Page 24 of Don't Be in Love

11

Don’t Get Caught in the Rain, It’s Much

Too Romantic — Adelaide

Only five minutes into book club and Jane already spilled red wine on the carpet, Evelyn provided points on why her book on the creation of the British Flag should be the October read (again), Lottie shared too much about her daughter’s romantic life, and Beatrice realized she’d been reading the wrong book.

“You saidGonzo Girl!”Beatrice argued, holding her copy ofGonzo Girlup.

“No, you numpty, I saidGone Girl!”Dotty responded.

“I even put it on the e-invites,” Iris reminded her.

Beatrice rolled her eyes and dropped the book into her bag.

“Not like we were going to talk about the book much anyways.” Cora pulled her shawl tight around her shoulders and took a long sip of wine, eyes to the ceiling.

I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. The few customers that walked in and browsed the aisles gave the book club a look. Some smiled. Some questioned the wine on the carpet.

The first Friday of the month was easily one of my favorites. Iris, Dotty, and their five friends, all in their 70s, drank wine, ate slices of cheese, and pretended to talk about a book for two hours.

I’d join the gossip circle if it weren’t for the number of customers walking in and Dorian in the back working on his project.

The customers were an easy excuse to sit out here. My face was hot from him glancing at me so often.

“I should sit at the desk since Iris and Dotty are busy. Just come get me if you need help,” I had said in a rush, pooling everything into my arms and leaving the backroom as he stared at me with confusion.

I needed to focus.

The research for International Business paper: halfway done.

Slide deck for the Consumer Behavior week six assignment: done.

Dress for tomorrow’s dinner: done if it weren’t for this damn seam.

This was the result of wearing my good dresses to the pubs with Mia. A broken zipper, a torn seam, and the smell of the pizza we’d get on our way back. I handled the broken zipper, scrubbed out the pizza smell, but I was losing my patience on the seam. The material was just so slipp—ouch. I yanked my thumb away from the needle, bringing it to my lips.

“Addy darling, what are you doing?” Jane asked. Tight curls of salt and pepper bounced as she leaned forward with intrigue.

I lifted my head. All seven women were watching me.

“Are you sewing a dress?” Cora questioned.

“Just fixing a hole.” I smiled, holding the fabric up.

“She has the Townsen Dinner tomorrow,” Iris explained.

“Oh, how fun!” Lottie smiled.

“Come sit with us,” Jane waved me over.

“But the customers—”

Dotty shooed the words away. “I’ll close the store then.” She clapped as if to sayproblem taken care of, getting up to flip the door sign.

“No, you don’t have to—”

“Bring the dress over, I’ll take care of it,” Evelyn ordered, putting her reading glasses on. “Don’t argue with me, come here.”