Lydia
Lydia
Lydia inhaled the smell of fresh paint. The final touches were being put to the renovated and revamped community center which now, much like Lydia herself, had a whole new lease on life.
The hall was filled with large, framed prints of the photographs, curated by William, of the community coming together to save the building: the nativity, Me and My Dog , and the sit-in.
They’d replaced the signage, so it was back to being named Mandela Community Center, ready to welcome a rainbow nation of occupants. They had a grand reopening planned on Monday. Lydia had been baking furiously for the occasion and Maggie and Art, their local celebrities, were going to be the guests of honor.
Lydia’s phone pinged in her pocket. She squinted at it. Another message from Jeremy. He’d split up with Kitty and had been pleading with Lydia to take him back, just as Daphne had envisaged. Lydia should have been thrilled by this turn of events, but instead she just found his protestations of adoration a little…irritating.
For the first time since the early days of her marriage, Lydia had started to really like herself. She’d rediscovered her self-respect. A sense of pride. And she was never letting anyone take that away from her again.
Lydia had instructed a local agent to sell the house, and she would take her half of the capital and buy somewhere smaller and cozier for her and Maggie, with room for the girls to stay whenever they came to visit. It would be a new start.
All she needed now were some new members for her club, since William, Anna, and Ruby were the only ones left, now Art was so busy. She pulled a piece of paper out of her bag and pinned it onto the brand-new noticeboard outside the entrance hall.