29. “Brand New Day”

29

"brAND NEW DAY"

VAN MORRISON

T he bespectacled librarian behind the desk closest to the entrance looked up from her computer screen and smiled at me as I walked in. That simple kindness felt like recognition, a heady feeling at a time when nothing seemed familiar to me. I waved back and made note of her chic ensemble and on-trend hairstyle—shoulder-length platinum beach waves I hoped to have the confidence for when I reached her age. "I love your hair," I whispered, digging my library books out of my tote bag and slipping them into the depository on the left side of her desk. I checked her name tag. Peggy.

She put her reading glasses on top of her head, pushing her hair back like a headband. "Thank you. I got tired of coloring it once a month and straightening my hair every day, so I decided to let nature take its course. The humidity here doesn't really lend itself to forcibly straightening our hair, so my life got a lot easier when I stopped fighting that losing battle.

"I've seen you in here before, haven't I? I have to say, I noticed your hair right away, too. Looks like we're in the same club, but yours decided to take the dramatic route. "

My skunk stripe never failed to get me noticed—and recognized—wherever I went. I'd long since given up trying to color it to match the rest of my hair; it turned its nose up at any such attempt like a petulant child with a plate full of boiled tripe.

"It's pointless to fight it. I gave up a long time ago. Anyway, it's nice to meet you, Peggy. I'm Paige. I'm headed back to a meeting room to meet with my writing mentor."

Her silver eyebrows shot up under her bangs. "Any chance you're meeting with Caleb?"

"I am…" I replied, my confusion evident in my tone.

"He's mentored quite a few aspiring authors at this library, some of whose books are on our shelves now. I'm in charge of procurement here, so when you publish your book—which you will if Caleb has any say in it—come see me. I like to support our local authors."

Something that felt like electricity coursed through me at the mental image her words painted in my head. My name on a book sitting on a library shelf. A woman's hand reaching for it. Flipping it over to read the back. Adding it to her stack.

"I will be sure to do that. Thank you! Ok, I'd better get moving so I can get settled before he gets here. It was lovely to meet you, Peggy."

"Likewise," she replied as I pulled the handles of my tote bag up to my shoulder. I sent her a quick but sincere smile before heading to the back of the library.

I found an open meeting room and laid out my laptop, notebooks, and pens. I was ready.

Caleb arrived a few minutes later, poking his head around the doorway with a big smile on his face. "It's plotting day, Paige! Are you excited?"

"So excited!" I wasn't sure if I would call it exciting , per se, but who was I to throw a wet blanket over his enthusiasm when it was something I so desperately needed in my life.

He started setting his laptop and notebook on the table, then sat down next to me. "Not everybody loves to plot, but it's always been something I've enjoyed doing, and I hope to get you to a place where you enjoy it too."

Caleb opened his laptop and pointed to my notebook. "You're going to want to take notes. This is going to be a lot to try and remember."

As Caleb demonstrated each of the tools he used most for the planning phase of each book, my pen poured everything I heard onto the page in front of me.

"I'm going to email you all the links for these tools, but for the time being, let's go over how I use each of them. Did you have time to finish the general outline of your story?"

"I did! I'm sure there will be more that needs to be added as I go along, but for now, this is what I have." I opened my notebook and flipped through my pages and pages of notes. I sucked in a breath and held it while I kept my eyes on the table to my right. It felt so uncomfortable to have something that felt so personal laid bare in front of someone else. I didn't often share any part of my writing, although, up to this point, I hadn't produced much of anything to share.

"Paige! This is awesome. I'm so proud of you. Look at all this hard work. This looks like the beginnings of a bestseller to me."

I released the breath I'd been holding and dug deep for the courage to make eye contact with him. "This was a lot of work, but I know the real work is still ahead of me."

"Doing the hard work at this stage saves you a lot of grief later on. Trust me. I don't know how people write books without planning them out. I would just sit there and stare at my screen, wondering what was next."

"You just described the last few years of my life."

"It's only up from here, then. What we're going to do is break apart your outline into chapters and scenes. Are you ready?" And for the next two hours, we sat at that table and plotted out my story using Caleb's tools and expertise and my rough outline. When we had finished entering the last scene, Caleb sat back in his chair and put his hands behind his head, looking as carefree as a high school senior on graduation day.

"Look at what you've done, Paige. You have outlined an entire book. Granted, you're going to have to fill in some holes here and there, and you are probably going to discover some missing scenes, but that's okay. That's a normal part of writing. But you've got the bones, and it's a really good start.

"Why don't you focus on creating some depth to your characters? I'm going to email you some of the templates I use. In the meantime, think of things that would make your characters feel real. Give them some depth. Figure out their dreams and aspirations. What do they like to do in their spare time? What do they like to eat? Do they have any funny quirks? Do they have any fun hobbies? Think in terms of some deeper qualities that you and I might have that somebody would connect with. If you can't think of anything, try to pull some aspects of your characters from people you already know. Maybe a funny catchphrase somebody has, for instance."

"Oh, this part sounds fun."

"It is fun. It can be challenging sometimes, but it's worthwhile. You need to develop characters strong enough to carry your reader through the book." Caleb looked at his watch as it began to beep. "We have been here for two hours. That time flew by. I have someone else meeting me here in ten minutes, but let's plan on getting together again in another week."

We both opened up our calendars on our phones and settled on a time for the following Wednesday, after which I packed up everything I'd brought and bid Caleb adieu.

I walked back in the house and after letting a very antsy Roxy outside, I set my tote bag on the kitchen counter. Not even a moment later, I heard my phone buzz once from somewhere inside of it, and I dug it out while stepping on the heels of my sneakers to take them off. The house was quiet and I assumed Kari had walked to the yoga studio she'd discovered less than a mile away.

My screen showed a notification from the Sensational Six group chat.

Grace: Hey lady, we missed you at league. It seems like you're keeping that friend all to yourself. We'd love to meet her. Do you have time this week to meet at the café for a late breakfast?

I laughed. I'd been so busy enjoying Kari's company that I'd forgotten I had built her up so much to my new friends, and then hadn't followed through.

Absolutely. We've been running all over town and floating in the pool. What day works for you?

Grace: How about tomorrow morning?

I'll check with Kari, but I'm pretty sure she's free.

Jenna: Tomorrow works for me. Can we meet after eleven?

Elyse: After eleven works for me, too. I can't leave the store until the cashier comes in.

Great! We'll see you all at the café tomorrow at eleven fifteen.

Grace: Looking forward to it!

Thursday morning at eleven found me sliding into the large U-shaped booth at Cat's Bites. Kari scooted in next to me and we did the butt-scoot boogie around to the center of the seat to make room for everybody else. In true Kari fashion, we were fifteen minutes early. In true Paige fashion, my hair was soaking wet.

"What do you recommend here?" asked Kari as she perused the menu.

"You can't go wrong with the eggs Benedict. It's their specialty."

Kari set her menu down on top of mine. "Sold!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the flash of color that was Grace, followed by Elyse, Jenna, and Sarah. Grace and Sarah slid into my left while Elyse and Jenna scooted in on Kari's right.

"I wish we weren't all sitting so I could give you a proper hello," said Grace. Instead, she reached across me to pat Kari's hand.

"I think she probably would appreciate a handshake at this point, Mom," laughed Sarah. "She just met you fifteen seconds ago."

Kari patted Grace's hand with the free one. "Oh, no, it's okay. I'm a hugger, too, but that will leave us something to look forward to at the end."

"Oh, I like this one," said Grace as she squeezed Kari's hand, then sat back in the booth.

Sarah set her bag down on the booth and smiled across the table at Kari. "I took the day off for a doctor's appointment later, so this worked out perfectly. It's nice to meet you. I've heard so many great things about you."

Everyone else took turns introducing themselves, including Cat, who was able to slip out of the kitchen for a few minutes. After placing our orders with the waitress, Grace started with the first of what would end up being many, many questions.

"So, Kari, have you found a yoga studio here that you like?"

"Oh, I'm so glad you brought that up," I said, taking the first chance I could to derail the Thompson Inquisition. "Kari had a great idea for the retreat. Go ahead, Kari. Tell them your idea."

Kari put her hands on the table before her and spread out her fingers; her trademark indication that things were about to get serious. "Ok, so Paige was saying she's looking into having a writing expert come and speak on Friday mornings during the retreat, and I thought Saturday morning would be the perfect opportunity for the women who are so inclined to come together and practice yoga."

"I love this idea," said Jenna.

Sarah looked excited as she added, "I think that would be a big hit with the women!"

Grace jumped in next. "I think it's a great idea, too. Where do you think you could set it up?"

"There's a lot of space in the sunroom. I would need to get some balance blocks, yoga mats, spray bottles, and a few other things, but I don't see it being very expensive. We could put some heavier drapes in there to block some of the light.

"Kari has already volunteered to vet a few yogis for me to choose from. I'm going to meet with them tomorrow."

"Oh, I hope that works out. This could be the perfect addition to what you already have planned. And it could be completely optional, right?" asked Elyse.

"Yep! Everything is optional. If somebody wanted to hole up in their room for all three days, they can just as easily do that. Heck, we can even drop off their Uber Eats orders right outside the door of their suite."

A few minutes later, our food arrived, and we dug in. The conversation flowed naturally between the six of us, and as I looked around the table at the friends I had assembled in my life, I couldn't be happier knowing that these women were so invested in my success and happiness. It made my heart warm knowing that they were in my life.

After lunch, we stood outside the door saying our goodbyes.

"Well, how about that hug now, Kari?" Grace stood with her arms already open and waiting.

Kari hugged each of them, starting with Grace, of course. "It was so nice to meet all of you."

When Elyse asked Kari when she was coming back, panic flashed on Kari's face for just a moment. "I've had such a great time, and I'm proud of myself for making this trip. I don't travel often?—"

"Or at all," I interjected.

"Or at all. Correct. So, I'm probably going to go home and just bask in the glow of this success for now, but I can't imagine it's going to be very long before I come back again. It's gorgeous here."

"And you can't beat the company," I added.

"I look forward to seeing you next time you're here," said Elyse. "I hate to break up the band, but I need to head back to the store. Kari, great to meet you, and I hope we'll be seeing more of you. Travel safely. I'll see the rest of you next Tuesday."

We all said our goodbyes, and as Kari and I walked back toward my car, she commented, "I can't help but feel a little jealous, but you're so lucky to have found them. I'm so happy for you, Paige."

And for the first time, I could honestly say I was starting to feel happy for me, too.