Chapter 11 #2
Was she simply adapting to her new tenants?
Hopefully not having second thoughts again.
Or would that be third or fourth thoughts by now?
Just remember, she told herself as she shut the French door behind her, having tenants is allowing you to remain in your home.
It was a good thing. And it was only natural that it would take time to adjust.
“There you are,” Marcus said cheerfully to Riva. “We were just wondering when you were joining us.” He held a glass of white wine out toward her. “I didn’t raid your wine cellar this time. Windy said she wanted Sauvignon Blanc to go with the chicken.”
Riva took the glass from him. “Thank you.”
Marcus seemed to really see her now. “You look very nice,” he said quietly.
“Thanks,” she muttered, feeling even more self-conscious. “I see you’ve met Kitty, but I don’t think you’ve met Fiona.” She politely introduced them. “I think I already mentioned she’s part of a Celtic band.”
He shook Fiona’s hand. “What instruments do you play?”
“Mostly the fiddle. But I play mandolin too. And the penny whistle. Also a wee bit of guitar, but I’m only a beginner.”
“I bet you’re a fast learner. And guitar’s not that difficult. I play some,” he said. “Not very well and mainly for my own entertainment.”
“We should make music after dinner,” she told him. “You can play my guitar, and I’ll be on fiddle.”
“And I’ll dance!” Windy laughed. “But right now, dinner is ready. Everyone grab a plate and serve yourselves.”
It was cozy with six diners at the round picnic table.
It didn’t escape Riva’s notice that Marcus was flanked by Kitty and Laurel, who both seemed determined to catch his attention.
Kitty was trying to talk baseball with him and actually sounded like an expert, but the moment she paused, Laurel jumped right in.
“Riva and I are talking about doing a book group,” she directed to Marcus. “But Riva wants to ban men.” Laurel playfully elbowed Riva.
“Ban men?” Marcus asked. “That seems a bit sexist.”
“It’s only that I thought we could start with just the women living here,” Riva said in defense.
“But I’m not even a reader,” Laurel said.
“I’m not either,” Kitty admitted. “But Riva already gave me assigned reading.”
“What book?” Windy asked.
“Pride and Prejudice,” Kitty told her. “It was written hundreds of years ago.”
“I love that one,” Windy said. “I love anything by Jane Austen.”
“Can that be our first book group book?” Kitty asked. “That way I wouldn’t have to read two books.”
“Since Windy and I both already read it, I think we should choose another title,” Riva told her.
“Yes,” Laurel agreed. “Something that appeals to everyone. Not just women.”
“Meaning men don’t read Jane Austen?” Marcus reached for the breadbasket.
“Have you?” Laurel asked.
“As a matter of fact, I’ve read more than one Austen book.”
“My brother’s always been a voracious reader.” Windy passed the salad dressing. “We didn’t have a big selection of books on the commune where we grew up, but he’d scrounge them up somehow. I even caught him reading Nancy Drew books. I never let him hear the end of that.”
They all laughed.
“Hey, Nancy Drew was better than some of the religious propaganda they forced on us.” Marcus shrugged. “I learned to make the best of things.”
“So, it was a religious commune?” Riva asked.
“Were you in a cult?” Kitty’s eyes grew wide.
“Not exactly,” Marcus told her. “They started out as a traditional commune where everyone had jobs to keep it going. But then a new leader took over, and it got overly fundamentalist. At least for me.”
“For me too,” Windy agreed. “I was twelve when Marcus escaped. I couldn’t wait to get out.”
“Did they try to brainwash you?” Laurel asked.
“Not exactly. But the leaders used the Bible to beat us.” Marcus’s tone was light, but his expression was serious.
“They hit you with a Bible?” Kitty asked.
“Not literally.” Marcus chuckled before growing somber. “They had a special stick for that.” He looked at Windy. “Remember the rod?”
“Yeah, spare the rod, spoil the child.”
“That’s child abuse,” Kitty said.
“Probably.” Marcus sighed. “But we don’t really need to go there now. Although, it might help some to understand why I used books, even Nancy Drew, to escape.”
“Speaking of books, I love the idea of a book group,” Windy said. “Admittedly I became a reader later in life than my brother, but I do love to read.”
“I used to like reading,” Fiona said. “I probably don’t do as much as I should anymore, but a book group might help me get back to it.”
“When will we start it?” Windy asked. “And what will our first book be?”
“I, uh, I’m not sure.” Riva bit her lip. “I thought maybe we should wait until fall.”
“Why wait?” Marcus asked. “Summer is a good time to read. Nothing like a good book in a cool spot on a hot day.” He turned to Riva with a smirk. “I’m just feeling left out that you want to ban men.”
“I think we should take a vote,” Laurel declared. “Maybe three votes. First, for whether or not to ban men.” She held up one finger. “And a second vote for when we should start, and a third vote to choose a book. What say ye?”
They all chimed in that a vote was a good idea, and Laurel began lobbying to include men. “A male perspective would make it more interesting,” she said.
“I have a male bandmate who likes to read,” Fiona told them. “I’m sure he’d like to come to our group.”
“I think having guys would make it more fun,” Kitty added.
“Let’s take a vote,” Laurel said.
“I’ll assume the vote is for members of the house only,” Marcus said.
“That seems fair,” Riva said. But when they voted, the majority was clearly for having men. Not wanting to be the only objector, Riva raised her hand.
“It’s unanimous,” Laurel told Marcus.
Fiona winked. “You’re in like Flynn.”
“Does that mean I get to vote and lobby now?” Marcus asked Riva.
“Of course.” She smiled stiffly. “And I know from experience that when you say you’re going to wait to start something, it often doesn’t get started at all. I think we should go for it, ladies. Even if all we do is the reading and don’t actually meet until later this summer.”
Laurel called for another vote and again it was unanimous.
“Now for the title choice.” Marcus pointed at Riva. “Since this is your idea, I bet you have some suggestions.”
Riva’s mind went blank. “I, uh, I don’t know. It should be something both men and women will enjoy.”
“Have any of you read Tolstoy?” Marcus asked. “I’ve read some, but not all.”
“Tolstoy?” Riva blinked. “That seems a bit daunting for our first book.”
“Fitzgerald?” Windy suggested.
“Fitzgerald might be a bit overwhelming too.” Fiona glanced at Kitty. “Especially to people who haven’t been reading a lot.”
“And a little depressing,” Riva added.
“What about James Joyce?” Fiona suggested. “I always wanted to read Ulysses.”
“How about something easy?” Kitty turned to Marcus. “You say you’re a reader, but have you ever read one of those steamy romance novels?”
Marcus cleared his throat. “Can’t say that I have.”
“Can’t say or won’t say?” Kitty teased, making the others laugh uncomfortably. “The only reason I mentioned it is because some of my clients bring books like that to my salon and, honestly, they can’t seem to put them down. I’d love to hear a guy’s perspective on one of those.”
“I think we should ban bodice rippers,” Riva said.
Kitty’s brows arched. “Bodice rippers?”
“A friend of mine called them that.” Riva wished she’d never brought up the book group idea. It seemed to be taking on a life of its own. “I’m starting to reconsider Tolstoy now,” she told Marcus. “What about starting with one of his short stories? That might not be too intimidating.”
“I don’t know.” He glanced at Kitty and Laurel. “Maybe we should get something lighter and more compelling. We don’t want anyone to lose interest in reading because we picked something too heady.”
“Since you both mentioned Tolstoy, I got to thinking of a novel I wanted to read last winter,” Windy said. “Has anyone heard of A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles? It made all kinds of bestsellers lists and has even been adapted for TV.”
“I want to read that too,” Riva told her.
“So do I,” Marcus chimed in. “I heard it’s a compelling way to learn about the Russian Revolution. And not too heavy.”
“Sounds good to me,” Fiona said.
Marcus looked at each of them. “Is that four votes for Towles?”
“What about our nonreaders?” Riva looked at Laurel. “Are you abstaining?”
“I’m willing to give the Russian book a try if you think it’s that good,” Laurel said to Marcus. “So we definitely have a majority.”
“I think I’ll abstain,” Kitty said. “My head is spinning at the thought of having two books to read now.”
“Being in our book group isn’t mandatory,” Riva told her. “It’s supposed to be fun.”
“Fun?” Kitty frowned. “To be honest, I kinda feel like I’m back in English lit class in high school. And I took that class by accident. I was never real academic.” She took a sip from her wineglass. “But Windy said the book is a TV show? Are we allowed to watch that instead?”
“I think any book we choose should have to be available in movie form,” Laurel said. “Just in case we don’t have time to read.”
Kitty put on a sly expression. “True confession,” she began, “I read a couple pages of Pride and Prejudice today, but it was just too wordy for me so I googled it, hoping I’d find a summary, you know, so I could cheat.
Well, I discovered it’s a movie. I think Hugh Grant is in it.
He’s not too difficult to look at.” She giggled.
“So that’s my backup plan. You know, in case I’m too busy at work .
. . or whatever. I can spend an evening with Hugh Grant.
Might not be as fun as Notting Hill, but it can’t be as dry as the pages I read today.
I hope you don’t mind.” She looked hopefully at Riva.
“I guess I don’t mind . . . if you really can’t manage the book. But spoiler alert, Hugh Grant isn’t in Pride and Prejudice. He’s in Sense and Sensibility.”
Kitty frowned. “Hopefully there’s a hottie in Pride and Prejudice.”
“I know I brought it up, but isn’t movie watching considered cheating?” Laurel asked.
“I don’t know. It’s not like we’re making rules.” Riva winked at Kitty. “But did I tell you there’ll be a test?” They all laughed.
“Oh, man.” Kitty rolled her eyes. “You academics kill me.”
“Ever heard of CliffsNotes?” Marcus chuckled.
“Or maybe you and I can meet separate from the group,” Laurel used a teasing tone with Marcus. “You fill me in on the Austen books you’ve read, and I’ll attend group and pretend I read it.”
This resulted in more laughs, and although Riva felt partly amused, she was also exasperated at the resistance.
Didn’t Kitty and Laurel understand that reading was good for the mind?
And why was Marcus catering to them like that?
Or was Riva being too rigid here? Wasn’t the goal to encourage her housemates to enjoy reading and books?
“I think Kitty and Laurel make a good point,” she said.
“Book group should be more about stories and the individual ways we interpret those stories. Whether that happens through film viewing or book reading shouldn’t matter.
I don’t want to force people to read. It should be fun.
I’ve imagined people gathered together to discuss how art imitates life and life imitates art .
. . and all kinds of things. I want to hear how others relate to various story elements based on their individual experiences. That’s what makes it fun.”
“Well said.” Marcus clapped.
“Here, here.” Kitty lifted her wineglass. “Here’s to book group being fun.”
Although Riva believed what she’d just said, and she lifted her glass with the rest of them, she still felt a little uneasy about their book group, even if it was a few months away.
But perhaps the uneasiness was about Kitty.
The more Riva got to know this flamboyant, outspoken woman, the more she questioned how she could possibly fit into Riva’s rather quiet life .
. . and peaceful home. And, unless she was mistaken, Laurel was having similar concerns.