June shot her a teasing grin as she tucked a piece of her shoulder-length blonde hair behind her ear. “Oh, okay, I’ll just take it back, then…” She made a playful grab for the box, but Eleanor backed out of reach.
“Now, now, I didn’t saythat,” she said. “Let’s not be hasty.”
A smile crinkled June’s green eyes. At thirty, she was the youngest of their group, although she’d experienced more than her share of hardship in that amount of time. June had married her high school sweetheart, Keith, when they were both young. They’d had a son, Benjamin, and everything seemed to be poised for a long life of happiness together. Tragically, however, Keith had passed away two years prior, leaving June scrambling to rebuild her life as a newly single mom.
June worked a variety of jobs to make ends meet, including waitressing and cleaning houses. Eleanor knew that the couple that owned the bakery represented on the box she held was one of June’s clients. They often gave her cakes that hadn’t sold at the end of the day.
“Okay, before June shows me up, I would like it put on record that I brought wine,” Cadence joked, hefting a bottle of red above everyone’s heads to show Eleanor.
“Excellent work, Cadence,” Eleanor said seriously. Cadence fluffed her hair playfully in response.
While they’d chatted, the ever-curious Miriam had slipped past them.
“Hurry up, you slowpokes!” she urged. “Look at how much progress our Ellie has made!”
Everyone filed into the space andoohed andaahed appropriately about all the progress Eleanor had made in turning her house into a store.
“Now,” Miriam said, folding her hands and settling herself into an oversized armchair that Eleanor had recently acquired at an antiques store. “Not to be a pill?—”
“You?” June teased. “Never!”
“—but tell me about the timeline, darling,” Miriam went on, ignoring June’s joke. “When can I expect to buy books here? I have hours to burn in my retirement. I think I could really enjoy giving you a great deal of business.”
Diana looked at June. “I could have sworn that Miriam just said she had plenty of time to burn. How is that possible, when she has her finger in everything that ever happens in this town?”
“Be sweet to me,” Miriam ordered. “I’m a frail old woman.”
“You’ll outlive us all,” Diana opined.
“Eleanor, ignore the peanut gallery. When can I buy books?”
Eleanor winced and wobbled her hand in a noncommittal gesture.
“I’m not one hundred percent ready to commit to a timeline,” she said. “We’re making progress, but turns out this renovation thing is pretty darn hard, actually. I’m aiming for doing things well over doing them quickly.”
“Do you realize how much you just sounded like Garrett?” June laughed. “I was going to badger you about how that’s going, but I suppose that’s as good an answer as anything.”
As if on cue, Garrett popped his head in the room at that very moment, his somewhat lopsided charcuterie board in his hands.
“Oh, uh, hi there, ladies,” he said, looking a little uncomfortable as five sets of eyes swung in his direction. “I’m just delivering snacks, and then I’ll be out of your hair so you can… keep talking about me.”
Cadence hid her smile behind her hand. June ducked her head. But they did dutifully wait until they heard the front door click behind Garrett before turning to Eleanor with gleeful expressions.
“You should always keep a man that brings snacks, darling,” Miriam advised. “It’s one of the finer forms of romance. Harold brought me a cup of tea and a cookie before bed every night.”
Harold was Miriam’s late husband who had passed years prior. Though Miriam still missed her husband, as was evident by the slightly sad fondness with which she spoke of him, she had not let her loss hold her back. She was living every moment of her life to its fullest, no matter her age or past losses.
“Not to mention a man that looks that handsome while bringing you snacks,” June added with a wink.
Eleanor knew she was blushing furiously, not that she minded too much. Her friends shoed their love with good-natured teasing, and being included only emphasized how warmly they had embraced her when she’d arrived in Magnolia Shore.
“Speaking of renovating,” Diana said, shifting her posture so she was looking at Cadence. “We have a project going on at the art gallery?”
“Ugh.” Cadence raked her fingers through her hair. “It’s more rearranging than renovating but it’s… a project. I seem to have forgotten, when taking everything down, that I am not a tall woman.”
June frowned. “How’d you get them up there the first…” She trailed off as she realized. “Oh, Tyler hung them.”
Cadence nodded. Eleanor reached out to give her friend’s hand a squeeze.
