“So am I.” Frankie took a seat then lifted her glass. “Here’s to Arlington for making this possible.”
Harper joined her in the toast. “To Arlington.”
They both took a sip, then dug into their food.
“Mentioning him reminds me,” Harper said. “You know that drawing you did for me? The pen and ink of the sailboat from the movieSojourner?”
Frankie nodded. “Sure, I remember it.”
“It’s hanging in the office here.”
“Is it really?” Frankie smiled. “That’s nice. Makes me think he knew for a while that he was going to leave you this house.”
“You think?”
“Sure,” Frankie said. “Then the art stayed in the family.”
“I never thought about it that way. You don’t mind if I keep it, do you? Or do you want it back?”
Frankie shook her head. “It belongs here.” She took another big bite of the pasta. “This is so good. I can’t believe you whipped it up like that.”
“It’s a simple dish.”
“But delicious.” Frankie wiped her mouth. “I’ve sent my portfolio out to a few more publishers to see about getting onto their lists of cover artists. Those pay really well. If it’s all right with you, I might try to get a good scan of that drawing to add to it.”
“Absolutely. Go right ahead. I think Arlington would be all about that.”
“I wish I could have met him.”
Harper tossed Archie a piece of chicken. He was being such a good boy. He gobbled it down without hesitation. “I wish you could have, too.”
“So other than the woman who invited you to the book club, you don’t know any of the other members, right?”
“Right.” Harper smiled at her sister. “Which makes me doubly glad you’re here to go with me.”
“Should we bring something? That’s what’s usually done, right?”
Harper grimaced. “That sounds right. But I don’t really have anything to bring. And it’s a little late to go get something.”
“What about a bottle of wine? You’ve got that.”
“True. Most of that wine was here when I arrived. I need to make sure I don’t take a super cheap bottle or a super expensive one.”
“Would Arlington stock super cheap wine?”
Harper laughed. “No, probably not.”
“Do you think these women are going to be nice? Or stuck up?”
“I don’t know. Nice, I hope. Prisha, the woman who invited me, was lovely.”
“Doesn’t mean her friends will be.”
Harper stabbed a piece of pasta and used it to scoop up some peas. “No, but I don’t want to make any assumptions.”
“I just think we should be…prepared.”
“So bring a better-than-average bottle of wine?”
