“If she can’t see it herself, then who are we to point it out?”
Claudia put her fork down. “Just because I can still appreciate good quality ingredients doesn’t mean I want to be a chef.”
“Of course it doesn’t. Could you pass the salt please, Anna?”
“With pleasure, Erica.” Anna passed the salt and Claudia sighed.
“You two are—”
“We’re what?” Erica emptied an unhealthy quantity of salt onto her already salted fries. “We’re good friends? I’d have to agree with that. How did you get so lucky?”
Claudia gave up. “I was going to sayannoying.” She took another bite of her sandwich. “This is so good. I feel better than I have in months.”
Erica looked smug. “It’s our scintillating company.”
“Maybe, or maybe it’s being back on the east coast. Maybe I should move to Vermont. It would be perfect.”
Erica shuddered. “Not for me.”
Claudia asked the question that had been hovering in her brain.“If it’s not for you, why did you choose Vermont for our vacation?”
Erica carefully extracted the lettuce from her burger. “I chose it because it’s perfect for what we need for our week away. Cozy inn with snuggling potential, great food and a much praised wine cellar. And because I knew you two would love it, and I try and be a good friend.”
She’s not telling the truth, Claudia thought, but she knew from long experience that if Erica had something on her mind it always took her a while to tell them about it.
Anna was typing a message on her phone.
“Are you messaging Pete?” Claudia reached across to grab her phone but Anna held it out of reach. “It’s not even three hours since you saw him. Stop.”
“I forgot to remind him about Meg’s doctor appointment on Monday.” Anna pressed Send on the message and dropped her phone back on the table. “It’s so good being with you guys. This week is going to be great. We’re going to sleep, relax, build a snowman, and in the evenings we can settle down and sort out all our problems, like we used to do when we were twenty.”
Erica emptied some of her fries onto Claudia’s plate. “I don’t have problems.”
Anna beamed. “Good, then you’ll have more time to focus on ours.” She took a bite out of her burger and Claudia studied her for a moment.
“How is your hair always so shiny and healthy-looking?”
“It’s because I live a sin-free life, full of fruit and vegetables and wholesome thoughts.”
Erica shuddered. “I’d rather have dull hair.”
“I’m just kidding.” Anna reached for a napkin. “It’s a fancy hair pack. I treated myself.”
“You did something for yourself? I’m impressed.”
“I often do things for myself.” Anna glanced between them. “What? Why are you looking at each other like that?”
“Because you never do things for yourself.”
“I thinkneveris a bit strong. It’s true that there are some occasions when I don’t make my needs a priority but I’m working on that. The hair pack was my first attempt. And given that you like my hair, I’d say it is working.” She smiled. “I love our book club week. Has anyone actually read the book?”
“Of course.” Erica pushed her plate away, her food half-eaten. “That’s the whole point of our book club.”
Anna put her burger down. “Since when have we only talked about books? The whole point of book club is that it gives us a chance to talk about life. And isn’t that why we read anyway? To learn about someone else’s life?” Anna’s phone lit up and Claudia grabbed it and read the message on the screen.
“He remembered about Meg’s appointment. Oh, and he loves you. That’s good to know, because we were all starting to doubt it. Can I reply?”
“No.” Anna retrieved her phone and Erica reached for her purse.
