17. “To Find a Friend”

17

"TO FIND A FRIEND"

TOM PETTY

T he next few days passed without much ado. Roxy and I took a lot of walks exploring the neighborhood, Uncle Mike and I made it out for a round of golf, I hosted a four-course dinner for him and Chris on Wednesday night, and on Thursday morning, I decided I was ready to go back to work. It was nice to return to some semblance of my regular routine and feel productive again. Well, productive at my job, anyway. I hadn't even touched my book since I'd arrived. I told myself I was waiting for some kind of inspiration to strike, but the same old anxiety started creeping up every time I thought about sitting down at the beautiful desk in my third-floor office to write.

As Thursday evening approached, a long-forgotten feeling of anticipation and excitement boiled in my stomach. I was grateful for the opportunity to get to know a few more people there, even though I had a teensy bit of anxiety about meeting numerous people all at once. As soon as I hung up with Kari, I said goodbye to Roxy and headed out to the Jeep.

At five forty-five, I was driving through downtown Dunedin. I passed Pioneer Park and smiled at all the families milling around in the grass. I made a mental note to stop by Skip's Bar (Pet friendly!) with Roxy later and check out the pet mural on the side of their building.

I rolled past the Dunedin History Museum, the Crown and Bull Bistro, and turned around after Back in the Day Books across from Dash of Flair. I slowed to a crawl and peered through the window of the bookstore. I pictured a line out the door as I sat behind a table inside signing copies of my book.

Someday.

After heading back down toward the library, I pulled into an open parking spot along the bushes at the far end of the lot and was just sliding out of my Jeep when I heard a familiar voice.

"Hey there, you."

I turned around and saw Grace standing behind the pearl-white Range Rover in the parking spot next to mine.

"I'm so glad you made it. You're really going to love everyone you'll meet tonight. Most of the time we talk about the book, but a good part of it is spent catching up and general chit-chat."

"I'm always down for chit-chat. I'm glad I've already read the book we are talking about tonight."

"Well, I'm excited to hear a new perspective. Are you ready to head in?" She smoothed down her white linen straight-leg pants and held out a hot-pink-cardigan-covered elbow. She seemed to have an eye for fashion; there was no way my t-shirt and jeans wardrobe was going to pass muster if she was setting the bar.

"Yes. I'm excited." I looped my arm through hers, and we walked toward the building. Separating at the top of the stairs, I held the door for Grace, who then led the way to the community room where the meeting was being held.

As I followed her through the room to the circle formed by soft brown leather chairs that were worn just enough to make them cozy, I was relieved to see another familiar face—Elyse. She had on a Fleetwood Mac concert t-shirt and jeans and her beautiful, art-filled right arm was waving wildly in the air. She was talking to a sundress-clad Laci who was attempting—and failing—to contain her laughter behind her hand. It was clear that Grace had also seen Elyse; she was already making a beeline toward her.

"Look who I found in the parking lot."

Laci and Elyse turned toward us at the same time, tears from laughter streaming down their cheeks.

Laci swiped at her eyes, raised a hand in greeting. "Nice to see you again, Paige. Ok, ladies, the room is starting to fill up. I'm going to head back over to my seat." She walked off to the other side of the circle shaking her head, our symphony of goodbyes following her.

"Hey there, Paige. Nice to see you could make it," said Elyse. "Cat texted a few minutes ago to let me know she's running a little late, so I threw my bag on a chair to save it for her." She nodded her head toward the chair next to her, which currently held an orange leather backpack I would have picked out myself. I loved her style. "I was just telling Laci about the children's reading circle at the bookstore today. We don't have time for me to tell the whole story again, but suffice it to say, little kids pronounce "dump truck" in all sorts of interesting and amusing ways, none of them G rated. Anyway, do we need to save seats for Sarah and Jenna?"

Grace turned and looked around the room. "Depends how fast they can walk and how many times Sarah stops to chat. They're strolling in right now."

I followed Grace's eye line and saw two women winding their way through the others still milling around.

While at first glance, one might assume they shopped off of different racks at the same department store—one decked out head to toe in pastel and tan business casual and the other in a long baby blue skirt and pink sweater set—but the smile that erupted from the woman on the left when her eyes landed on our little group instantly set her apart. "Hi, Mom." she exclaimed, quick-stepping over and throwing her arms around Grace.

Grace returned her hug with gusto. "Hey there, Sar Bear. I'm glad you could make it." She stepped back from Sarah, who smiled at me curiously then turned and walked toward Elyse. Grace took a half step to her right, and stood on her tiptoes to hug the young woman who'd walked in with her daughter. "Jenna, you look lovely as always," she said. "I had one of your apple walnut muffins this morning and it might have actually been better than the blueberry lemon muffin I had on Tuesday! Anyway, I'm glad Sarah had time to pick you up because there's someone here I'd like you to meet. Sarah? Can I have a moment of your time?"

Sarah, who was sitting on the edge of a chair, already deep in conversation with Elyse, stood and smoothened imagined wrinkles from the front of her pants, then put her arm around her mother's waist. She used her free hand to straighten the headband holding back her shoulder-length ash blonde hair. "I couldn't wait one more minute to update Elyse on what happened at the meeting with that student's parents. Mom, you have to ask her about what happened at the children's reading circle today. I will never look at a dump truck the same ever again."

She turned to me, and her eyes caught mine. I'd read about eyes ‘sparkling', but had never seen it firsthand. At first glance, Sarah's eyes were brown; however, when I looked directly into them, I could see flecks of gold that caught the light. They were captivating and I wished at that moment I were a painter.

"Sarah, this is Paige," Grace began. "She is visiting Dunedin—indefinitely. Maybe forever?" She looked at me with the last two words, and I felt a warmth spread through my chest. "Elyse, Cat, and I golfed with her on Tuesday. She's a big reader and needs to meet some new people, so we invited her to join us tonight. I have a feeling she's going to fit right in."

"Nice to meet you, Paige, and welcome to Florida," said Sarah. I put my hand out to shake hers, and was pulled in for a hug instead. "I'm a hugger. I hope that's ok."

"Hug away," I assured her. "My entire family is filled with huggers, so it's pretty much my default."

After a few moments, she released me and spun around to pull Jenna into the circle. "This is Jenna. She works at Cat's café, and she's quite the baker. I call her my Maven of Muffins. I get to taste test all her new creations, and I might actually turn into a muffin eventually, but I don't even care. I bring some into the school once a week and leave them in the staff lunchroom. It's not specifically mentioned in any school social worker handbook, but it's my professional opinion that cupcakes and muffins can raise your serotonin levels for at least eight hours. Long enough to make it through an IEP meeting, at any rate."

While Sarah extolled the indisputable virtues of baked goods, my gaze rose to Jenna, who was staring somewhere near my feet, her face nearly covered by the curtain of her neat brown bob. I was willing to bet she wasn't a hugger. Deciding to play it safe, I put my hand out in her line of vision. Jenna's eyes followed it up to the space just below my chin. They were the same color as her hair… and sad.

"Nice to meet you, Jenna," I said as she returned my handshake. "I've heard all about your talent. I am also a lover of baked goods, so clearly, we are going to be best friends." I gave her my warmest smile and squeezed her hand a bit before releasing it.

"It's nice to meet you too," Jenna replied in a voice that could barely be heard above the excited chatter in the room.

"Have you read this book?" Sarah pulled that night's selection from her tote bag and held it in front of her chest .

"I read it a few months ago, and I skimmed through it again last night, so I should be okay."

"Oh, that's a relief. What kinds of books do you usually read?"

"I read everything but horror. My Goodreads is packed with everything under the sun. I try to keep it updated, so feel free to friend me if you're looking for inspiration."

"I'll do that right now. What's your last name?" She scrolled through her phone, then paused, waiting.

Within seconds of saying, "Rhiann. R-h-i-a-n-n," I had a Goodreads notification on my screen.

Jenna stood next to Sarah and listened as we discussed some of our favorite (and not-so-favorite) books and a few on our To Be Read piles, but did not say a word. I wondered if she was shy, or had social anxiety. Demure had been the ‘word of the day' from my desk calendar the week before, and it fit her perfectly.

As the rest of the book club members filed in and the seats were nearly all claimed, Grace turned back to me. "Let's head to our chairs. It looks like we're almost ready to start."

The five of us spread out in a curved line to the right of Elyse, and moments later, Cat sprinted through the door. After stopping to quickly scan the circle, she made her way over, a ray of sunshine headed our way.

She sat down and placed Elye's bag between them at their feet just as a woman in the center of the circle started talking. Leaning over, she whispered to me, "I'm glad you could make it. We'll chat after, ok?" Then she sat back, took a deep breath through her nose, and let it out slowly. It was a move I knew all too well.

After the meeting was over, we made our way out to the parking lot together while continuing the discussion we'd had with the group. Sarah and Jenna stopped at a vehicle that had seen more miles than Forrest Gump, but was still as clean as if it had just driven off the lot. "Will you be at our next book club meeting?" Sarah asked as she plucked her keys from a hook on the inside of her sensible brown leather tote bag. "Did you enjoy yourself tonight?"

"I really liked some of the questions a few of the members came up with," I replied. "I had looked up some questions online to see if I was prepared for the meeting, and the ones that were asked tonight were well thought out and really made me consider what I had read and what I would do in each character's situation."

"That's the beauty of our book club," said Grace. "There are no standard-issue questions here. All our members think outside of the box, so when it comes time for our meeting, we never know if we're fully prepared or not."

"I love that; I need to think more outside the box myself, so I enjoyed the conversation tonight and learned a lot. I would definitely come back again. I'll be here for at least a few more months, so I'll be at next month's meeting for sure. Have they decided on a book yet?"

"Not yet, but I'm going to add you to the Facebook group where we will discuss next month's meeting and the book we'll read beforehand."

"I look forward to it."

Sarah glanced at the time on her phone. "Ladies, it's been fun, but I need to get Jenna home now. I'm sure I'll see you soon. It was great to meet you, Paige." She stepped forward and hugged each of us briefly, then chirped her car locks and turned one more time before opening her door and climbing inside. "If you're ever up for a visitor or a glass of wine, I'm your girl."

"I think we're all her girls if that's the criteria, Sarah." Cat chuckled and winked at me.

"True. Ok, I need to get home to the kids. Mom, Ethan and Lily told me to say hi to Nana for them. They're looking forward to seeing you at dinner tomorrow night. I'm making beef bourguignon, so if you could bring a bottle of red, that would be perfect. Ready, Jenna?"

Jenna sent a nervous glance my way. "I need to get going, I've been here way too long as it is, but I really did enjoy meeting you, Paige." And with that, she opened the passenger door, climbed in, and gently closed it.

The other ladies walked with me toward the back of the parking lot where I was parked.

Elyse stopped behind a black Audi convertible parked next to Grace's Range Rover. "Come by any time," I offered. "It's the pink house on Victoria Lane. You can't miss it. Or my yellow Jeep."

Elyse's eyes lit up. "I've driven by those houses a thousand times. I'd love to see the inside of one of them. I'll stop by soon."

"Any time," I said. "Truly. It's just me and my golden retriever, Roxy, floating around in that huge house by ourselves."

"Golden retriever? Would she be interested in making friends with a German Shepherd? Eden is huge but a total sweetheart."

"Yeah, Roxy could stand to make a few friends herself."

"Awesome. It's a date. You'll be seeing us soon."

"Sounds perfect."

Cat took a pair of fingerless black leather gloves out of her back pocket and slapped them on the palm of her left hand. "Count me in for drinks as well. My bike is in the lot next door, so I'll see you all soon. Someday, I'll be able to leave the café on time and get here before all these spots are filled." She raised her hand in a brief goodbye, then walked between our vehicles and through the bushes they were parked against. We heard the roar of an engine, then, moments later, a flash of yellow as her motorcycle pulled out of the parking lot next door and took off down the street in front of us.

Grace and I chatted for a few more minutes before we each got into our vehicles and pulled out of the parking lot. My trip back to the house took fifteen minutes, but I was so lost in thought, it felt like seconds. I pulled into the driveway with a huge smile on my face. I'd had a big week, one of my biggest, and the roots I'd tenuously coaxed from their slumber up in Madison were already starting to grow in their new little corner of the world. My second act was really starting to take shape. Of my life, anyway.

My book? That was a whole other story.