“I—you don’t?” Winnie asked.
Eleanor remembered all the times she’d had doubts about Winnie, had thought that maybe, beneath everything, Winnie was misguided, not unkind. Now, those doubts came back to the fore, stronger than ever, tinged with embarrassment. She should always trust the instinct to be kinder, she reminded herself.
After all, if Winnie expected that Diana and Eleanor cared more about the town than they did about her… well, Eleanor had the sinking worry that too many people had been unkind to Winnie, and that not enough of them had been kind.
“No, sweetie,” Eleanor said, wrapping her arm around Winnie’s shoulders on instinct. “We care that those horrible people were mean toyou.”
Winnie blinked at Eleanor once, her eyes going a bit glassy. She looked down quickly and blinked rapidly a few more times, a telltale sign of someone fighting back tears.
“That’s… that’s really nice,” she said quietly.
Eleanor and Diana exchanged a look.
“Let’s have a seat, huh?” Diana said, ushering them all toward a nearby bench. She directed Winnie to sit between her and Eleanor. Winnie, seeming a bit shocked by this whole situation, went along compliantly.
“Winnie,” Eleanor said softly, “I think I owe you an apology. I might have been a touch judgmental about the whole ‘your fence is illegal’ thing. I thought you were trying to be difficult just to…I don’t know, just to stick your nose in my business. But that was unfair of me, and I’m sorry.”
“Thanks,” Winnie said softly, then sniffed.
“And I haven’t exactly extended the warmest hand of friendship either,” Diana admitted. “But Winnie, hon. It wasnotokay the way those women were speaking to you!”
Winnie let out a humorless laugh that sounded more than a little bit watery.
“Yeah, that’s Britt and Whit.”
“Wait, what?” Diana said. “That’s… those are their names?” She sounded genuinely confused.
Winnie’s laugh was a little more sincere that time. “Yeah, it was a middle school thing, I guess. Best friends with rhyming names.”
“So,” Eleanor said, putting the pieces together. “These two women have been friends since middle school, and I’m guessing they didn’t actually do that much growing up in that time, based on what we saw today. Did you actually know them in middle school, then?”
Winnie managed a smile that was half grimace.
“Unfortunately, yes. They were… pretty much the same way back then as they are now,” she said. “I want to say they were meaner, but I’m honestly not sure. I might just have had more fragile self-esteem as a tween.”
“No kidding, with those two in your ear!” Diana said, sympathetically. “But wait, aren’t you from Magnolia Shore? Those two aren’t from here.”
“Oh, yeah, I moved here in high school,” Winnie explained. “Not that I was a huge social success after I moved here, either.”
Years of honed maternal instincts had Eleanor rubbing Winnie’s back soothingly.
“And I guess that kind of just kept going,” Winnie said, shaking her head. Her shoulders were hunched. “I focusedon school, and that was okay. Adults made sense to me. The historical society became my passion. And the historical conservation angle. Rules are way easier than people, it turns out.”
“Yeah, but rules won’t hang out with you,” Eleanor countered. “You always seemed a little… cold and aloof, like the only thing you cared about was the rules. Why didn’t you just tell us straight how you were feeling?”
Winnie’s expression was defensive. “That’s a lot easier to say from your perspective!” she protested. “You have a great group of friendsanda boyfriend.”
“And before that,” Eleanor pointed out, “I went out to what I thought was my anniversary dinner and got served divorce papers.” Winnie’s mouth dropped open. “Yeah, and when I moved here, I didn’t know anybody.” She reached out and squeezed Winnie’s hands. “Listen, I get that it’s hard. And I have a lot more perspective on the matter, after what I saw today. So how about we agree to both wipe the slate clean and try again?”
Winnie gave her a shy smile. “I would like that,” she said. “And I’ll try to be a little more open. That’s good advice, even if I do think it’s easier said than done.”
“You should join our book club!” Diana piped up.
Eleanor felt a flicker of apprehension go through her. Burying the hatchet with Winnie was one thing, but inviting her into their special, tight-knit group of friends?
Then again, Eleanor needed to put her money where her mouth was. If she said that she and Winnie were going to have a blank slate, then she really needed to go into this new chapter between them without any old baggage.
Besides, Eleanor didn’t know where she would be now if her friends hadn’t welcomed her when she’d first come to Magnolia Shore. She was pretty sure she wouldn’t be opening her book store without them, and working on the store was what had ledher to Garrett. If taking a little bit of a risk on friendship could potentially bring as many good things into Winnie’s life, as well, that was a risk that Eleanor would have to take.
