Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Cece opened her eyes and lifted her head to check the time on the clock on her dresser. She couldn’t see it, however, because her personal feline overlord was already awake and in the way.
Sunlight slipped through the blinds in thin stripes, landing squarely on Peanut’s calico form where she perched at the side of the bed, staring Cece down with her usual get up and feed me gaze.
“Give me a minute, will you? Neither one of us is going to wither away if we eat breakfast fifteen minutes later than usual.” Cece yawned and reached for her phone just as Peanut let out a chirp of disapproval.
“I hear you, Princess Peanut. Two minutes, okay? Just let me make sure I haven’t missed anything.” But apparently, she had. A long list of notifications covered her lock screen. One in particular caught her eye.
It was in the Queen Bees group text and it was from Paige.
Good morning, ladies! Graham just asked me to go to NYC with him. His son and girlfriend are having a little get-together tomorrow to celebrate their baby news and invited Graham and me to join. But don’t worry, I’ll be back for Thursday’s book club!
Cece sat up, excitement buzzing through her chest. “Holy cow, she’s already taking a trip with him? This sounds like it’s getting serious fast.” She looked at Peanut. “Then again, at our age, you realize time is not a commodity. Good for her, don’t you think?”
Peanut meowed, clearly a strong-arm attempt to get Cece out of bed and into the kitchen.
“Well, I think it’s fantastic,” she said to Peanut, who blinked like she was unimpressed. “International romance! Trips to the big city! This is very swoony, Peanut.”
Peanut climbed into her lap, demanding breakfast before another word was said. Cece finally obliged, padding into the kitchen and filling the food bowl while still thinking about Paige’s message with a grin.
After a quick bowl of protein yogurt and berries, Cece reluctantly headed to the fitness center. She liked that she was getting into the exercise groove, but she still didn’t love the actual exercise.
At least the Monday morning crowd was sparse.
The treadmills were busy, though. Humming away in a steady rhythm.
She imagined they’d only become more popular as it continued to warm up outside.
She popped in her earbuds and let a lively playlist power her through a brisk warm-up walk and a circuit of the machines that were set up for that purpose.
It felt good to get her heartrate going and feel like she was doing something positive for herself. It was a nice way to start the week. And even though she knew logically that it was too soon to see any results, she really did feel a tiny bit skinnier.
After a cooldown stretch, she gathered her stuff and headed out. She sat behind the wheel of her golf cart to text Natalie. Hey there! How are you and Tyler this Monday morning? I just got done working out, if you can believe that.
Natalie responded fast. Good for you! We’re okay. Tyler didn’t want to go to school but we made it out the door. One day at a time, right?
Cece could imagine how Tyler was feeling. Natalie, too. Just getting through the day would be an accomplishment. Right! Anytime you need dinner and don’t feel like cooking, you can use my Uber Eats account if you want. I mean it. I’m happy to buy you guys dinner once a week.
You’ve already done so much, Mom. But it’s a sweet offer. We’re good, I swear. Love you.
Love you too. Cece tucked her phone away, comforted by her daughter’s words. Natalie was doing her best and that was as much as anyone could hope for.
Back home, after she’d showered and changed, Cece started on her big project for the day: Unboxing and setting up her new podcast equipment. She sat in her spare room and began opening the boxes she’d hauled in there.
Peanut hovered nearby.
“I’m not making second breakfast, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Cece said. Peanut didn’t move. Cece took everything out of the first box and set it on her desk. The box went onto the floor next to the little cat, who sniffed it, walked around it, then climbed into the box and lay down.
Cece shook her head, smiling. “I should have known that’s what you wanted.” She went back to work unwrapping her new headphones and mic and reading the instructions for them. It didn’t seem too hard to figure out.
Next, she tackled putting together the second office chair. That would be for her guests. She was halfway done when her phone chimed from the pocket of her leggings.
She sat in her existing chair to check the screen. More responses to Paige’s message, all of them happy and encouraging and all of the Queen Bees accounted for.
She sent Blaise a separate message. How are you this morning? Did Brick’s son apologize yet or do we need to form a posse?
The reply took a moment, long enough for Cece to picture Blaise picking the right words.
Good morning! Dinner last night was amazing. No apology from Holland, but Brick’s handling it and I’m fine with that.
Cece smiled at the screen. You deserve all the amazing things. And if Holland acts up again, at least Brick’s aware now. That’s good.
It’s very good. Hey, I’m working on my query letter today and hope to get it done. Okay for me to email it to you later?
Absolutely. I’m setting up my podcasting stuff. Not sure when I’ll be ready to launch, but I’m hoping soon. You still on for my first guest spot?
Ready when you are!
Cece set her phone down, stood, and stretched. Time to get moving again.
A folding table leaned against one wall, ready to be transformed into her podcast command center.
Her desk was too small, but it would just be moved to the wall.
She unfurled a small rug she’d found on sale, cheerful turquoise with bright white and sage accents that was pretty and would help dampen the sound in the room.
She centered it beneath where the table would be. Peanut supervised from her box.
Cece retrieved the standalone microphone she’d ordered, which looked so professional it gave her a thrill, and placed it gently on the table.
Next came the floor lamp. She screwed in the bulb, then turned it on to see what it would look like.
It cast more light than she’d expected, filling the space.
She considered hanging some framed prints on the wall across from it. Maybe some quotes or beach photos. Something that told anyone who might be in her studio that this podcast was fun, smart, and definitely worth their time.
Her studio. Wasn’t that fun to think about?
She could picture her first episode already. Blaise Monroe, former model-turned-motivational sensation, live and in person talking about reinvention, courage, and starting over.
But what was Cece’s podcast called? She still hadn’t figure that out. She tapped a finger against the table as she thought.
“Let’s see,” she said to Peanut, who blinked up at her unhelpfully. “It needs to be upbeat. Empowering. Interesting. Something that speaks to the idea that everyone has a story to tell. Especially those of us who’ve been around a while.”
Ideas rolled through her mind like waves.
Women of a Certain Age? She liked that, but she planned to interview men, too.
The Midlife Makeover Podcast sounded too female.
She was talking about people, not cosmetics.
Still Rising? That had some possibilities, but it was awfully serious.
If she was just interviewing women, Queen Bees Unfiltered would be fun.
“That one’s not bad,” she mused. “We are quite unfiltered. Especially Maude. And it’s not like the name Queen Bees belongs exclusively to the book club. A Queen Bee just means any woman who’s in charge.”
She laughed and scribbled Queen Bees Unfiltered on a sticky note and stuck it to the wall.
It wouldn’t work for the podcast name, but it could be a title for an episode, if she had the right woman on.
Blaise would be a good example. Paige was probably a better one.
Then, as inspiration struck, she added two more: Age Isn’t the Story and More To Us.
Stepping back, Cece took in the space. There was a lot of work still to be done, but there was so much possibility. She couldn’t help but be happy.
This wasn’t how she’d thought her life would go, but since meeting the Queen Bees, things were definitely looking up. She felt like she was in control again. There was a lot to be said for that.
She put her hands on her hips and glanced at Peanut. “I guess this is my real life now. Take two, anyway.”
Peanut curled up tighter in the box and Cece sucked in a breath as a little shiver went through her. “Maybe that’s it. Real Life: Take Two. What do you think, Peanut?”
Unsurprisingly, the cat said nothing. Cece sent a text to the group. What do you think of Real Life, Take Two for the name of my podcast?
One by one, the responses came in. Unanimously, they loved it.
Cece nodded. She did, too. She couldn’t stop smiling. Now to call Joe and fill him in. Funny how he’d become a part of her life so quickly.
Funny in the best possible way.
Cece scribbled the title down in big, bold letters on a sticky note and pasted it to the wall. She nodded. “That’s the one.”