Chapter 9
Their first night in the guest cottage had been just what they all had needed, a relaxed fun-filled evening, and Alethea rationalized that she had earned herself a lazy morning. After unpacking and settling in, the three friends had stayed up late, binge-watching TV and going through a couple bottles of wine in the process. Alethea thought back on last night and smiled. Squeezed onto the small, low-profile sofa together, they had fallen into a contagious case of the giggles. “You guys, it really is like we’re back in college!” Priya had managed to say through the laughter. “Seriously though, I’m so glad we’re doing this. It’s miles better than being back home in the city, all alone in the apartment, thinking about Jake all day.”
Reflecting on Priya’s words, Alethea realized that she hadn’t thought about Jackson once yesterday. She felt almost startled by the revelation. Back home, in the apartment they used to share, she had thought about him constantly. His empty half of the closet a brutal reminder every morning that half of her life was now missing. Of course she wasn’t ever going to heal in that environment, because the truth was she hadn’t been letting herself. She had felt drained of all self-worth, like she might just lay on that ugly, uncomfortable couch until she wasted away. That realization rocked her hard. When had she started feeling so weak? She wanted to blame it all on Jackson’s cheating and Susan’s betrayal, but was she really just denying that the feeling of powerlessness had slowly settled in long before that? Her friends had been right. A change of scenery had been exactly what she had needed to shake her out of her rut and gain some perspective.
When Alethea finally roused herself out of bed, she found Danica in the main room of the cottage, getting her yoga streaming space “all zen.” Deciding it might be best to get out of Danica’s hair, she went to find Priya and suggested that they take a walk into town to pick up some of the materials they were going to need to do the sanding, wallpaper removal, and painting. There was so much work to be done. Alethea’s biceps groaned just thinking about all the hard work ahead of them. She quickly got dressed, throwing on a comfy turquoise maxi dress and sandals.
It was less than a ten minute walk downtown, and as they rounded the corner onto Main Street, Priya and Alethea both spotted the cafe at the same time. They exchanged a quick, knowing glance that communicated the unspoken agreement that yes, of course, they would be stopping at the cafe before the hardware store!
“Maybe they’ll have more of those muffins,” Priya said hopefully. The cheery cafe had yellow fabric awnings the color of sunshine and a handwritten chalkboard sign on the sidewalk listing their seasonal latte flavors, lavender and vanilla rose. The employee who had written the sign had done so with great skill, the flowery lettering surrounded by drawings of sprigs of lavender and a bouquet of roses. Their disappointment at seeing an empty basket under the sign that read Orange-Raspberry muffins was quick lived, as they scanned the pastry case laden with delectable looking treats.
“Um, can I have one of everything?” joked Alethea under her breath to Priya as they stood in line.
“Seriously, everything looks so good! Since they’re sold out of the muffins already, I guess I’ll go with a lemon square.” Priya placed her order at the counter while Alethea made up her mind.
“I’ll have the same.” Alethea pulled her wallet out of her suede hobo bag and paid for her purchase. Cookies in hand, they walked the rest of the way down Main Street towards the hardware store, munching on the sweet and sour confections as they went, the buttery shortbread melting on their tongues.
Alethea licked the last few crumbs from her fingers. “Alright, what’s first on the list?”
“Well, luckily Danica and I found a whole bunch of tools and stuff for painting down in the basement, so we really just need some sandpaper, a few new brushes and rollers, and some protective gear. And the paint, of course.”
Alethea nodded. “Sounds good, let’s get to it!” She was excited to get the project underway. The faster the house was finished, the faster she could start renting it out and looking for an apartment in the city. The pair quickly made their way through the hardware store, easily finding the paint aisle. Even though the store was relatively small, it seemed to carry a wide variety of goods, and there was a more than decent selection of paint to choose from. Priya left Alethea to mull over the color choices while she went searching for the drop cloths.
“Hottie in aisle 3!” Priya whispered loudly to Alethea when she came back, holding a handful of drop cloths and rollers, giggling as she dropped the items into the basket and pretended to fan herself.
Alethea raised her eyebrows. “That good-looking, huh? Guess I’ll have to see for myself. I mean, it’s not fair for the married one to be having all the fun!” She walked to the end of the aisle and stuck her head out just in time to catch a glimpse of the man in question from the side, right as he walked out. “Aww, I wasn’t fast enough! I only caught a glimpse.” She snapped her fingers in exaggerated disappointment and grinned widely. From what she did manage to see though, Priya was right. Dark brown locks fell in curly waves framing the side of a strong, pronounced jaw, and Mr. Hottie had looked pretty built under that tight fitting blue and gray plaid button up with the sleeves rolled up.
“Guess there’s more to look at in these small towns than just the scenery!”
Alethea swatted at her friend’s arm with a handful of paint samples. “Okay, focus!” She commanded to herself as much as to Priya. “I think I’ve narrowed down the paint colors to about a dozen. I’m way too indecisive to figure this out now, maybe you and Danica can help weigh in back…at the house?” Alethea had been about to say back home but had stopped herself. No, she couldn’t let herself think about Queenie as her home. As soon as the renovations were done, she’d move back to the city. Back to where she belonged.
The two stopped by the cafe a second time on the walk back home, deciding that Danica absolutely had to try one of the lemon squares. They picked up a few extras and made small talk with the bubbly cashier as she tucked the bright yellow confections neatly into a small pink cardboard box. Given the serious sweet tooth that the three friends shared, Alethea thought she’d probably be seeing her fair share of pink boxes this summer. It was hard to believe that just a few weeks ago she had been glued to her couch in a depression haze. Now here she was, back in her hometown with her closest friends where the biggest decision she had to make was about wall color. No deadlines, no three hour client meetings, no dinner reservations.
“Life sure is crazy sometimes,” she said thoughtfully to Priya as they walked home slowly, enjoying being out in the summer sunshine. Alethea shifted her bulky hobo handbag to her opposite shoulder and made a mental note to get a smaller crossbody purse at some point. She didn’t feel as much pressure to have designer things here the way she did in the city, and a smaller purse would be more practical.
“It most certainly is.” Priya gave her friend a sympathetic look. “It’s a good thing you have your crazy friends to share in all the craziness.” Her warm smile lit up her face. “You can plan all you want but life always takes over. I mean, if you’d told me ten years ago that I’d be a professional culinary instructor, married to a 6 foot tall blond whose favorite music group is Fleetwood Mac, and currently spending the summer renovating an antique Victorian home with my best friends, I’d have asked what you were smoking!” Laughing, she shook her head as if trying to comprehend just how differently her path had deviated from what she had planned. “I guess the only thing certain about life is the uncertainty.”
Alethea looked at her. “Now when did you go and get all wise? You sound like Danica!”
Priya let out a good-sized laugh at that one. “Maybe she’s finally rubbing off on me.” Then she added quickly, “But don’t you dare tell her I said that!” Alethea put her hand over her heart, indicating that she’d do no such thing.
By the time Alethea and Priya had made it back to the house with the newly acquired painting supplies, Danica had already finished her first stream from the guest cottage and was enjoying a cup of tea in the parlor with a hardback copy of The Art of Happiness laying open next to her.
“So how’d it go?” asked Alethea, as Danica eyed the pastry box in her hand and jumped up, following her and Priya into the kitchen.
“Actually, it went great! I’m kinda shocked but the internet speed here is even faster than back home. I was a little worried that service would be spotty in a rural town but it’s blazing fast, the stream looked perfect.” Danica was clearly satisfied with her new working arrangements for the summer and popped a big, gooey piece of the lemon square into her mouth. “Ohhh my god,” she moaned.
“Right?” Priya gave her a look of satisfaction. “We felt too guilty not getting any to share with you so we went back to the cafe for seconds.”
“Well you better get busy trying to recreate some of these masterpieces or else we’re going to blow the whole house budget on pastries!” Danica was teasing of course, but Alethea knew she wanted Priya to get baking as badly as she did.
Alethea helped herself to another square and looked around the kitchen. “Hey, has anyone seen Dandelion?” Her little black cat had disappeared right after breakfast, and it just dawned on her that she hadn’t seen her since.
“I have, she was in the cottage while I was setting up for the stream. Lucky thing, too. I couldn’t find one of my adapter cables but the little stinker batted it out from underneath the end table, just in time for me to get everything set up for the class.”
Alethea laughed at that image of her mischievous feline, always popping up to check out if something new was going on, and it was a good feeling knowing that her cat was having no problems entertaining herself here.
Priya grabbed another lemon square and headed for the back door. “Jake is supposed to FaceTime soon and I want to start working on making a schedule to keep us on track with the renovations.”
Danica groaned loudly at the prospect of being tied down to a schedule, and Priya stuck her tongue out at her dramatic friend.
“Thank you Priya, that would be very helpful.” When Alethea emphasized the last word, she looked at Danica and tried not to laugh. Her two friends bickered like an old married couple, but it was always in good fun.
“Guess you and I should probably look up a few contractors and get some interviews scheduled, too.” From the look on her face, Danica had resigned herself to the scheduling idea.
“Good call.” Alethea glanced around again. “And I want to find where Dandelion’s run off to.”
Dandelion heardher name from downstairs. Drat, she thought, I’m out of time already. She knew Alethea would soon be making all kinds of racket searching the house for her until she was found, so she might as well go see what her human wanted. Well, maybe one more minute here wouldn’t hurt. She stretched long across the pile of velvet pillows that lay on the small, flat-backed settee in the tower loft. The sunlight streaming in from the window was filled with dancing motes of dust and looked almost like liquid until it landed in a square shape across where she lay. She had been lost in intense thought, plotting and planning for hours. She stretched again and slowly rose from the warmth of her sun-covered spot. All this intensive strategizing was exhausting. A nap would certainly be in order later.