Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Eleanor swung her and Garrett’s clasped hands between them as they walked into Juniper Café. Spring had sprung, and she was… well, she wasn’t exactly young and in love, since she was old enough that she had an adult child of her own, but she felt young. And she definitely felt in love.
Garrett wasn’t normally the ‘swinging hands in spring’ type, what with his whole gruff, hardware store owner vibe. He was more a ‘scowl at blue skies’ type. But he loved Eleanor, and he loved that she was happy. And they both knew that which only made Eleanor feel happier.
Maybe she had a little case of spring fever, but she was enjoying it.
Winnie and Shane were waiting for them at one of the back tables. Shane waved a hand to get their attention, and Garrett ushered her toward them.
“Go, sit,” he urged. “I’ll grab us some coffee.”
Eleanor embraced her brother and then Winnie in turn.
“How are you guys doing this morning?” she asked.
Winnie had once been considered the ‘ice queen’ of Magnolia Shore, something that was caused by her shyness and discomfort in new social situations.
Nobody could have ever called her such a thing now, Eleanor thought kindly as she watched her friend shimmy excitedly in her chair, grinning both at Eleanor and at Shane.
“I am still so excited over all this wedding dress shopping with Diana!” she exclaimed happily. “I am not really much of a shopper myself, but there’s just something so fun about watching your friend try on all those poofy dresses for her big day that hits you right in the heart.”
She clasped her hands over her chest in illustration, giving a happy sigh.
Eleanor smiled at Winnie. “And here you were thinking that you wouldn’t like the process!”
Their friend and fellow book club member, Diana Madsen, had recently become engaged to Anthony Whitaker, the widowed single father with whom she’d struck up a relationship last year.
Diana had worried that she’d never find love and a family of her own, as she had spent the past decade focusing on building her business, Magnolia Boutique.
But then Anthony and his wonderful daughter, Eloise, had come into her life, and now Diana was as happy as any of her friends had ever seen her.
They’d gone to a few wedding dress shops, looking for the perfect gown, but so far, they hadn’t found anything.
Winnie, who was more at home in a dusty room of historical artifacts than in a pristine dress shop, had confided to Eleanor that she thought she might get bored of looking.
Diana was famously fashionable, as suited the owner of the premiere clothing boutique in Magnolia Shore, and her friends all knew that finding the perfect dress would be a process.
So far, though, everyone was enjoying themselves, even Diana’s soon-to-be stepdaughter, Eloise, who had appointed herself note-taker. At the appointments, she amused herself by either jotting down her thoughts about the various dresses or trying on headpieces.
“I know,” Winnie laughed now as Garrett approached the table with their drinks.
For Eleanor, he had a lavender latte, while he preferred plain black coffee.
This was, Eleanor thought, both incredibly characteristic and completely bonkers.
Everyone knew that fun flavors were the best part of going to a coffee shop.
“The problem,” Winnie went on, “is that Diana is just too darn gorgeous. She looks good in everything.”
Eleanor laughed. “What a good problem to have! I remember when I tried on dresses for my wedding, my ex-mother-in-law really wanted me to try wearing her dress, since she didn’t have any daughters of her own. It was, uh. Not flattering.”
Winnie put a hand over her mouth. “How did you tell her?”
Eleanor laughed. “Luckily, she took one look at it and was like, ‘No, no way.’ She wasn’t unreasonable; she just wanted to be part of my big day. But it was so terrible that we actually took pictures of me wearing it. I bet I still have them somewhere.”
“I’ve seen those pictures,” Shane added. “They are, in fact, terrible. And I don’t know anything about fashion.”
“I bet you looked great,” Garrett said loyally, and Eleanor felt her heart swell in her chest because she knew he meant every word.
“Not to distract from our conversation about wedding dress fashions from forty years ago,” Shane ventured.
“Oh my gosh,” Eleanor said. “Don’t say forty years ago. You’re going to make me feel old, even if it wasn’t my dress originally.”
“Well, here’s a more modern topic,” Shane said. “Our bet. I have gotten a great classic movie that I know you will like that was not made from a book.” He paused dramatically. “Avatar. It was completely innovative for its time, as far as special effects went.”
Eleanor gave her brother a skeptical look. “I wouldn’t call that a classic,” she said. “Fun to watch? Sure. Visually exciting? Definitely. A classic?” She shook her head. “Not so much.”
Winnie was reading something on her phone.
“Also,” she added, “it looks like the director said that he was influenced by science fiction books from his childhood. I’m not saying that’s exactly the same as being based on a book, since everyone is influenced by the media they’ve encountered, but it definitely puts it in a questionable category, as far as our bet is concerned. ”
“Sorry,” Eleanor told her brother when he pouted. “Go fish.”
He pointed at her. “I will get you,” he said. “I will win my fancy dinner. Just you wait and see.”
Eleanor laughed and stuck out her tongue at him playfully.
Winnie was just about to put her phone away when it chimed in her hand. She glanced at the notification, then groaned.
“Everything okay?” Eleanor asked.
“Oh, yeah,” Winnie replied, brushing away the concern. “It’s just an email about a planning meeting for the next historical society event.”
“The next one?” Garrett asked politely.
Winnie nodded. She and Shane had worked together the previous fall to create an incredible fundraising event for the historical society where Winnie worked.
They’d created a carnival that had drawn practically the entire town to attend, which was a stark difference from the historical society’s previous offering of stuffy, prim evenings out that attracted mostly older, wealthy patrons.
“Since the carnival went so well,” Winnie explained, “my boss, Lyle, wants me to spearhead doing more of the events. We made way more money than usual, which is really great, but it’s a lot of pressure to follow up with something that’s as successful as the last one was.”
She blew a strand of her ice-blonde hair out of her face. She wore it in a crisp bob that usually was pristine, so that one tendril falling out of place revealed a lot about her mental state, as far as Eleanor was concerned.
“Winnie is being too modest,” Shane chimed in. “Tell them about your new plan, honey.”
Winnie had a smile on her face as she complied.
“So, since the outdoor element was so successful last time, and since everyone wants to be in the sunshine after a long winter anyway, we’re definitely going to be headed back to the town square.
But this time, we’re doing a focused exhibition based on what the town looked like one hundred, two hundred, and three hundred years ago.
Sort of like a slice of life from each of those time periods. ”
Eleanor sat up straight in her chair. “That’s so interesting!” she exclaimed. “People are going to love that. You should see about spreading the word to the local schools, if you haven’t already. I bet some teachers would love to make their history lessons overlap with that.”
Winnie made a quick note on her phone. “That’s a really good idea,” she said.
“I hadn’t thought of that.” She looked back up at Eleanor.
“Anyway, since I was doing all the centennial anniversaries, I also thought I might do a ‘Magnolia Shore today’ section that invited local businesses. Or maybe I’ll ask the businesses to try to do something historically accurate that goes in one of the other eras.
I haven’t quite figured it out yet, but I do want to bring in local business owners.
It’s just good sense and good exposure for everyone. ”
Eleanor’s mind started to churn in an instant.
“Ooh, yes, please,” she said. “I mean, assuming you are open to having the bookstore do a table.”
“Yes, obviously,” Winnie said with a laugh.
The ideas tripped off Eleanor’s tongue. “I could have books from the years that you’re highlighting,” she said, tapping her fingers on her chin. “And I could find local authors from across the years, so that we’re really focusing on the local history aspect of it.”
She let a sly grin come across her face as she looked at her brother.
“And,” she said sweetly, “I’ll make sure to put out a table of everyone’s favorite books that were turned into movies, so that they all know that I’m the one who is going to win our bet.”
Everyone laughed at that.
“Totally ruthless,” Shane said, shaking his head. “But it will make it way worse for you when you totally lose the bet and you are making me the nicest dinner in the world.”
“Dream on,” Eleanor scoffed.
Winnie exchanged a glance with Garrett. “Do you think all siblings are like this?”
His look was unmistakably fond as he glanced at Eleanor. “Nah,” he said. “I’m pretty sure these two are special.”