“She’s recovering from a cough and it has kept her awake,” Hattie said. “Let her sleep.”
Anna studied the shadows under her eyes. “I’m guessing that cough has kept you awake, too. I remember those days. And you’re on your own with it. That can’t be easy.”
“I’m fine.”
Anna reached for the soft throw draped over the back of the sofa and tucked it around Delphi. “I remember saying those words while screaming inside.”
Hattie gave a half smile. “I could do without all this extra pressure, that’s for sure.”
“Sit down for a moment.” Anna patted the sofa next to her but Hattie shook her head.
“Tempting, but if I sit down I might never get up again and there is so much to do. I need to check Erica is okay.”
“Is there a reason why she wouldn’t be?”
Hattie glanced over her shoulder as a guest walked past.“Are you going to catch the bookstore before it closes, Mike? Be careful. It’s icy out there. Call us if you need anything.” She turned back to Anna. “Erica is using the computer in my office to type up a menu, and then she’s going to do a job description so that we can advertise for a new chef.”
“She won’t need help with either of those tasks.” Anna almost smiled at the idea of Erica needing assistance.
“She’s been great,” Hattie said. “You all have.”
Anna debated whether she should say something about Hattie and Erica’s situation, and decided that a little bit of gentle interference was justified in this case.
“I know Erica didn’t handle the situation well earlier. I’m sure that upset you.”
“It doesn’t matter. I understand.”
“I doubt that you do.” Anna checked Delphi was still asleep. “I’m not generally considered a gossip, but there are a few things it might be helpful for you to know about Erica. The first is that she isn’t easy to know—which is why I’m giving you a crash course. The second is that once you do know her you’ll discover that she’s the kindest, most generous person you will ever meet. Not always tactile.” Anna saw the doubt in Hattie’s face and plowed on. “If you want a hug and a ‘there, there, poor you’ from someone, don’t pick Erica, but if you want someone who cares deeply for the people she loves and will offer any practical help within her power, then she’s your woman.”
Hattie hesitated and then joined Anna on the sofa.
“You three have been friends for a long time? You met at a book club?”
Anna smiled. “No, we met at college. Our book club happened by accident. It was our way of escaping from the heaviness of what we were reading. We were all stressed out from studying and exams and I became addicted to romance novels as a way of relaxing.”
Hattie brightened. “I did the same at college. Romance novels were my happy place.”
“Erica loved thrillers and crime, and Claudia biographies and cookery books—we each thought the other’s reading choices were pretty awful. Erica teased me about romance and I teased her about reading crime but then we realized we’d never actually read each other’s books. So that’s what we did. One evening after a bottle of wine, we swapped. We each picked one from our favorites and the others read it. Then we talked about it.” She leaned back against the sofa, remembering. “Those discussions were such fun. We’d pick apart everything. Why the romance heroine behaved in the way she did, why crime fiction won awards when romance fiction was ignored and denigrated. Why violence was celebrated and stories about relationships—probably the single most important thing in our lives—dismissed as froth.”
“I hope you’re not asking me that question,” Hattie said, “because my only answer is snobbery.”
“That’s the conclusion we reached.” Anna sat up. “Anyway, it started from there. When we graduated, we used our book club as an excuse to meet up. Once a year we book a hotel for a week. Occasionally near a beach, but often in a city because Erica loves that. It’s a week to chill out, relax, do some sightseeing, catch up and talk about books.”
“Always a hotel?”
“Yes. The idea was that it was a week where none of us had to do anything except relax together. No one had to cook. We could order room service. There was nothing to do but enjoy ourselves. And the weird thing is we can go months without seeing each other, and when we finally get together it feels as if we only saw each other yesterday.That’s friendship, I suppose. It’s the reason I look forward to it every year.” And she needed it. Her friends were better than therapy. Definitely cheaper.
“But this year your summer gathering didn’t happen?”
“Claudia had some personal issues back in the summer—we all agreed to push it back to Christmas. We thought it would be cozy and festive. And it is.” Anna glanced from the fire to the tree. “I felt conflicted coming away at this time of year. It’s a special family time. Families should be together at Christmas, shouldn’t they?” Only after she’d said the words did she realize how tactless they were, but fortunately, Hattie didn’t seem upset.
“It’s a magical time of year. How many children do you have?”
“Two. Twins. Boy and a girl.”
“That’s nice.” Hattie was watching Delphi. “Family is the best thing.”
“Yes.” And to Hattie, Delphi was family. Not Erica. Anna felt a stab of sadness, but knew it wasn’t her place to interfere. “What you’ve done to this place is fantastic and I couldn’t feel more Christmassy if Santa dropped in for a visit. I have that same feeling that I used to have when visiting Santa.”
