The Book Club Hotel(103)

“Here. You’re looking at the new chef for the Maple Sugar Inn. Good food guaranteed and produced in a wholesome, tantrum-free environment.” Claudia was almost glowing. “I’ve had so much fun this week. Working with Hattie has been brilliant. She’s smart and full of ideas. We think the same way, and we’re a good team so we’re making it permanent.”

Erica was smiling. “That’s great news. Congratulations.”

“Yes.” Anna was delighted for her friend. “So this means you won’t be going back to California?”

“That’s my second piece of news. I had a phone call earlier. John.”

Erica spilled wine on her skirt. “After six months of silence? You hadn’t blocked his number?”

“I wasn’t ready to cut him out of my life, and I’m glad I didn’t. It was a good phone call.”

Anna handed Erica a napkin for her skirt. Like Erica, she was worried about Claudia, but she was determined not to judge. All relationships were complicated; she knew that. And Claudia had needed some closure. “It must have been upsetting for you to talk to him after all this time and everything that has happened.”

Erica was less tactful. “You shouldn’t have taken his call.” She pressed the napkin to her skirt and watched as it slowly turned red. “I’ve ruined my favorite dress. Why did you tell me that when I had a glass in my hand?”

“At least your dress is black. And I’m pleased I took his call.”

Erica made a sound that was somewhere between a grunt and a growl. “What did he want after all this time?”

“He wanted to get back together.”

“Oh, Claudia—” Anna bit her lip to stop herself expressing her horror at the very idea.

“No need to oh, Claudia me. That isn’t happening.”

“Good.” Erica reached for a fresh napkin. “But why didn’t you say so right away instead of creating all this tension? And why is it that a glass of wine feels like nothing when you’re drinking it and a massive lake when you spill it?”

“Hush.” Anna put her hand on Erica’s arm so that Claudia could finish her story. “What happened?”

“I know you think I shouldn’t have talked to him, but it was the right thing to do. When he walked out, he was calling all the shots. I felt as if I hadn’t been given a choice.”

“You hadn’t.” Erica dropped the napkin on the table. “He walked out without a discussion.”

“I know. And it has been hard, and then losing my job, too—” Claudia took a deep breath. “It made me feel helpless and out of control. But being here this week, spending time with you two and falling in love with cooking again, I realized that I have plenty of control over what I do next.”

Erica examined the stain on her dress. “I can’t believe you took his call.”

“We were together for ten years. We had no closure, and I wanted to hear what he had to say. And it wasn’t what I expected.”

“Don’t tell me—he loves you,” Erica did a fair imitation of a breathy voice “—he made a big mistake, he wants you to forgive him so that you can both live happily ever after.”

Anna nudged her. “Of course he didn’t say that. Drink your wine, Erica, instead of spilling it on yourself.”

“Actually, he did say that,” Claudia said. “Or pretty much that.”

Erica stared. “Seriously?”

“Yes. I was shocked, too. I wasn’t expecting him to come crawling back. And it was strange, because my thoughts have been so tangled up and all over the place lately. I’ve been angry, I’ve been sad, I’ve been confused—but while he was talking, everything cleared in my head.”

“And? There are more cliff-hangers in this story than in Catherine’s book.”

Claudia snuggled into the cushions. “After you’ve been with someone a while, it’s easy for everything to become a comfortable habit. It’s not like the first flush of romance, but you tell yourself that’s normal in a long-term relationship. I thought I was happy—” she frowned “—maybe content is a better word, and when he walked out it was a terrible shock because I didn’t see it coming, but now I realize there were plenty of things wrong with our relationship. Things I just accepted and didn’t think about. Being with you two this week brought that home to me. The things you’ve said about Pete and Jack have made me realize that what I had with John wasn’t as great as I thought it was. And really, I should have known things weren’t right. The fact that he changed the subject whenever I mentioned marriage should have given me a clue. And I never forced the issue, which should probably tell me something, too.”

Anna had often wondered about that. “If he had asked you, would you have said yes?”

“I don’t know. The truth is we had settled into a comfortable habit. Our life together was okay, but not great. My work paid the bills, and it was what I was trained to do. And I never challenged that, either. Like my relationship, I accepted okay in my work as normal. People don’t get excited about their jobs when they’ve done them for a while, right?”

Erica reached for her glass. “I’m usually excited by my job.”

“You’re not normal,” Claudia said. “Anyway, I was approaching forty, and I suppose I thought that excitement is for the young. And then John left, and I lost my job. But now I can see it was the best thing that could have happened. Without all that I’d still be living that life instead of being here at the beginning of something new and exciting.”