I grit my teeth thinking of how this rich old bitch couldn’t even help Peony get a working mobile. After I’ve given her the number, we hang up, and I lean back in my armchair. What a dreadful woman.
peony
I couldn’t have asked for a better life, if I’m being honest. I get to cook anything I want, and I’m paid for it. Most of the time I have Rupert’s help, and he’s never a burden in the kitchen, though sometimes I do have to correct him. But he’s receptive to feedback, and I love working alongside him with a tune playing on the radio. The manor was built fairly recently, and I learned that a sound system has been rigged all throughout the common rooms so we can blast music while we cook.
But it’s not until the day I see Mandy at the store that I realize how isolated I really am.
I’ve convinced Kellen to let me go shopping on my own so I can pick out what I need myself. He grumbles that it’s one ofhistasks, but he’ll let me go as long as I take his car and not my old beater, since he doesn’t trust it.
I wish Rupert would go with me so we could pick out what we want for dinner together, but I know that is asking far too much. He’d never show himself outside the manor, not with all the complications it would bring.
When I spot Mandy over the tops of the lemons and limes, I let out a gasp. She jumps, then raises her eyes to meet mine. Her answering smile is big and wide.
“Peony!” Mandy jogs around the produce between us, her arms spread wide. She pulls me into a hug, and I hug her back. “Wow. It’s been a while since I saw you.”
I don’t even know how to explain everything that’s happened. Mandy lived just down the street from us in Tennysville. Her husband was… acquaintances with Andy. When Andy lost his job for a few months, he borrowed money from Mandy and Peter, and I don’t know if he ever paid it back.
“What are you doing in Penn Rock?” I ask her. The part I don’t ask is,and shopping at the high-end grocery store?I couldn’t have afforded to shop here when I lived in our old neighborhood.
She shrugs. “Peter got a new job, and I’m working now, too. They sell this cheese here, oh my god.” She gestures toward the deli. “You won’t believe how good it is. I come all the way out here just for the cheese.”
I’m not shocked to hear this given the impressive cheese selection. We meander over together, discussing the different cheeses, and I start telling her about the recipe I have planned.
Her eyebrows shoot up. “Wow. That sounds extravagant.Where did you end up when you… you know.” She lowers her voice, finally broaching the subject neither of us has brought up yet. “When you left Andy.”
I’m sure Andy went on a rage and everyone found out about it. He probably spun some wild story, too, to make me look like the villain. Nobody knew what he did behind closed doors, and I was quiet about it.
“I’m a housekeeper.” I grin. “It’s actually a great gig. I live in this fancy house and do the cooking and cleaning for a rich guy.”
“What?!” Mandy grabs my shoulders. “No way. You got a sugar daddy? And you’re living in a mansion?”
I suppose that is, a little bit, who Rupert has become. He doesn’t deduct my living expenses from my wages, and he pays for all the food I buy on shopping trips, so I’ve been able to save up quite a bit.
“I’m the housekeeper! Did you hear that part?”
Mandy shakes her head. “No. All I heard was you, fancy house, sugar daddy rich guy.”
I laugh, because I didn’t realize how much I missed her. I wonder if maybe we could spend time together again.
“Do you want to get coffee sometime?” I ask.
Mandy looks a little less certain now. “I can’t get out here very often, but if you give me your number, I could let you know next time I’m coming.”
We exchange digits, and then I get on with my shopping. But before we say goodbye, we hug again, and I didn’t expect just how nice it would feel to see a friend.
I think about Mandy the whole drive home. She’s not the only one I miss. I had friends before Andy, too, who eventuallystopped calling me. I know it’s not their fault. He convinced me they were all too good for me, especially after we moved to Tennysville, which was a much farther drive from where I’d lived when I worked at the restaurant. Eventually, we drifted apart, and I didn’t hear from them again.
Could I reach out to any of my former restaurant friends? Would they even want to hear from me?
The idea takes over, and when I get back to Edgewood Manor, I’m buzzing with plans. I want to call everyone and make coffee dates, just so I can explain what happened, and they can decide whether or not they want to be friends again—but at least I could open the door.
I suspect Rupert can tell my mind is elsewhere as we cook, because he’s quiet, too. Eventually though, he broaches whatever subject he’s been mulling over.
“Your great-aunt called me,” he says as we plate the dishes. “Stella. She wanted to visit with you.”
I scoff. “Really? Now?”
He shakes his head. “I know. Ridiculous. You don’t have to do it, obviously.”
