The Man She Should Have Married

Olivia smiled. Worrying was Eve’s job, always had been. She was the conservative one, the cautious one. Olivia had always been more impulsive, more willing to take a chance.

But that was before she’d had Thea.

Before she was a mother.

Now her first priority would always be her daughter, and that meant she had to think carefully before she did anything that might negatively impact Thea’s life in any way.

“Seriously, Eve,” she said, “I’m not in any hurry. If I do get into another relationship, he’d have to be pretty special...after Mark.” It made her sad to think about Mark, who was her first love. They’d only been married months before he went to Afghanistan. They’d had so little time. His life had been cut so short, and he’d died so young. And without ever holding or knowing his daughter, except for photos and images on Skype.

“I know,” Eve said. “You have plenty of time, and I’m sure, once the guys around here—Austin included—know you’re ready, there’ll be no shortage of possible candidates.”

Olivia rolled her eyes. She wasn’t anywhere near as confident as Eve that men would be lining up to take on a widow with a small child.

The cousins continued to talk for another hour or so, but when the Wedgewood clock on the mantel chimed one o’clock, Eve yawned and stretched. “I’m beat.”

“Me, too. We’d better get to bed. Tomorrow’s a big day.” Olivia got up and took Eve’s glass. “You can use the bathroom first. I’ll take these out to the kitchen and be there in a minute.” The cousins were sharing Olivia’s bedroom and the king-size bed she and Mark had so happily purchased together.

As she rinsed out the wineglasses and put them in the dishwasher, Olivia decided she was going to make the most of the weekend. She wasn’t going to think about her mother-in-law or about Eve going back to LA or the way Olivia’s own life had not turned out the way she’d once imagined it would.

She was just going to relax, have fun, eat some salty and sugary junk food, and thoroughly enjoy having Eve and the kids home again.

No matter what.

* * *

“It’s a gorgeous day, isn’t it?” Eve exclaimed. “I love autumn in the Hill Country.”

“Me, too,” Olivia said, linking her arm through Eve’s.

The cousins were strolling through the grounds where Crandall Lake’s Fall Festival, an annual celebration featuring music, food, games and rides as well as various craft items for sale, took place every October.

Norma Dubrovnik, Olivia’s mother, and her older sister, Anna Cermak, Eve’s mother, were walking up ahead. Between the older women and the two younger women were Nathan and Natalie, with Olivia’s Thea between them. Each twin had one of Thea’s hands, and every few steps they’d lift their little cousin and swing her out, then set her back on her feet again. Thea’s delighted giggles peppered the air.

“Liv, Eve, hurry up! You’re so poky!” Olivia looked around to see her younger sister Stella waving and calling to them.

“We’re coming,” Eve said as they caught up to where Stella stood.

“I thought you’d gone home or something,” Olivia said. “You disappeared.”

“I spied my boss by the pizza booth, and I went over to talk to her,” Stella said. She was laughing, her fresh face and bright eyes a clear sign that life hadn’t yet dealt her any devastating blows. Olivia hoped it never would.

Just as Eve and Olivia reached the rest of their group, who were now gathered by the crowded booth where hot funnel cakes were cooked and sold, Olivia’s mother said, “It’s so hot.” She was mopping at her forehead with a tissue.

Olivia frowned. It wasn’t hot. In fact, the weather was perfect. Sixty-eight degrees and sunny, according to her phone just thirty minutes earlier.

“I don’t feel good,” her mother continued. Her face had drained of color, and she swayed.

“Norma,” Eve’s mother said, reaching out to put her arm around her sister. “C’mon, let’s go sit on that bench over there.” She met Olivia’s eyes. “She’s shaking.”

Alarmed, Olivia said, “Mom. What’s wr—” But she never had a chance to finish what she was going to say because at that moment Norma just seemed to fold in on herself and slumped to the ground. “Mom!” Olivia dropped down to where her mother lay.

“Norma!” This came from Eve’s mother, who knelt next to Olivia.

People around them buzzed with concern and several onlookers crouched down.

“Mom,” Stella said, patting Norma, who was struggling to sit up. “What happened?”

“I—I don’t know. I just feel so weak.”

“Did you eat breakfast this morning?” Olivia asked.

“What’s going on here?” said an authoritative male voice.

Olivia looked up. She knew that voice. It was Dr. Groves, Thea’s pediatrician. “Dr. Groves, this is my mother. She said she was hot and she was sweating, but her face was white. Then she just collapsed. I think it’s a low blood sugar reaction. She’s a diabetic. Newly diagnosed.”

“On oral meds or insulin?”

“Oral,” Stella said. “She takes them in the morning and again at night.”

“When did she eat last?”

“I—I had some toast for breakfast,” Norma said weakly.

“Nothing since? No protein?” Dr. Groves asked.

Stella shook her head. “I don’t think so. We’ve been here since ten o’clock.”

Olivia mentally sighed. Her mother still didn’t seem to realize the importance of eating at regular intervals and keeping her meals balanced, even though they’d already had several discussions about the potential consequences.

“She needs sugar, fast,” Dr. Groves said. “She’s having a low blood sugar reaction. This happens when diabetics are on meds and don’t eat the right things often enough.”

“She can have my funnel cake,” one of the onlookers said. The woman, someone Olivia didn’t know, thrust forward her paper plate containing a sugared funnel cake. “I just got it.”

“That’s good,” the doctor said, “but some orange juice would be faster acting. Once we get her blood sugar stabilized, she’ll need something more substantial, with protein, like a hot dog or one of those chicken drumsticks they’re selling.”

“I’ll go get some orange juice,” Nathan piped up. “There’s a juice stand right over there.” He pointed to one about a hundred feet away. “I have tickets!” He held up a strip of the tickets used in lieu of money at all the booths.

In all the confusion Olivia had lost track of Thea, and she looked around as Nathan ran off, and Dr. Groves continued to monitor her mother, but she didn’t see Thea. She saw Natalie, though, and called to her. “Where’s Thea, honey?”

Natalie frowned and looked around. “She...she was just here.”

Olivia’s mother was now sitting on a nearby bench, with her sister, the doctor and Stella in attendance. They were feeding her some funnel cake. Olivia, who wasn’t yet alarmed, figured Thea was simply hidden by one of the members of the group of people waiting on funnel cakes or lured by the earlier commotion of her mother’s collapse. She headed toward Eve, who still stood near the booth with Natalie. At the moment, the young girl seemed a lot older than her almost-twelve years, with her worried face and frightened eyes. She took her responsibility of watching after Thea very seriously.

“Thea!” Olivia called as she walked through the clusters of people. “Thea, honey, where are you?”

Eve frowned and hurried toward Olivia. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t see Thea anywhere.” Now Olivia’s voice held an edge of fear.