#49 (It's Labor Day at the country club...)
“Lisa, I have to talk to you!” Jill Stanhope Montgomery grabbed her best friend by the hand as they marched across the overly manicured lawns of the Kingsport Country Club towards a secluded gazebo. “Oh, Lisa, I’ve done…the worst thing possible.”
Lisa Davenport Collins straightened the cuff on her end of summer pant suit while balancing a glass of wine in the other hand. She always loved the annual Labor Day at the Kingsport Country Club because it signaled the end of summer and the winding down of the year at hand. “Jill, what on earth…?”
“I… I went to see Connor the other day…”
Lisa heaved a heavy sigh. “Jill! You have to stay away from him. Connor is bad news.”
“I couldn’t help myself. I went to his house to ask him to cancel his wedding to Will.”
“I can’t believe you thought that was a good idea. If Warren finds out…”
“He won’t!”
“He’s good friends with Connor! What’s to stop Connor from telling Warren what you did? Jill, with all of the problems you’ve told me about your marriage, it’s really insipid of you to try to interfere with your brother-in-law’s marriage.”
Jill took a deep breath as she added, “It’s…”
Lisa raised a deft hand. “Stop. Jill, I don’t care what happened with Connor because you shouldn’t’ve gone to see him. We’ve been friends since college, but when it comes to Connor, you lose all sense of yourself. That man has brought nothing but misery to your door.”
“Lisa…”
“No. Forget whatever happened with Connor. Forget that you tried to ruin Will’s wedding day. Focus on Warren, Hannah, and Kate. Everything else doesn’t matter… Not in the least…”
“Billy, Connor. I have a little surprise for you.” Alison Farrell Montgomery waved her son and future son-in-law to her table at the Kingsport Country Club. While she loathed dining in public, Alison always liked the club’s annual Labor Day extravaganza. No expense was spared, which made the ridiculously high price of annual admission somewhat justifiable. “I’ve found the perfect house as my wedding present to you.”
Connor turned his gaze to Will, who did everything in his power to hide behind his aviator sunglasses. “Alison, that’s sweet…”
“It’s the old Havermeyer Estate,” interjected Alison with great excitement. “It turns out Bitsy and Joanie have finally decided to unload it after letting it sit empty for almost a quarter of a century!”
“Alison, that’s…” Connor cleared his throat before saying, “Will and I would like to graciously decline your gift.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Alison glared at Connor before turning to Will. “Billy, what’s this all about?”
“We think,” began Connor.
“I was speaking to my son,” snapped Alison, briskly. “William Harrison Montgomery, what is the meaning of all of this?”
Will shifted uneasily in his deck shoes as he said, “Connor…we…think we’re going to live at Connor’s house.”
“It’s far too small,” exclaimed Alison. “It’s practically a guest house on his parents’ estate! No gardens, a shared pool…there isn’t even a chef’s kitchen!”
“I’ve lived there for years and it’s served me just fine,” sniffed Connor.
Alison narrowed her eyes as she surveyed the smug doctor. “I’m sure it has, Connor. However, you’re marrying my son. He’s been raised in a very specific way that he’s grown accustomed to despite what he may tell you when you’re having sex.”
“Mom!”
“Billy, please. The Havermeyer Estate is the right home for you and Connor. If you want to live at Connor’s while the house is being renovated, then that should be fine. Have your honeymoon period. I’ll pay for all of the renovations and upgrades, so the matter is settled. I won’t hear another word about it!”
“This isn’t your decision to make,” Connor said through clenched teeth. “You don’t even live in America. Don’t you have a broom or something to whisk you back to Paris.”
Without a word, Alison stood up, gave Connor a contemptuous scowl, and disappeared into the country club.
“She’s a bit much today,” sniffed Connor.
“Don’t you ever speak to my mother like that ever again.”
“Will, I…”
Without a word, Will pushed past Connor and into the throng of revelers. He didn’t know what to do or where to go when he looked up to see Nicholas Davenport eating a hamburger at a table with their old friends, Eileen Owens, Journey Adams-Woole, and Ryan Mansky. A surge of nostalgia washed over Will as he surveyed the happy scene. He and Nicholas had been happy together. They were the same people from the same world who both sneered at microwave meals and loved Russian caviar on Ritz crackers. In that moment, Will wondered what his life would have been like had he and Nicholas worked through their issues as young men in their twenties rather than breaking up in search of something better. Will thought Connor was his something better, but they kept fighting. He and Connor were very different people who couldn’t agree on where to live, let alone on how to approach the differences between them. With Nicholas, Will knew they would have moved into the Havermeyer Estate without a question. Alison and Sheila would’ve paid for it and put it in trust for them without a second thought. No guilt. No arguments…just a thank you. In that moment, Will made himself stop thinking such ludicrous thoughts because he and Nicholas were no more…and he was going to marry Dr. Connor Windsor the day after tomorrow.
“Don’t just stand there! Come and join us,” Nicholas shouted to Will. When Will remained frozen in the grass, Nicholas put down his burger to check on his old friend and ex-boyfriend. “Are you all right, Monty?”
“I… I don’t know, Nicholas.”
Before Will could say another word, Nicholas led him into the country club where they found the Red Parlor to be empty. Nicholas sat Will in a chair as he closed the door and surveyed him. “Talk.”
“I… Nicholas, I don’t think I can go through with this wedding.”
“Monty, you… You told me you love Connor.”
“I do! It’s… God, Nicholas, it’s everything else. The way he talked to my mother… Whatever his past is with India… Nicholas, I…I can’t do it. I…just can’t.”
“Then call it off. Get out of town.”
Will looked up at Nicholas and gazed into his soft brown eyes. “I’m being stupid. Everything will be fine once we’re married. I’m just…in my feels… That’s all.”
Nicholas sat next to Will with grave concern. “Monty, don’t deflect because you’re trying to make everyone else happy.”
“I don’t…”
“You do. You do it all the time. Whether it’s your father, your brother, your mother, and now, Connor, you’re always trying to make someone else happy. If marrying Connor won’t make you happy, then don’t do it! For God’s sake, Monty, put your happiness first for once.”
And in that moment, Will put his happiness first as his lips met Nicholas’ and the first kiss they shared in over fifteen years seemed to last an eternity…
In our next installment, it’s Will and Connor’s wedding day…
Follow Kingsport on Twitter and Facebook.
Email us at Kingsport@SoapKast.com
© 2021; SoapKast, Inc. All rights reserved.