Chapters (42)
- Cover Page
- Dedication
- Dear Friend
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Acknowledgments
- Reading Group Guide
- An Excerpt from the Goodbye Bride
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- About the Author
A memory flashed in her mind. It had been shortly after her mom kicked her dad from the house. Her mom’s reddened eyes and baggy clothing had become part of her identity, and Kate couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen her smile, much less laugh.
Kate entered the tiny living room where her mom sat curled on the couch, staring at the TV, though Kate didn’t think she was watching. Kate picked up the remote and flipped through channels. If only she could find something to cheer her mom up. Something to make her forget. Something to make her smile again.
When Kate flipped to Roseanne, she turned up the volume. Her mom always laughed at that show. Sitting beside her, she pulled her knees to her chest and yanked her nightgown over them, stretching the thin pink material to its limits.
The show’s audience laughed at something Dan said, but a glance at her mom dampened Kate’s spirits. Her face was blank, the light from the TV glazing her deadened eyes. Why was she so sad? If she missed Daddy, why didn’t she ask him to come back?
Kate felt her own eyes burning, watched Roseanne’s living room blur. She missed her dad, and her mom obviously missed him too. Why wouldn’t she let him come back?
Her mom popped to her feet. “I’m going to bed, pumpkin.” Her words sounded squeezed from her throat, as if a scarf was wrapped too tightly around her neck.
“Good night,” Kate answered, but her mom was already down the hall, closing her door. The light in the room flickered as the scenes on TV changed. Kate watched the room glow white, then blue, then white again.
From down the hall the sound of her mom’s muffled weeping reached her ears. Kate had grown to hate the sound that escorted her to sleep each night. She turned up the volume and lay on the itchy tweed couch, then pulled a pillow to her ear . . .
Now, Kate turned over and dried her face with the sheet. She hadn’t thought about that night in years. Not until now, when her own life seemed to have taken over exactly where her mother’s had left off.
A sound reached her ears, and she lifted her head from the pillow, listening. A second later, she heard it again—a long, loud snort coming from the direction of the couch. Great. Just my luck.
Her new husband snored.
Six
Six
No matter how wonderful the relationship, disappointment is inevitable. Perfection will never be attained, so set reasonable expectations and be prepared to work through problems.
—Excerpt from Finding Mr. Right-for-You by Dr. Kate