Page 36 of Resisting the Fall

Everyone laughed. Besides me. I was still trying to figure out how I was sitting here between the Ednas while Ben was calling bingo numbers and charming the room. Had I lost my touch? This was not how I envisioned any of this going. Well, honestly, I didn’t actually envision any of this. I thought leveraging the Ednas would be the thing to change Ben’s mind. Clearly, I had misjudged the situation.

With a clanking rumble, Ben turned the handle of the cage until a ball came down the track. He held it out for everyone to see. “N-36.” Two people stamped their cards with their dot markers before he spun again. “B-4.”

Edna G placed a dot on her board and leaned over. “When did you and Bennett start speaking again?”

“Only recently,” I said with a tight smile.

“Are you back together?” Edna B whispered, drawing close at my other side.

“No!” I shook my head to make sure they both clearly understood my response.

The Ednas shared a disappointed glance.

“B-7,” Ben called.

“Oh. Look, dear, you have that one,” Edna B said while Edna G pointed at the square.

Apparently, these two women could carry out an interrogation while simultaneously keeping their eyes on my board. I marked the space with a large green dot.

“So,” Edna B continued when another number had been called and she verified that none of the three of us had it. “If you aren’t a couple, what are the two of you doing together?”

Did I really want the Ednas to know the truth? And consequently, all of Autumn Ridge?

“I-27”

My gaze flicked toward Ben, having a grand old time calling numbers.

Yep. I wanted them to know.

And after our interaction at Keller’s, rumors about Ben and me would start regardless, so I might as well explain the situation.

“We’re getting a divorce.”

The Ednas’ eyes widened.

“Again?” Edna G asked.

Edna B’s expression was aglow at the possible scandal. “Did the two of you secretly get married a second time?”

“We didn’t get married secretly the first time,” I corrected, though I knew it didn’t matter what I said. The Ednas had assessed the facts and made their conclusion. “But we recently found out our divorce was never finalized. To expedite the process, we are undergoing a court-ordered reconciliation period. Which is why we are currently spending time together.”

“What about Colin?” Edna G asked, marking whatever number Ben had just called on my board for me.

Oh, yeah. No one in Autumn Ridge knew Colin and I had broken up. “We aren’t together anymore.”

“Because you and Bennett are still married?”

“No. Because of…” My words trailed off. I didn’t know how to put into words what had happened. “It just didn’t work out.”

“So you and Bennett aren’t hoping to reconcile?” Edna B asked. I sort of felt like I was observing a match of ping-pong with how quickly my attention was shifting from side to side.

“Nope. Not even a little.”

The Ednas frowned in unison.

“That’s a shame,” Edna G said. “You made such a lovely couple.”

Edna B nodded her agreement. “And it’s not like the two of you are getting any younger either.”