June smiled. Eleanor was a mother too, and she knew that everyone loved to hear nice things about their kids. “Oh, yeah, not in a bad mood or anything. If anything, it’s the opposite. He’s been sort of worn out and snuggly, sort of like how he was when he was younger. Not his usual energetic, ‘I can do everything myself, Mom’ self.”
Eleanor frowned. She didn’t like the sound of that. It wasn’t even June’s explanation that bothered her as much as the look in her friend’s eye. Eleanor had experienced that sort of mother’s intuition on her own before, that sense that something wasn’t quite right with her son, Jeremy. It had turned out that what looked on paper like a stomach bug had really been appendicitis. Getting him to the doctor early, instead of waiting until his symptoms had gotten more serious, meant that his surgery had been routine and his recovery swift. The experience had left Eleanor even more firmly in the camp of believing that moms knew their kids best.
“Oh, honey, that’s stressful,” Eleanor commiserated. “You’re thinking it’s more than a bug?”
June wobbled her head from side to side. “I’m hoping not. I’m going to re-evaluate after he gets a little bit of rest. AlthoughI’m not terribly consoled by the fact that when I suggested we head home for a nap, he agreed.”
“Oof,” Eleanor said, pulling a face. “Yeah, a seven-year-old who is happy about nap time? That’s a sure sign he’s not feeling his best.”
“Right?” June sighed. “But every year, autumn comes, and colds and flus and all kinds of other nasty bugs come with it. We’ll see where we are in a few days. And in the meantime, I’ll try not to freak myself out.”
“Stay off the internet,” Eleanor recommended. “Trust me. That isnota good road to go down. I once had myself halfway to convinced that Jeremy had smallpox when, spoiler, he just had the chicken pox.”
This, at least, got a smile out of June.
“Girl, if you think I’ve never done that to myself…”
They both chuckled, which at least put them with smiles on their faces as Benjamin returned, two books in his hands.
“Okay, Mom,” he said excitedly. “So this one is about a time-traveling dog. And this one is about a pirate, but they’re not bad, they’re good, because they steal fromotherpirates and give it to people who need stuff.”
“Those sound awesome,” June said approvingly.
“Which one am I going to read first, though?” Benjamin asked, with all the solemnity that such a question merited. He was pondering this as he walked toward the cash register.
“At least books seem to be making him feel better,” Eleanor said encouragingly to June as they followed in the little boy’s footsteps.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Eleanor,” June quipped back. “Books make everyone feel better.”
Eleanor had no response to that, other than a grin, because she agreed wholeheartedly.
June and Benjamin paid for their books, then Eleanor walked them to the door.
“Call me if you need anything,” she murmured to June on the way out.
June gave her a nod. “I will. Thanks.”
“Any time,” Eleanor said, meaning it. She knew that she had been beyond fortunate to find her group of friends so quickly after she arrived in Magnolia Shore. After all, she’d lived in Indianapolis for decades and she hadn’t gotten such a tight-knit group to have her back, not in all those years. Instead, she had spent the time focused on her marriage and her family, and while she didn’t regret that, because of course she loved her son more than anything, it hadn’t provided the same kind of support she’d gotten from her friendships here.
No, her life in Indianapolis had ended in an unexpected divorce after twenty years of marriage, and practically nobody who was even sorry when she left town.
Not that Eleanor was inclined to feel sorry for herself, of course. She loved her life here. Aside from Jeremy, her son, moving to Magnolia Shore was the greatest thing that had ever happened to her. And that was even before she’d met her boyfriend, Garrett Wilder.
Even then,meetingGarrett hadn’t exactly gone swimmingly, Eleanor reminisced with a smile. The first few times that she and Garrett had encountered one another, he and Eleanor had gotten on about as well as cats trapped together in a bag. Over time though, they had learned that their friction was actually due to sparks. Garrett had used his expertise, gained as the owner of the local hardware store, to help her turn the ground floor of her home into the bookstore of her dreams and, in the process, they had fallen…
Well. Neither of them had actually said ‘the L word’ yet. But increasingly, Eleanor had been feeling very L word-like feelings.Admitting it to herself, though, made her feel nervous in that half giggly and excited, half scared kind of way.
After all, she hadn’t ever expected to have such an intense emotional connection again in her life, let alone so quickly after her divorce. And she hadn’t quite worked up the courage to ask Garrett how he was feeling about the potential of their relationship lasting a long time. He had his own demons. Who didn’t, at their age? And his fiancée, Maria, leaving him just before their wedding had left deep wounds, even if those wounds had ten years to heal.
But Eleanor wasn’t reallyworriedabout those things. It was all part of the process. And she wasn’t in any rush. Why would she be, when she was enjoying where she was so very much?
She bit back a grin as she began unpacking a box of new romance books. She had always loved reading about romance and she still did. But these days, she found that her thoughts were less along the lines ofif only that were my lifeand closer tomy life really is as amazing as what happens in these books…
Okay, well, her life wasn’t quite as dramatic asallof the books, she reasoned as she shelved an epic romantic fantasy book about a sorceress princess in a love triangle with the prince to whom she was betrothed and her mysterious and brooding bodyguard. But Eleanor would take her quiet life in her cozy bookstore over magic and political intrigue any day.
She tended to her last few chores while some late-afternoon customers filtered in and out, making a few purchases to carry them through a quiet fall evening in coastal Massachusetts. Eleanor was happy to help anyone find a book to love, of course, but she had to admit that she was pretty pleased when it was time to close up shop.
She had dinner plans with Garrett. Reading about love was great, but it had nothing on her very own second chance at a happy ending.
