Eleanor, naturally, was first.
“It’s going to be a lot of work,” she said, although not in a tone that suggested that this work would stop her from making her bookstore dream a reality. “But the more I break it down into tiny pieces, the more it seems doable. I painted some of the walls this week. That was one thing, in terms of house improvement, that I actually know how to do.”
“Ooh, what colors?” Diana asked, her design brain kicking in.
“Well,” Eleanor said, brightening as she described her progress, “there’s a cozy sort of sage green for the main room, and I did a rosy pink color for the room where I think I’ll do genre fiction—the mysteries and the romances and whatnot. Plus, I’m doing a blue for a kids’ corner. The event room will be a cool gray so that we can decorate it easily for different things.”
Diana pictured the color palate in her mind.
“Love it,” she said decisively.
“The next thing will be thinking about shelves,” Eleanor stated. “Lots and lots andlotsof shelves. Too many shelves to think about right now. Somebody else tell me what’s going on before I start muttering about wood types and dimensions.”
Everyone laughed. Cadence dutifully kept up the report.
“I am forging boldly ahead,” she declared, spreading her arms wide. “This week, I took a pottery class.”
“How did it go?” June asked.
“Terribly!” Cadence said with a laugh. “I was trying to make a flowerpot, and it was more like a flower blob.”
“Goodness, Cadence, show some imagination,” Miriam joked. “You work at an art gallery. Don’t you know an abstract representation when you see one?”
“That’s exactly what I meant,” Cadence said without missing a beat. “I made an abstract flower blob inspired by Dadaism and Brutalist Architecture and I expect to be in a magazine any day now.”
“That’s my girl,” Miriam praised.
“Even so, I think this might not be the hobby for me.” Cadence pulled a face. “Goodness knows I love Izzy more than anything, but kids bring a lot of mess along with them. I don’t need another messy activity in my free time! I’m going to try a hot yoga class next time.”
“I used to love hot yoga,” June said wistfully. “I’m so busy recently that I don’t tend to get around to it. Maybe if you decideyou like it, we can grab a class together,” she told Cadence, infusing cheer back into her voice, which had taken on a hint of sadness as she had no doubt been thinking about how much her life had changed after Keith’s passing.
“Absolutely,” Cadence agreed. “Just let me try a few classes on my own first so that I know if I’m going to flop over like a fish in the middle from the heat and the sweat. Just to, you know, set expectations.”
“Deal.” June laughed.
“Okay,” Cadence said, turning to Diana. “How about you?”
Diana found a pleased little smile creeping across her face.
“Well,” she said, drawing out the word and the anticipation. “Imaybefound somebody that I’m interested in? On that dating app, I mean.”
Anything else she might have wanted to say was lost in exclamations of delight from her friends.
“Hush up, you lot!” Miriam commanded. “I want to hear from Diana. We can get excitedaftershe gives us all the details.”
June, it seemed, could not quite resist asking a few questions despite Miriam’s strict orders.
“What’s he like? What’s his name? How long have you been talking? Is he cute?”
“Slow down!” Diana said on a laugh. “His name is Kendrick, Kendrick Chandler. We haven’t talked yet, so I don’t know much about him. I just… liked the look of him, and we matched.”
“Is he cute?” June repeated, punctuating each word.
Diana blushed. “Yes, okay! He’s very cute.”
She pulled out her phone to show them the photo, earning nods of appreciation from each of her friends.
“You know,” Miriam said, proving herself highly adept with technology despite her age, “it says he’s online right now. You should message him.”
