Chapter 10 #2
Hope chuckled. “Amazing. Anyway, I was kind of… shaken by the restaurant where I’d worked for so long suddenly closing down. So, coming here is good for Mimi, but it’s also good for me to get a moment to just…”
“Catch your breath?” Winnie supplied kindly.
Hope nodded. “Yeah, exactly.”
“Oh, honey.” Eleanor reached over and patted Hope’s hand affectionately.
“You are in good company for the ‘catching your breath’ crew. I came to Magnolia Shore after a divorce. June’s boyfriend came here to take a break from his country music career.
The others have lived here longer, but we’ve all gone through stuff. ”
“My first husband passed away,” June supplied, raising her hand.
“Really serious social anxiety,” Winnie offered, gesturing at herself.
There was a pause when everyone turned to Diana, who fluffed her hair playfully. “I don’t know why you’re all looking at me. I’m a gorgeous, successful business owner with a gorgeous, wonderful fiancé and perfect future stepdaughter. I’m an inspiration to the masses.”
June blew a raspberry in Diana’s direction, and everyone laughed.
“Well,” Hope said, looking even more reassured, “I’m glad that I’ve found a good place to land while I get my feet back underneath me.”
“And you’re welcome to come to any book club meetings while you’re in town,” Eleanor assured her. “You don’t have to wait for weeks when Miriam isn’t up to joining.”
“Wonderful,” Hope said, smiling in a way that made her look a great deal like her grandmother.
They had been talking about the book they were reading for a few minutes when Cadence hurried into the store, looking harried and stressed.
“Hi, hi, hi,” she said, hanging up her lightweight spring jacket. “Sorry that I’m so late.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Eleanor assured her. “This is Hope, Miriam’s granddaughter.”
Cadence still seemed distracted as she waved at Hope, pulled her copy of their current book out of her purse, and took her usual seat.
“Hope, great to meet you,” she said, flashing the newcomer a vague smile. “Anyway, full disclosure everybody, I did not read all the chapters this week, but I’m going to try my best. I didn’t want to miss coming; I think it will help clear my head.”
Eleanor met Diana’s worried gaze across the circle. Winnie was frowning thoughtfully.
“Uh, Cadence, honey?” Eleanor ventured. “What do you need your head cleared from? Do you want to talk about it?”
Cadence wavered for a moment, but Eleanor thought it was the kind of wavering that came with organizing one’s thoughts, not with reluctance.
Indeed, after a moment, she said, “Well, I’ve already talked to Eleanor about this a little bit, but Izzy has been having a hard time at school recently.
Her grades aren’t what they once were, and her teacher said that she seems really distracted in class.
But when I ask her about it, she insists that everything is fine… but not in a way that seems genuine.”
Eleanor frowned sympathetically. She had hoped that Izzy’s problems had just gone away, that it had been one of those weird kid phases that cropped up seemingly only to mystify and worry parents. But apparently not.
“It’s always tough when they are evasive with you,” Eleanor said in commiseration. “I want to say that it gets better, but, uh, they become teenagers. So.” She grimaced. “This is maybe not comforting.”
“It kind of is,” Cadence said. “In that I guess the hiding isn’t, I don’t know, some new and terrible way for kids to experience something awful that I haven’t even imagined yet.”
Eleanor chuckled. “No, definitely not that. Evasiveness is part of them growing up, exerting their independence. Plus, all kids seem to have a sixth sense for the things that will stress you out the most. So there is that part.”
“Even Eloise does that,” Diana chimed in, “and she’s still usually pretty good at listening to me, since I’m not living with them full time yet, and sometimes…” She widened her eyes meaningfully. “Absolute madness.”
“It’s usually not even their fault,” June offered.
“It’s not like they’re doing it on purpose.
But dollars to doughnuts, if there’s a day that Benjamin picks up a sudden bug at school, it’s a day that I had some sort of plan.
I remember one time, Keith and I had tickets to this cooking class.
We’d been looking forward to it for weeks.
Benjamin goes to school, totally fine. I go to pick him up; he’s had a great day.
Keith and I are about to walk out the door? Boom. Vomit everywhere.”
Cadence was starting to smile a little.
“Okay, okay,” she said. “So, our perfect angels are chaos machines, every single one of them. Hit me with your best strategies for resolution.”
“Is she bored with the subject matter?” Winnie asked. “I was always a great student in history, but I was only average in math, mostly because I would let my mind wander. Is there a way to get her engaged with the stuff she doesn’t like as much?”
Cadence wobbled her hand in a so-so gesture. “It’s more that suddenly her ability in things she used to like just fine has changed, so it’s hard to say if that’s it, but I’ll see what I can sniff out.”
“It’s an oldie but a goodie, but you can try gamifying studying for her,” Eleanor offered. “Gosh, I can still picture the Jeopardy-style study review boards that Jeremy used to build with us. I made for a pretty good Alex Trebek by the end.”
“Eloise will only do science with her sparkly pen,” Diana said. “And only science. The sparkly pen is a weird motivator, but it is worth its weight in gold.”
Cadence seemed more heartened now.
“Okay,” she said, the word sounding like it unburdened her. “These are things I can try. And maybe it will help. I just…”
“You worry,” June said, her smile soft and kind and understanding. “It’s what being a mom is. As soon as this worry passes, you’ll find something else that is worth your attention.”
“And we will be here to listen about that too,” Winnie said sincerely.
Cadence put her hands to her cheeks.
“You guys are amazing, but if you keep being so sweet, I’m going to cry. Let’s talk about something else. Diana. Wedding. Go.”
Diana looked affronted. “Et tu?” she asked. “Okay, fine. I haven’t found a dress yet, obviously, because if I had, you all would have gotten seventeen hysterical texts from me. I am starting to feel like maybe I should just pick one of the ones that I liked from the first few shops.”
Her shoulders slumped slightly.
“No way,” Cadence said.
“Absolutely not,” Winnie chimed in.
“If you settle on this dress, I will throw it in the garbage and make you go back to look for a better one anyway,” June threatened.
“Even I know that you have to find the perfect dress for your wedding,” Hope contributed, a little shyly.
Diana slumped in her chair.
“Yes, you’re all right. I know you’re right. But I think I’m going to need some moral support on any further quests, because even the slightest glimpse of white lace is starting to make me break out in a stress sweat.”
Eleanor rolled her eyes. “You couldn’t stop us from offering moral support if you tried, you goof.”
“Yeah, I knew that,” Diana said, still looking as though it pleased her to hear it.
Hope, meanwhile, was grinning broadly.
“I get why Miriam misses coming to book club so much,” she said, chuckling. “You guys… you’re all pretty awesome, aren’t you?”
“We are,” June said cheerfully. “But it’s always nice when someone else knows it too.”