“I used to have longer legs,” Claudia muttered, “but I’ve evolved over time to be able to squish into your vehicle. Darwinism or something. Survival of the shortest.”
They stopped for lunch at a little roadside diner with a revolving Christmas tree and copious twinkling lights.
“Don’t judge,” Erica said. “The reviews say the food is excellent.”
Trying not to wince at the tinny Christmas music playing in the background and the staff wearing reindeer antlers, Claudia ordered a simple grilled cheese sandwich.
Her low expectations were blown away at the first bite. She closed her eyes as she chewed. “Simple, but delicious. Local aged cheddar and heirloom tomatoes. When you have ingredients as good as this you don’t need to invent fancy dishes. Add a little mustard and a splash of bourbon and you elevate the flavor to something spectacular.” She heard muffled laughter and opened her eyes to see her friends grinning at her across the table. “What?”
Anna looked at Erica, who shrugged.
“If she can’t see it herself, then who are we to point it out?”
Claudia put her fork down. “Just because I can still appreciate good quality ingredients doesn’t mean I want to be a chef.”
“Of course it doesn’t. Could you pass the salt please, Anna?”
“With pleasure, Erica.” Anna passed the salt and Claudia sighed.
“You two are—”
“We’re what?” Erica emptied an unhealthy quantity of salt onto her already salted fries. “We’re good friends? I’d have to agree with that. How did you get so lucky?”
Claudia gave up. “I was going to say annoying.” She took another bite of her sandwich. “This is so good. I feel better than I have in months.”
Erica looked smug. “It’s our scintillating company.”
“Maybe, or maybe it’s being back on the east coast. Maybe I should move to Vermont. It would be perfect.”
Erica shuddered. “Not for me.”
Claudia asked the question that had been hovering in her brain. “If it’s not for you, why did you choose Vermont for our vacation?”
Erica carefully extracted the lettuce from her burger. “I chose it because it’s perfect for what we need for our week away. Cozy inn with snuggling potential, great food and a much praised wine cellar. And because I knew you two would love it, and I try and be a good friend.”
She’s not telling the truth, Claudia thought, but she knew from long experience that if Erica had something on her mind it always took her a while to tell them about it.
Anna was typing a message on her phone.
“Are you messaging Pete?” Claudia reached across to grab her phone but Anna held it out of reach. “It’s not even three hours since you saw him. Stop.”
“I forgot to remind him about Meg’s doctor appointment on Monday.” Anna pressed Send on the message and dropped her phone back on the table. “It’s so good being with you guys. This week is going to be great. We’re going to sleep, relax, build a snowman, and in the evenings we can settle down and sort out all our problems, like we used to do when we were twenty.”
Erica emptied some of her fries onto Claudia’s plate. “I don’t have problems.”
Anna beamed. “Good, then you’ll have more time to focus on ours.” She took a bite out of her burger and Claudia studied her for a moment.
“How is your hair always so shiny and healthy-looking?”
“It’s because I live a sin-free life, full of fruit and vegetables and wholesome thoughts.”
Erica shuddered. “I’d rather have dull hair.”
“I’m just kidding.” Anna reached for a napkin. “It’s a fancy hair pack. I treated myself.”
“You did something for yourself? I’m impressed.”
“I often do things for myself.” Anna glanced between them. “What? Why are you looking at each other like that?”
“Because you never do things for yourself.”
“I think never is a bit strong. It’s true that there are some occasions when I don’t make my needs a priority but I’m working on that. The hair pack was my first attempt. And given that you like my hair, I’d say it is working.” She smiled. “I love our book club week. Has anyone actually read the book?”
“Of course.” Erica pushed her plate away, her food half-eaten. “That’s the whole point of our book club.”
Anna put her burger down. “Since when have we only talked about books? The whole point of book club is that it gives us a chance to talk about life. And isn’t that why we read anyway? To learn about someone else’s life?” Anna’s phone lit up and Claudia grabbed it and read the message on the screen.
“He remembered about Meg’s appointment. Oh, and he loves you. That’s good to know, because we were all starting to doubt it. Can I reply?”
“No.” Anna retrieved her phone and Erica reached for her purse.
“If you two have finished playing phone games, we should get going. Heavy snow is forecast and my car doesn’t love snow. I don’t love snow, either. Remind me again why we’re not in the Caribbean?”
“I adore snow,” said Anna. “Especially when there is no pressure to be anywhere. There’s nothing better than curling up by the fire and watching snow fall.”
Erica finished her water. “I can think of plenty of things that are better.”
“I love snow. I’ve missed snow.” Claudia dug in her purse for money but Erica waved her away.
“Forget it. This one is on me.”
Claudia felt her face burn with embarrassment. “I can’t—”
“Yes, you can. I’m not giving you a choice. Remember that time you spent the day in my apartment preparing a meal for my date in the evening? I still owe you for that.”
“Your date was scared away by your cooking abilities, so does it even count?”
“It counts. You saved me from a dating mistake.” Erica extracted her card. “He was intimidated by a woman who ran her own business, enjoyed sex and could also cook. He said to me, Honey, is there anything you’re bad at?”
Anna laughed and exchanged glances with Claudia. “And you said, Yes, honey, I’m bad at relationships,” Claudia finished the sentence, “and then you kicked him out the door.”
Erica shrugged. “What could I do? Apparently, I shriveled his ego.”
“As long as that is all you shriveled.”
“Anna! I’d forgotten how shocking you are when we peel you away from Pete.” Claudia wriggled out of the booth and they walked back to the car as Erica paid. “Does she seem more tense than usual to you?”
“Erica?” Anna snuggled deeper inside her coat as the wind licked across the parking lot and a few flakes of snow swirled around them. “Yes. But it’s probably a work thing. She works too hard. It always takes her a while to unwind. She needs a vacation.”
Claudia didn’t think that was it, but since she didn’t have evidence to support her theory she simply smiled. “I’m sure you’re right.”