Cadence threw her arms around Diana, and in that moment, Diana knew she’d be keeping the picture forever, even if she found herself frowning at it every day. Cadence was going through such a hard time, and it said a lot about her friend’s character that she was channeling her energy into helping others and trying to stay upbeat, when Diana thought, in Cadence’s place, she’d be wallowing on the couch with a pint of ice cream and bad television.
So if figuring out what to do with a painting that was not precisely to her taste was what Diana had to do in order to send some of that joy back in Cadence’s direction? Well, she’d do it, and she’d do it with a smile on her face.
“If you really hate it, I can return it,” Cadence said, but Diana noticed that her friend’s light dimmed at the very idea. “Honestly, I could sell it in about two seconds flat at the gallery,so don’t worry about that part. I just really think it’ll fit in better than you think, once you get the rest of the house going around it.
Diana and Cadence might approach design from slightly different directions, as Diana focused more on apparel than the fine art that was Cadence’s specialty, but Diana could still appreciate the importance of context. How many times, after all, had she sold an accessory that a customer clearly didn’t like at all when they saw it on the rack but grew to love as soon as they paired it with just the right outfit? Too many to count.
This did mean, however, that she would have to actually decorate her whole house, or at least her whole living room, to get that context to work. She narrowed her eyes at Cadence.
“Is this all part of your dastardly plan to get me to like my condo more?” she asked.
Cadence gave her a too innocent look. “Who, me?” she asked, humor glimmering in her eyes.
Diana laughed, shaking her head.
“Okay, you win,” she said. “I’ll decorate. And I’ll hang your painting.”
“Yay!” Cadence did an adorably dorky little victory dance that had Diana chuckling. “You will not regret it. I promise!”
As Diana snuck another look at the bright colors and bold lines of the painting that Cadence had brought her, she sincerely hoped that her friend’s words were true… but she couldn’t help but have her doubts.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“Eleanor Ridley,” Eleanor lectured herself, her maiden name still feeling strange on her tongue after two decades of using her married name, “you are beingsuch a ninny.”
Her friends would arrive for their first book club meeting any minute now, and Eleanor was inexplicably plagued by nerves. She was excited, yes. Shelovedto talk about books. She simply never ran out of things to say about them. And she had gotten the impression that her new friends were a diverse group of readers, which would keep the conversation spirited.
But this was also the third time in a row that Eleanor had dusted the same spot on her side table, which was new, anyway, and so hadn’t had any dust to begin with.
Eleanor had hosted birthday parties, holiday events for Brian’s colleagues, PTA meetings. She’d organized fall festivals for Jeremy’s elementary school. She’d spearheaded a clothing drive for a family who had lost their home to a fire once. She was not a novice when it came to entertaining.
And yet, she was acting like a kid who was worried nobody would show up to her birthday party.
“A ninny,” she repeated, surveying her table of snacks. The book they were discussing today took place in Californiawine country, so Eleanor had taken this as inspiration for the food and drink she’d provided. She had olives, tapenade, and hummus, as well as different crackers, vegetables, and breadsticks for dipping. She’d made an asparagus galette based on a recipe she’d found online and felt inordinately proud of the result. For something sweet, she’d candied some walnuts, which she had made for a lot of parties, as they felt more exciting than store-bought sweets, in her opinion. And there was wine, of course, as well as some sparkling water with strawberry and lemon slices in it. She’d also put out the ingredients for martinis, as this felt in line with the olives she’d plated.
Everything looked great, but when her nerves threatened to bubble up again, Eleanor took a quick sip of her own glass of wine. For courage.
Miriam arrived first, right at the stroke of six, which was when they’d scheduled their club meeting.
“Hello, darling,” she greeted, giving Eleanor European-style air kisses. “I am so excited for our club! I have been simply in a tizzy all day. I barely stopped myself from showing up hideously early.”
Miriam’s expansiveness eased Eleanor’s anxiety.
“Next time… if we decide to do this again, that is, just come early,” she encouraged the other woman. “I’ve been driving myself to distraction this past hour for absolutely no reason at all.”
“I’ll try not to abuse the power of that invitation,” Miriam teased, handing Eleanor a plate of finger sandwiches. “I get a lot of activity into my days, but retirement can leave you with more hours than you expect.”
“I get that,” Eleanor said. “I mean, I was a stay-at-home mom whose kid went off to college. So I definitely get that…” She trailed off. Things were different now. She would have to find away to make a living, which was a highly nerve-wracking concept after twenty years of working in her home, raising her son.
Miriam seemed to know what Eleanor was thinking. She patted her hand.
“You’ll get there, honey,” she said reassuringly. “And in the meantime, you’ve got us to lean on!”
Eleanor grinned. Yes, her new friends were an undisputed high point of her new beginning, that much was obvious.
June and Diana arrived together moments later, Cadence only a minute or two behind them, seeming frazzled.
“Sorry,” she said, impatiently brushing a strand of hair out of her face. “Got my drop-off coordination messed up.” The other women seemed to intrinsically understand that Cadence didn’t want to talk about her marital woes, and even if they hadn’t, Cadence made her point clear by pasting a bit smile on her face. “Are we ready to talk about the book?”
