stepped into the hug. She returned it hesitantly, giving Tiffany a few awkward pats on the back before they parted. “It was nice to meet you too.” She raised an eyebrow at Rowen over Tiffany’s shoulder.

  Just go with it, Rowen tried to communicate with a shake of her head and a look. Coreen did. Tiffany stepped back soon enough and headed toward her RV. It was an old, lumbering thing, covered in bumper stickers and decades of muck.