Free Manhattan Lullaby by Olivia De Grove

all about, isn’t it?” But he didn’t sound as though he believed it.
    â€œI hope so,” replied Janie half to herself as she bent down and retrieved her purse.
    â€œSay, you’re not leaving, are you?” asked Steve in a moment of spontaneous familiarity. “You’ve gotta stick around for the reception.”
    Janie looked at her watch. “I really shouldn’t.”
    â€œCome on,” he coaxed. “You can’t come to a wedding and not have a glass of champagne and a piece of cake. Where’s your sense of tradition?”
    Janie thought for a moment. She really wasn’t that pushed for time. And it would be rude to marry and run. Besides, there was something about Steve Curtis that said he couldn’t take many more rejections, not even small ones. He had the look of an abandoned puppy in his eyes. “All right, I’ll stay for the toast to the happy couple.”
    â€œGreat!” said Steve, suddenly feeling more jubilant than the occasion required. “Now, let me introduce you to some of the guests. Might be able to drum up some more wedding business for you. All these people here got cats or dogs. That’s how I met most of them, through their pets.” And with that he guided her toward the fifteen or so people who had showed up for Tony and Marilyn’s wedding.
    An hour later, Janie had had three glasses of champagne and she had become aware of two things. First, the wedding cake had been cut and eaten and she was still there. And second, Lavinia Dodge was looking daggers at her from across the room.
    â€œThe mother of the bride keeps glaring at me,” she said, looking up at Steve, who was casually draped over the arm of her chair, with one hand resting proprietarily on the back of it and the other cradling a half-empty bottle of Dom Perignon.
    He looked over at Lavinia and flashed her a smile. He was enjoying himself and he didn’t give a damn if Lavinia was busy sharpening her claws. “I think she would like the floor to open up and for you to fall into the hole,” he said with amusement and then chugged back another mouthful of champagne.
    Janie took another cautious look. “I guess she thinks I’m horning in on her territory. I should have realized you two were having a thing. What with your dogs getting married and all.”
    Steve shook his head. “Yeah, we’re having a thing all right. Only problem is, we’re not having the same thing. I’m having a present and she’s having delusions of a future.” He laughed at that, mostly for his own benefit. “But there’s no way I’ll ever get married again. Uh-uh. No way.” He shook his head a couple more times for emphasis.
    â€œYou didn’t like being married?” Janie, with her own wedding only two days away, wanted to know how everybody felt about the matrimonial state so she could compare notes and reassure herself that all was going to be well. It wasn’t that she had any serious doubts, of course. It was just that Bradley had been acting so bizarre lately. Their relationship seemed to be changing into something new. But what?
    â€œHey, don’t get me wrong,” carried on Steve. “I loved being married. Greatest place in the world to be.”
    Janie relaxed a little. That was good to hear, especially from someone who had been so obviously tempered by the candescence of his own uncoupling.
    But Steve hadn’t finished yet. “Only trouble was, my wife didn’t like being married. Not to me anyway. ’Course, I guess she likes being married to whatshisname , all right.” He laughed bitterly. “She used the same pen to sign the divorce papers and the new marriage licence, she was in such a hurry to get rid of my name and become Mrs. Whatshisname.”
    Janie sat up. Things were getting a little too close for comfort. And besides she didn’t want to hear any more. She had come here