Chapter Twenty-Eight
Two days after theconfrontation at the bookshop, Sam received a text from Charlotte.Book club meeting at the shop tonight, 7pm.Nothing formal, just us.Please come if you’re up to it.
Sam responded right away, accepting the invite.She wanted to dispel the bad feelings she had from her last moments in Twice-Told Tales with better memories.
When she arrived later that day, she found the core group gathered in the shop.“How’s your mom?”Sam asked Charlotte.
“Stable,” she said with a smile.“Thanks.She’s in a physical therapy rehab facility for ten days or so.”
Charlotte had ordered pizza for everyone, and Claire, Dylan, Sofia, and Olivia were there.The atmosphere was subdued but warm.
They all settled into seats in the back room with their food and drinks.Charlotte cleared her throat.“I’ve been thinking about what we want to do moving forward.About book club.”
“I think we all love the book club,” said Olivia, glancing around at everyone, looking for agreement.There were lots of bobbed heads.
“Even when Margaret was being impossible,” said Dylan wryly.“Seriously, this club keeps me going sometimes.”
Sofia said quietly, “I came to this club looking for something totally different.Really, I guess, just trying to figure out my mom.I didn’t succeed at that, but I really enjoyed connecting with all of you.”
Claire hopped into the discussion.“I hate to let what happened destroy something we all got a lot of enjoyment and satisfaction from.Let’s keep meeting.The same group.If everyone’s comfortable with that.”
There was a murmur of agreement around the room.
Charlotte smiled.“Then that’s settled.Thanks so much, everybody.I always look forward to the books and discussions.It’s always one of the highlights of my month.”
Dylan shifted in his seat.“So are we still doingMiddlemarch?Because I have to say that book is seriously humbling me.”
A ripple of laughter went through the group.
“How far are you?”Sofia asked.
“Page 127.”Dylan grimaced.“Of 880.And I’m reading like my life depends on it.”
“I’m at page 610,” Sam admitted, pulling out her heavily tabbed copy from her purse.Several members stared at her sticky tabs.
“Of course you are,” Olivia said fondly.
Claire laughed.“I’m at 290, and I have to say that Margaret knew what she was doing when she picked this one.Stick with it.It’s challenging, but brilliant.”
“The prose is beautiful,” Sofia agreed.“I’m only on page 180, but I’m taking my time with it.”She grinned.“My mom would have eviscerated us for not being further along.”
“She always had lots of opinions,” said Claire with a smile.
Charlotte said, “Margaret would have read it twice by now and annotated every page.”
Sam looked down at her purple-penned notes.“She’d probably have loved that someone in this group actually made character index cards.”
“You made character index cards?”Dylan asked.
“There are lots of characters,” said Sam in self-defense.
“My mother would definitely have approved,” Sofia said gently.“She believed in taking books seriously.”
“Even when she was impossible about it,” Dyland added.But his voice was warm now, not bitter.
Claire raised her water glass.“To Margaret.Who challenged us, infuriated us, and made us better readers, whether we wanted to be or not.”
