Addie’s blond head swiveled in my direction, and her arms shot up. “Yeah!” Immediately she stood up and shimmied in place. Chief watched, used to the antics.
With a laugh, I turned from her back to the kitchen. Ivy looked over at me with twinkling eyes. “So you’re in.”
“Yep.” A chill night at the Homestead with those I loved. Sounded good to me.
Chapter 3
Mortification, Party of One
Jules
I scanned the table I was sitting at in awe. We were in the brewery, at a low table near the bar. So far I still had all the names down pat. It was a lot easier to keep track of all these people Aunt Lou had told me about once I’d met them because, spoiler alert, these were the folks she had thought I’d enjoy spending time with. I was still debating whether I was going to admit to her that she had been right or not. Lou didn’t need any more validation of her “rightness” in the world—she had that in spades.
But these women? I was tentatively excited about the possibilities of so many friends so quickly in a new town. At this table tonight, let’s see, there was the library crew: Grace, Emma, and Elle. The café sisters: Allyson and Maeve. The yoga contingent: Kristine and Kate. Maggie worked at the school but was best friends with Emma from the aforementioned library. My mind positively whirled. They were so welcoming but seemed to accept that I liked to sit back and observe more than stand up on the table and dance. Not that anyone had done that, but I had a feeling that Maggie would be open to it. And maybe Maeve. Not sure where the rest of the crew would fall yet.
Speaking of, I’d left Maeve at the café and raced home after getting coffee with her. That gave me just enough time to feed O’Malley and have some quality conversation with him about how maybe I should just stay home, to which he’d promptly turned his back on me and stalked off. Oh well, point taken.
I’d looked at my clothes, debating if what I was wearing was okay or not. Finally, I decided to go with the outfit I was wearing. Sue’s firm was a blessed change from my Chicago one. A dress code was nonexistent, as was evident in my boyfriend jeans and baggy white hoodie. Heck, even my shoes wouldn’t have passed the test a few weeks ago. Sneakers, trendy or not, were a no-go at my old firm. I loved my Nikes and was thrilled I got to wear something daily that I was comfortable with. If only I could create more hours in the day and continue to do both my jobs.
Before I could spiral into anxiety about my current to-do list coming from both jobs, a text from Maeve told me to march my happy ass down the street and hit the brewery or she was coming to find me. A glance at the clock on my phone told me I wasn’t late, but she was sending a preemptive strike. That was fair.
I arrived at the brewery and headed in, my stomach tied up in knots. This was nothing new; I’d been this way my whole life. Meeting new people, going places for the first time, having to figure out how to get somewhere or where to park—all surefire experiences that would make my anxiety bubble up. I wouldn’t say it had gotten better as I’d gotten older, just that I knew to expect it and that it would eventually go away.
Fortunately, I was only a handful of steps into the brewery and talking to Laurie, the hostess, when I heard my name. We both turned to see Maeve waving from the bar area. I felt the smile on my face grow as I said goodbye to Laurie and headed over. Seeing Maeve’s welcoming expression helped. So did the flurry of introductions accompanied by hugs and explanations ofthe connections between the women gathered. I felt like I was being ushered into a group where I wanted to belong.
Turned out all the ladies knew Lou, and many had stories on her. That was okay—I did too. I knew my aunt, and she was happiest when being her busybody self. She’d known all the gossip in town when she ran the coffee shop. I didn’t know where she got her info now, but it was still part of her currency.
“Jules, you’ve got to tell us what it was like growing up with Lou as your aunt,” Maggie said as she sat down after grabbing drinks at the bar. She handed seltzers to Emma and Allyson, both of whom were visibly pregnant.
I could feel the eyes all turn in my direction and marveled for a moment that it didn’t make me feel as queasy as it normally would. I’d have to think on that reaction later. Still, I slid forward and decided how to explain my family. “My mom and Lou are fourteen years apart, my mom being the younger sister.”
“Fourteen.” Grace nodded. “I thought Lou might have been your great-aunt. Are there loads of siblings between them?”
“Nope.” I shrugged a little, thinking about Mom’s family. “I’m not sure if Mom was a surprise or if they just couldn’t get pregnant for a while after Lou. I was young when my grandparents passed. Lou has always been there for me though. My mom’s pretty dramatic…”
“Compared to Lou?” Maeve interrupted, her tone saying that Lou was no straitlaced woman.
I paused, thinking of how to compare the two. “I mean, I think Lou looked out for my mom. I’d imagine their relationship wasn’t the normal sibling one when there was such an age gap. And yes, Lou’s always been… well, who she is. But my mom has a flair of her own.” I thought of how best to describe my mom who, though she drove me mad, was one of my favorite people. “What I’m saying is that she could be on a stage with the way she reacts to everything. Does that make sense? My dad just rollswith it, always has. The two of them are funny, love the heck out of me, but I look to Lou for any sense of stability…” I thought of my mom’s lack of concern about things like bills or groceries. Unfortunately, Dad did not help there either—they lived life thinking things would just “work out.” Not that we were ever destitute, just that sometimes as a kid, I’d wondered if we were going to be okay.
“That must have been so hard.” Emma reached over and squeezed my hand.
“Yeah.” Maggie gave me a compassionate look from across the table. “I understand tight times when you’re young. They have a lasting impact.”
I sat at the table, looking around, fascinated at how different these women were but how they were clearly almost like a family to each other. And the level of kindness, even early stages of friendship, they were showing me wasn’t something I was familiar with. I did casual friends where we talked about vacation plans, work frustrations. Talking about relationships with families, our own insecurities—that brought a level of vulnerability I wasn’t familiar with. This was more aligned with the characters in my books than anything I’d experienced in real life.
Someone clearing their throat brought my attention back to the present. I looked up into the twinkling eyes of Lou. It was like we had conjured her from thin air.
“Excuse me, ladies. You causing all sorts of trouble tonight?” Lou asked.
“You know it, Lou,” Allyson said as she put a hand on her pregnant belly. “Really out of control over here.”
“For sure,” Emma said, mirroring Allyson’s actions with her own belly. From what Maeve had told me, Emma was due in May and Allyson in June. This group was doing their part to help grow the population of Highland Falls, that was for sure.
“Well, I’m glad to see you out tonight, Ms. Jules.” Lou’s warm eyes met mine. She was a meddling busybody, but her heart was in the right place.
“Thanks, Lou. Is Verdell here?” I asked, scanning behind her for my very understanding uncle.
“Nope, it’s girls’ night out. Jeanie and Hattie are with me.” She nodded back to the dining room where I could see her two friends.
