The Sunshine Potluck Society

Chapter 35

Five months later, it was July, and the weather had turned cool. As cool as it would ever get in Sunshine, which made it absolutely perfect. The sun was shining, the sky was a deeper blue than it had been in summer, and the sun sparkled off the surface of the ocean.

Joanna set her hands on her hips to take in the view. Then with a long inhale and a wide smile, she returned to the house to finish preparing for their potluck brunch. The theme today was Spanish tapas, and she’d had a lot of fun devising the menu and cooking the food. She hoped everyone would enjoy it. Emily had gone overboard on the desserts. They would all be rolling out of the dining room later, but that’s how it always was for one of their brunches.

Inside, Gwen was putting the finishing touches on the decor. The boot was long gone and she looked positively radiant in a pair of jeans with brown boots and a white cardigan. She’d chosen to decorate with warm colours—shades of red, orange, yellow. There were swathes of fabric hung over the backs of each chair in alternating colours. A vase of red flowers stood in the centre of the table. She’d even painted several canvases with slashes of deep red and orange and set them on the sideboard against the wall behind the table.

“It looks so good in here,” Joanna said. “You’ve outdone yourself again.”

“Thanks, honey. The food smells divine. Also, I brought some chocolate to go with our coffee after dessert.”

“That’s perfect,” Joanna replied. “We have plenty. We’re waiting on Debbie, and then we can get started. I’ll find some music to play on the sound system.”

As she returned to the hallway, Aaron walked out, pulling a rolling suitcase behind him. She paused to allow him to make his way into the kitchen, then followed. A lump formed in her throat. She didn’t want him to move out yet. It seemed as though he’d only recently arrived. But time had flown, and he’d chosen to purchase a townhouse closer to the city so his commute wouldn’t be so long. He was moving out today after the brunch. It would be the last one he shared with them, at least until he next visited.

“I’m going to miss you, sweetheart,” Joanna said, reaching up to give him another hug. She’d hugged him three times already that morning. It would never be enough.

He laughed. “I’ll visit, Gran. I promise.”

“You’d better. And maybe I’ll come and see your new place once you’re settled. Would that be okay?”

“It would be awesome,” he replied.

“I’ll bring you food.”

“Even better.” He grinned. “Emily will be coming over, and I’ll be here to visit her as well. We’ll see each other a lot.”

Aaron and Emily had been very close lately. Since their first date, they’d spent more and more time together. It seemed to Joanna that things between them were becoming serious. She hoped, for both their sakes, that it would all work out. They were very sweet together and perfect for one another, in her opinion.

“Speaking of food… I’m going to have to leave early. I won’t make it for your brunch. Sorry, Gran. But I have to meet the real estate agent to get the keys, and she’s busy later.”

“Oh, dear,” Joanna said. “That’s a shame. Never mind. I’ll pack you a plate to take with you.”

“I won’t have a fridge to put it in for a while, so instead why don’t you just feed me the next time I visit and we’ll call it even?” He winked.

She laughed at that. “Okay, I suppose I can live with that. Here—you can take this bread roll at least or you’ll starve.”

“Thanks, Gran. I can’t ever starve with you around.”

“No one is starving with Joanna around,” Emily agreed as she pulled a tray of garlic-stuffed mushroom caps from the oven. “I think I’ve gained about ten kilograms living here.”

She set the mushrooms on the kitchen bench, and Aaron grabbed her around the waist, pulling her to his chest with a laugh. “You look perfect to me.”

She kissed him on the lips. Joanna beamed at the two of them. “You’re adorable. But give me another hug before you go, honey. I’m going to miss you so much.”

Aaron extricated himself to kiss Joanna on the cheek. Then she waved him goodbye from the front door. Emily walked out to the car with him.

Joanna returned to the kitchen to plate up the food. There was garlic shrimp and spicy chorizo. Crispy calamari served with marina sauce. Golden, crunchy empanadillas gallegas filled with tuna, egg and chopped olives. And corn muffins with whipped garlic butter.

The front door opened as she was finishing up, and Debbie stepped in carrying a tray in her hands. “Hello, my lovelies! What’s this box?”

“Box? What do you mean?” Joanna replied.

“There’s a big box at your front door. Right in the way.”

“Oh? I didn’t see it.”

Joanna hurried around to look, wiping her hands on the floral apron tied neatly around her waist. She kissed Debbie on the cheek, then studied the box that almost entirely blocked the front door. “Let’s see.” She read the label on the top of it, and her heart leapt. “It’s our book! Our book is here. Quick, help me get this box inside the house.”

Debbie placed her platter on the bench. “By the way, there’s a lot of kissing going on at the end of your driveway. I blushed as I walked by.”

Joanna chuckled as the two of them pushed the box into the house. It was too heavy to lift. She had to shove it at the same time as Debbie, and it took them a minute or two to get it over the threshold. Finally, it was inside, and they were both huffing. They pushed it to the kitchen table and collapsed into two chairs with a grunt.

“It’s very heavy,” Debbie said.

“I wonder why they didn’t ring the doorbell.”

“They never do anymore,” Debbie replied.

Gwen walked into the kitchen. “Debbie, you’re here! We’re ready to go as soon as you are. I’m famished.”

“Our book is here!” Joanna said, feeling a wobble in her voice. She was so excited about this recipe book—it’d been written with her best friends in all the world. Something she never thought would be possible, but that she’d always wanted.

Gwen’s face lit up. “Oh, goody. Let’s open it and take a look.” She brought over a pair of scissors she found in a kitchen drawer. “Should we wait for Emily?”

Joanna frowned. “Maybe we should… but I’m sure she won’t mind if we have a little look first.”

She cut the box open and pulled out a book to hand to each of them. Then she held one herself, turning it over and flipping through the pages. The front cover had a photograph of all four of them seated on the front steps of Joanna’s house. The flowers were in full bloom around them, and they were each holding a plate of food and laughing about something scandalous Debbie had just told them. She recalled the moment fondly with a smile on her face.

“It looks amazing,” Joanna said in a soft voice.

Debbie and Gwen both exchanged a glance with Joanna, their eyes glistening.

“I can’t believe this,” Gwen said.

“It’s everything I hoped,” Debbie added.

Just then, Emily returned to the house with red eyes. She fetched some tissues from the kitchen and blew her nose. Then she turned her attention to the ladies who were all watching her.

“What?”

“Are you okay, honey?” Joanna asked.

Emily nodded, tearing up again. “He’s not going far.”

“You’ll see him all the time,” Gwen added.

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder…or something like that,” Debbie said.

They all laughed.

Emily rolled her eyes. “Thanks, Deb.”

“Come and see this,” Joanna said. “Our book is here.”

Emily joined them, soon smiling again, her tears forgotten.

After they’d looked through every page and laughed and cried together over how well it had worked—far better than any of them imagined it could—they sat around the table and raised glasses of sangria high overhead.

“To all of you, my Potluck Society friends,” Joanna said.

“Friends for life,” Gwen added with a sniffle.

“Friends for life!” Debbie and Emily agreed.

They clinked the glasses together as each shouted, “Cheers!”

The food was delicious. Joanna especially liked the mushroom cups. And the sangria was divine, fruity and strong with a healthy serving of ice, just the way she liked it.

“How are things with you?” she asked Gwen as she reached for a corn muffin.

Gwen sighed. “I filed for divorce.”

“Really? Are you sure?” Debbie asked.

Gwen nodded. “I’m sure. We’ve been seeing a therapist, trying to work things out. But my heart wasn’t in it. I can’t trust him again, and I don’t believe he loves me. Not the way I need or want to be loved. I don’t want to live the rest of my life with a man who doesn’t care about me—I’ve wasted enough years doing that.”

“How do the children feel about it?” Emily asked.

“They understand. It’s taken a while for all of them to come around, but they get it now.”

Joanna left to get the dessert from the kitchen. Emily came with her to make coffee. There were tiny magdalenas, little cakes dusted with icing sugar, and cinnamon and orange crema catalana, similar to creme br?lée. The cappuccinos would go nicely with the desserts and help to cut the sweetness. She also carried Gwen’s chocolates on a tray with the rest of the dishes.

“Dessert is coming up!” she declared as she carried it all into the dining room and set it on the serving board.

“You shouldn’t have done so much hard work, Jo. You’re spoiling us,” Gwen said.

“I love it—you know that. Besides, Emily does a lot of the heavy lifting these days. She’s becoming quite the cook.”

Emily’s cheeks flushed pink as she handed around cappuccinos. “Thanks, Jo. You’re a good teacher.”

“What did I miss?” Joanna asked as she returned to her seat.

“Gwen was saying she’s had an offer on the house and has found a lovely unit by the beach.”

“Oh, good for you,” Joanna replied. “That sounds perfect.”

“Duncan was upset about it, but he didn’t offer to buy the place because he knows he’d have to maintain it on his own. He liked it when I cleaned and cooked for him but isn’t a fan of doing those things himself.”

“Of course,” Debbie replied with an eye roll. “Never mind, it’s not your job any longer. Maybe his girlfriend will take care of him.”

“I doubt that,” Gwen replied. “She broke up with him a few weeks ago.”

“No!” Joanna said. “Really? Wow. That’s got to be a bit of a wake-up call for him.”

“It was,” Gwen said. “He begged pretty hard for me to take him back after that happened. He even cried and said he’d made a huge mistake. But I can’t trust him. As I said, he broke my heart, and I’m not sure it’ll ever be mended.”

Joanna patted her hand. “You’ll find your joy again. I know you will.”

“Maybe, but it will take a while. I’m not sure I’ll ever trust someone again, though.”

Joanna didn’t respond to that. She hoped her friend would learn to love again, but now wasn’t the time to say that. She would be there for her and support her, and that was what Gwen needed.

“How are things with you, Deb?” Gwen asked. Clearly she wanted to change the subject, but Joanna was happy to let her.

“I’m fine,” Debbie replied.

“We’re going to need a little more detail than that,” Emily said as she dug into her crema catalana.

Debbie’s lips pursed for a moment. “I don’t want to rub anyone’s nose…”

Gwen frowned. “Are you saying you don’t want to talk about how happy you are because I’m miserable and going through a hard time?”

Debbie swallowed.

Gwen shook her head. “Debbie Holmes! I hope you know that you can always share happy times with me. It won’t upset me. It actually helps me to be happy. Gives me hope as well that maybe I’ll be there someday.”

Debbie nodded. “Okay. I’m glad. I want you to be happy. And things with Caleb are going so well. We’re closer than we’ve ever been. We’re headed to Venice for our anniversary, and we’re going to have a romantic gondola ride, and visit museums and art galleries and see this amazing choir at St Mark’s Cathedral. I’m really looking forward to it.”

“That sounds fantastic and so romantic,” Emily said, her eyes gleaming.

“Good for you, honey,” Joanna said.

“Yes, I’m happy for you both,” Gwen added. “So happy. I want you to thrive in your relationship. At least someone is getting that.”

She stood to her feet and went to give Debbie a hug. Debbie stood too and laced her arms around Gwen’s petite frame. Then Joanna decided to join them, and finally Emily hurried around the table too. All four women stood in an embrace, giggling and trying not to lose their balance. Tears filled Joanna’s eyes as she felt the warmth and love in that hug. These were friendships that had stood the test of time—women who wanted the best for her, who’d been there for her through the hard times and celebrated with her in the good times. They’d all experienced a year of change, of growth and of sorrow, of loss and of achievement. And she couldn’t wait to see what came next for the four of them in the years ahead.

Thank you for reading The Sunshine Potluck Society! I hope you enjoyed visiting Sunshine, Bribie Island. And if you’d like to visit with Joanna, Debbie, Gwen Emily again, you can order the next book in the series, Sunshine Reservations now.

Return to Sunshine with Book 2…