What is? Bea asked.

Ginger will be our next bride. Mrs. Needleman announced this with a matter-of-fact nod of her tightly permed head. Now get me back to my room before I say something foolish.

The moon hung heavy and low in the sky. It peeked from behind the live oaks, spreading a pale blue glimmer over the gardens, the vineyards, and the bare skin of Ginger's legs. She pulled her wrap closer, shut her eyes, and melted into the Adirondack chair.

Tomorrow, she'd return to her real life. She'd pick up HeatherLynn from the kennel. Stop by the cleaner's. Get dinner ready for the boys. On Monday morning she'd go into a job that might not last the week, at a newspaper on its last legs. She'd call her lawyer about her custody concerns. She'd send out her resume. She'd talk to the school counselor about Jason's grades and arrange for Joshua's learner's permit test.

But until thenjust for the precious few moments that were left of this nightGinger would let herself enjoy the soft, perfumed air and the warmth of the zinfandel coursing through her veins. Yes, she'd made some really big mistakes in her life. But every step she'd ever taken, every decision she'd ever made, had led to her being here, at this moment, in this place. That meant everything was right with the world, just the way it was. Just for this moment.

She laughed quietly to herself. So this is the hard-won view from forty, she thought. This was the halfway mark of a woman's life, a life half lived and half yet to come. Exactly who was she at that moment? Where was the girl she'd once been? How long would it be before she found the best version of herself?

Ginger raised her wine glass and toasted the moon. She believed there was still time to become a confident woman. She could call a truce with her changing beauty, her lost dreams, her rearranged possibilities. There was still time to be happy. She took a long, deep sip of wine and wrestled with the idea of calling for another Botox appointment. She'd have to keep it a secret if she didBea, Roxie, and Josie would only tease her again when she didn't go through with it.