Winnie had a great recipe for apple and pear pie that would be ideal for the fruits that were in season right now, but she hesitated a moment too long and the conversation swept ahead with a plan. Diana and Cadence had already bent their heads together to talk about making pumpkin pie, which they knew was June’s favorite.
Winnie felt a pang go through her at this reminder that they all had this longstanding bond, but she took a deep breath and steadied herself. Just because she was newer didn’t mean she was worse. They just didn’t know everything about one another yet.
“Darling, don’t you know that rule one of book club is that you need a drink in hand?”
Winnie turned to see Miriam smiling at her, which felt good for a flash. It was very nice to feel included. That flash faded, however, when she saw that Miriam’s hand, which held out a wine glass to Winnie, trembled the tiniest bit. Miriam looked a little tired too, not that Winnie would ever be rude enough to say so.
“Thank you,” she said instead, taking the drink from the older woman. “How are you feeling? Able to get a little more rest lately?”
Miriam twisted her face into a playful little grimace that Winnie suspected hid a genuine emotion.
“That’s nice of you to ask, honey. I’m doing a little bit better, I suppose. But I don’t bounce back from things as quickly as I once did.” She sighed. “And far be it from me to say that gettingolder is bad. I quite like my age, thank you very much. Goodness knows I look fetching in white,” she added, plumping her hair playfully, “and it’s nice to know that once you reach a certain number of birthdays, you’re not obliged to care what others think about you as much.”
“I struggle to believe that you were ever unduly burdened by what others thought about you,” Winnie offered, thinking of the indomitable spirit that was evident in Miriam’s core.
Miriam offered her a smile. “Oh, you’re right there. I turned some heads in my day, doing all the things that people didn’t think women should be doing back then. But…”
She trailed off for long enough that Winnie thought she might not speak again, and when she did, there was none of the playfulness from before. It was all raw honesty.
“I don’t like asking people for things,” she admitted. “Or, no. It’s more that I don’t likeneedingto ask people for things. No man is an island and all that… but I liked knowing that I could be my own island if I needed to be. And I’m being forced to face that that isn’t as true as I might have hoped.”
Winnie blinked for a moment.
“That… that’sexactlyhow I feel,” she admitted breathlessly, not even thinking very much about how this confession revealed things about her. “I mean, from an outsider’s perspective, I know that it was nice that Garrett was able to help you. But if it was me?” She gave Miriam a sheepish look. “I would have been furious that I needed anyone to help me. I want to believe that I can do anything myself, even when that’s, you know, pretty clearly nuts. Don’t ask me about the time I tried to get my mattress and bed frame up my stairs. Seriously, donotask.”
Miriam patted her hand affectionately.
“I knew we were kindred spirits, Winnie Burnett,” she said kindly.
Winnie thought she might be blushing at the idea that she, Ice Queen Winnie Burnett, was made of the same stuff as spitfire Miriam Landers, town firecracker.
It was a really nice thought, indeed.
And, in true firecracker spirit, Miriam’s poor mood vanished quickly, replaced by a glimmer of mischief.
“Onto cheerier things, however. Tell me, was taking those battered old cornhole boards of mine a good idea?”
Winnie felt herself brighten too. “Yes!” She paused. “Okay, if the question is ‘did you fix the cornhole boards?’ Then… no. But it was still a good idea,” she added hastily. “It helped me get out of my mental rut when it comes to planning these darn fundraisers. The whole thing is still very much in progress, but I’m making moves for the first time, and that feels good.”
She almost added that Shane had helped her come up with the idea, but she paused, darting a glance at Eleanor, who had her head bent together with Cadence and Diana, still scheming up ways to help June and Benjamin as the week went on.
Winnie was just starting to get on firm ground with Eleanor, so she didn’t want to rock the boat by revealing that she had been spending time with her brother. She wanted to get a little more information about how Eleanor would react, first. And she felt that it was probably best to have that conversation in private, not in front of the whole book club, just in case Eleanor wasn’t totally comfortable with the idea.
There was some part, however, that she could put before the group.
“Actually,” she said, raising her voice just a little, so the rest of the crew would know that she meant them too, “I wanted to get your feedback on something that I’m planning.”
The group looked a little surprised to see Winnie was the one seeking their attention, but there wasn’t anythingresembling hostility in their gazes. Just curiosity, happiness, and encouragement.
Winnie told them about her carnival plan, explaining how this would help her hit the objectives of the historical society’s fundraising goals, particularly as pertained to bringing in new benefactors who might not otherwise know or care about the things that the society did.
She was gratified to see the dawning excitement on her friends’ faces. She thought briefly of Shane and his advice that she let others in. He’d been right, of course. This was scary, but it wasworking.
“So there will be all the interactivity that my boss wants,” she told her friends. “And it will be fun and games, but there will be an educational twist, which I’m hoping will lure in parents and kids.”
“Yeah, it sounds amazing,” Cadence said excitedly. “It reminds me of the fair scene inThe Last Song.” This was a Nicholas Sparks book that the book club had read a few months prior. “But with learning. I’ll absolutely bring Izzy.”
This was her six-year-old daughter… and exactly the kind of audience that Winnie wanted to draw with this event.
