There was laughter from the room behind her, and I craned my head and looked for the source of all the noise. Everyone else was already here, it seemed. At least I couldn’t imagine there were more elites in this town than the five other women already in the room.
It was overwhelming, to say the least.
“I'm happy you came. Please, come in,” Esther said, stepping aside for me to enter her home.
After Esther closed the door, I followed her into a room full of women I had always wanted to be friends with but never had the confidence to approach. And it was already clear that I didn’t belong here, at least by the look of all their fancy clothes, which also seemed strangely casual. Upscale relaxed?
“I brought wine,” I blurted. It wasn’t like it was the holy grail of wine, but I held that baby up like it’d been handed down by Moses or some other Biblical figure. I was such a dork. They were going to hate me.
Esther smiled and looked at the bottle. “I love a good merlot.”
I’m sure my wine was far from what she usually drank, but her kind words helped ease a little of my nerves. At least she was classy. “I’m glad,” I said, my words coming out in a rush. “Oh, and I’m Bethany Georgia Renwick.”
Again, with the full name? I inwardly groaned again. I was killing the vibe.
She held out her hand. “Esther Hallowood. Although, I know we’ve informally met many times before tonight.”
“We have,” I said with too much enthusiasm like I was shocked this woman had ever noticed me before.
“What are you doing hanging out by the door?” Juniper asked, suddenly at Esther’s side. I felt a tiny measure of relief, she was still wearing yogaishclothes. Dressy yoga clothes? Was that a thing? It made me feel much better about my ensemble. “Come on in! Meet everyone!”
Juniper took me by the arm and led me further into the room. This place was swanky. A round banquet table was set with fine China dinnerware, and there were other round tables set up for bunco. Along one wall—a very long wall—tables butted one against another, covered with snowy white table cloths, and laden with food. Finger food, sliced fruits, and veggies with dips, tiny sandwiches, skewers, cheeses, sausages, more food than seven or ten ladies could eat in a month, much less five in one night.
Everywhere I looked was more decadence than I’d ever seen. Fortunately, though, I wasn’t as underdressed as I’d initially thought. Bailey, a woman I’d spoken to casually a few times before, wore a dark shirt and pants, both with paint splatters. She also had stained tennis shoes on that looked a bit tattered.
Okay, if this woman acted as she dressed, she and I could be friends. Heck, everyone should love her! It took a certain size of balls to come into a place like this wearing the kind of clothes I loved.
She saw me looking and smiled. “I was in the middle of painting Esther’s portrait when we realized what time it was.” She laughed.Painting Esther’s portrait?There was already one hanging over the fireplace behind the food table.
But I didn’t question it. Who was I to do so, anyway? If Esther wanted more than one portrait of herself, more power to her.
“All right, everybody!” Esther clapped twice. “This is Bethany. She’s new to the group, so let’s introduce ourselves and make her feel at home.”
She turned to me. “I’m Esther. This is my place.” She waved her arms in a wide motion as if she was indicating all she could see. “But you know that already,” she added with a soft, amused tone. Her eyes kept me captivated. They were dark like somehow her irises had captured the night and held onto it.
It was going to take some work to make me feel at home here, but I listened as they went around the room. There was, of course, Juniper and River first.
River looked up from texting on her phone long enough to give me a slight wave. “I’m River Wildflower. Realtor of the year for the last three years running. If you need to sell or buy a house, I’m your girl.”
Juniper rolled her eyes. “And now you know everything you need to know about my work-obsessed sister.” Everyone laughed, and River shot her an amused look before focusing right back on her phone. “I’m her little sister, by exactly twelve months. I sold the vegan restaurant chain my husband and I ran for most of our lives, but I still help out at the one in town, when I’m not gardening or hanging out with my ladies.”
A few of the women raised their glasses with a laugh, then all eyes turned to a woman sitting quietly at a table. She had dark, curly hair streaked with grey. Her clothes and posture were similar to my typical one, all of which my daughter said felt a bit masculine. Her white blouse had a few buttons undone, and her pants were pulled up a little high on her curvy figure, but her smile was gentle and welcoming.
“I’m Tabi. I work for Esther and rarely miss a good time. I think you’re going to like our crew.” I knew her. I actually knew them all, but it seemed as if they needed to do this, so I smiled and shook her hand. “I have a hair salon on Beach Street. I do everyone’s hair. Except yours.” She smiled. “I would love to get my hands on yours.”
Esther gave her a gentle push back. “Don’t scare her away, Tabi.”
I almost blurted out something stupid but managed to just give her a nod and a smile.
“I’m Eden!” A woman blurted out. Eden, I kind of knew. She worked for my dentist and had a little bit of a shrill voice and a high-pitched laugh, but she was always kind, and she had a wonderful energy. “I’m the teeth expert in our circle. Well, more like the paperwork expert.” She laughed loudly, pushing her glasses higher up her nose. “And I’m excited to have you join us!”
There was an awkward moment of silence, which I filled with, “I’ve been flossing.”
But Eden was kind enough to laugh, making my words less awkward.
“And I’m Bailey. Welcome.” She said nothing more, but then I’d never seen her being particularly chatty around town. She was short and a little round, and looked like she’d be a great hugger.
“Thank you for having me, guys. I’m very excited to be here.” And not at all a nerd, but I didn’t add that because adding that would have made me the nerd, I’d said I wasn’t.
