As she pulled outThe Shell Seekers, a light bulb went on in her head! She would give all her tenants a reading assignment—just like she’d done with Kitty! And since they’d all agreed their book group wouldn’t start until autumn, they should have plenty of time to read something else. Plus, during their hiatus from entertaining males, the women could focus on reading instead. Why not? Now she needed one more book.
Fiona was the busiest of the bunch so she wanted to pick a quick read for her. SpottingSmall Things Like Theseby Claire Keegan, she knew she’d found it. Well, unless Fiona had already read it. Fiona had just mentioned feeling a bit homesick so she hoped the familiarity of the Irish setting might be uplifting. Tonight at dinner, she’d make her recommendations. She’d use Kitty’s enforced reading as her inspiration. What was good for Kitty was probably good for all of them. Kind of a restart perhaps. Hopefully they wouldn’t balk at the idea. But if Kitty could stretch herself to read Jane Austen, the others should be willing to step up too. It would be like book group therapy. Maybe she could claim it was a prerequisite for housing. She could even change the rental agreement to include a book clause, requiring them to read more. Or would that be going too far?
Riva removed the orange-glazed salmon from the grill, then set it on the oversized platter alongside the grilled veggies and ears of corn.
“It’s ready,” she called out to her friends seated at the patio table.
“Looks lovely,” Fiona said as Riva set the platter in the center of the table.
“I’m so glad you could join us tonight,” Riva told her.
Laurel reached for the bowl of fruit salad. “Yeah, it’s not often you have the night off.”
Fiona nodded. “We’ve gotten some brilliant gigs since playing The Brewery.”
“That’s not surprising.” Windy reached for an ear of corn.
When their plates were all full, Riva suggested she say a blessing. They didn’t always pray before a meal, but with all the ups and downs in the house lately, Riva had decided it was time to switch things up or maybe to calm things down.
After the blessing, Laurel snickered.
“Was that funny?” Riva asked as she dished out some veggies.
“It’s not you,” Laurel said quickly. “I was just thinking it’s good that Kitty is stuck in her room or she might protest the prayer.”
“She’s not a complete heathen,” Riva said.
Laurel took a piece of salmon. “If she’s not, I’d like to know who is.”
“Fortunately, God loves us all, heathens included.” Riva gave Laurel the same stern look that she used to reserve for her children when they were acting out.
“Speaking of Kitty, I saw that she was more than half finished withPride and Prejudice,” Windy said. “I was impressed.”
“I talked with her about it for a bit yesterday,” Riva told her. “I was surprised at how well she seemed to be following the story, especially for a nonreader.”
“That’s only because she’s afraid you’ll kick her out if she doesn’t,” Laurel added.
“Riva wouldn’t do that,” Fiona told Laurel.
“Don’t be too sure,” Riva said. “Although, to be fair, I was about to ask her to leave for other infractions of household rules.”
“And the list is long,” Laurel said.
“No one could blame you for giving Kitty notice,” Windy told Riva.
“And if Kitty moved on, we could probably put the brakes on our male moratorium,” Laurel added. “I miss those little shindigswe were having.” She pointed her fork at Fiona. “Your music was so lively, and those dancing lessons—so fun. That is, until Kitty would blow in and ruin everything. I sure don’t miss that.”
“I have to agree,” Windy said cautiously. “Even now, it’s nice with just the four of us here peacefully dining together. To be honest, I don’t miss Kitty either.”
Riva looked nervously toward the house. Fortunately, Kitty still couldn’t manage the stairs with crutches. But the thought of her overhearing them was unsettling. Kitty’s room faced the front of the house, so there was little chance she’d overhear anything. Still, Riva didn’t appreciate conversation that felt mean-spirited and gossipy to her. “Kitty does have problems,” she said quietly, “but if she’s willing to make some changes, I’m willing to give her a second chance.”
Laurel grunted. “And third and fourth and—”
“Come on, Laurel, let’s not kick her while she’s down.” Riva decided it was time to segue this conversation “Okay, ladies, I have a challenge for you.”
“I like challenges.” Laurel took a sip of her water.
“Good.” Riva took a deep breath. “Since I forced Kitty to read a book, I’ve decided it’s only fair to impose some mandatory reading on you guys too. Okay, mandatory is a strong word. I obviously didn’t include this in your rental agreement like I did with Kitty. But as a goodwill effort, I would appreciate it if you humored me.”
