“Who told you that?” I ask, my eyes going wide.
“Ruth.” Aster laughs.
“Of course she did,” I say, forcing a laugh and pretending like I understand anything they’re talking about.
“The hot tub?” Lolly questions over the rim of her glass, wiggling her eyebrows in my direction. “What happened?”
“Nothing,” I say.
“Oh, come on,” she says. “It’s us. Give us the dirty details of your slutty little marriage so we can live vicariously through you.”
“On the way to our house, he started a snowball fight, and that led to us freezing our asses off in the snow, so when we got back to the house, we took a dip in the tub and made out a little. It really wasn’t anything scandalous. We are married after all.” I fidget with the ring on my left hand.
“You two are really the sweetest things ever,” Aster says. “I wish I could find my person.”
“You will, honey,” Cami says.
“Well, last time I checked, there were no other single women in this town interested in me, so I doubt that will happen anytime soon.”
“If it makes you feel any better, the pool of single men is severely lackingtoo,” Lolly says.
“That’s not true,” Aster says. “You have your pick with Chip and Reid.”
Lolly gags. “Reid!” She gasps, gagging again and making all three of us laugh at her reaction. “You did not just insinuate that Reid is a viable option.”
Aster shrugs. “I’m just saying, you have two, and I have zero.”
“Claire, will you please explain to our friend why Reid wouldn’t be an option even if he was the last man on the planet.”
I giggle, trying to come up with reasons why a man that I know nothing about is a bad choice.
“He does give me a strange vibe.”
“A strange vibe?” Lolly laughs. “He’s the neighborhood recluse! When he showed up to the town meeting the other day, I couldn’t believe it.”
“Fine, so you have one choice,” Aster says. “But that’s still better than zero.”
All four of us burst out laughing.
“You know you girls are always welcome to my crystals,” Cami says. “I was just telling Claire the other day that that’s how I nabbed Joe.”
“I might have to take you up on that,” Lolly says.
I find myself relaxing back on the couch, sipping my wine, and enjoying their company. I don’t know these women, but something about being surrounded by them and hearing them talk makes me feel more included in their friend group than I ever have before.
What a sick joke.
After another hour, both bottles are empty, and I make my way to the front of the coffee shop with the girls. Each one offers me a hug, and I try to push away the feelings that tonight brought about friendships and my life back in New York. The things that I wish I had but am missing.
Opening the door, I leave them, walking onto the street. The sun is low in the sky, and in the distance you can see the first signs of the moon. I check the time and find it’s a little before six.
Lamp posts and strung twinkle lights glitter above the snow-covered street, ready for whatever tonight will bring.
Pulling my jacket tight across my chest, I turn to head toward the ice rink. Everett is standing tall on skates and holding a hockey stick. Four young kids are in the middle of a circle of cones, playing keep away while their teammates, Joe, and Everett watch.
The boy in the middle steals the puck, and Everett blows his whistle. “Nice!” he calls out. “Alright, last group, you’re up.”
The four children skate to meet their team, and four new kids move into the middle of the cones. The whistle blows, and the three on the outside begin pushing the puck across the ice to one another, keeping it away from a little girl in the middle.
