Lillie Higgins was close to Elise’s age, but that was all they shared. Actually, it was difficult to tell exactly how old Lillie was. She looked barely fifty, but with a forty-year-old daughter, she had to be in her mid-sixties. Petite and delicate, she was one of those rare women who never seemed to age. Her wardrobe consisted of ultra-expensive knits and gold jewelry. Anne Marie had the impression that if Lillie wanted, she could purchase this bookstore ten times over.
Her daughter, Barbie Foster, was a lot like her mother and aptly named, at least as far as appearances went. She had long blond hair that never seemed to get mussed, gorgeous crystal-blue eyes, a flawless figure. It was hard to believe she had eighteen-year-old twin sons who were college freshmen; Anne Marie would bet that most people assumed she was their sister rather than their mother. If Anne Marie didn’t like Barbie so much, it would be easy to resent her for being so…perfect.
“Thanks for closing early tonight. I’d much rather be here than spend another evening alone,” Elise said, breaking into Anne Marie’s thoughts.
There was that word again.
Alone.
Despite her own misgivings about Valentine’s Day, Anne Marie tried to smile. She gestured toward the rear of the store. “I’ve got the bubble wrap and everything set up in the back room.”
The previous month, as they discussed an Elizabeth Buchan novel, the subject of Valentine’s Day had come up. Anne Marie learned from her friends that this was perhaps the most painful holiday for widows. That was when their small group decided to plan their own celebration. Only instead of romantic love and marriage, they’d celebrate friendship. They’d defy the world’s pitying glances and toast each other’s past loves and future hopes.
Elise managed a quivering smile as she peered into the back of the store. “Bubble wrap?”
“I have tons,” Anne Marie informed her. “You can’t imagine how many shippers use it.”
“But why is it on the floor?”
“Well…” It seemed silly now that Anne Marie was trying to explain. “I always have this insatiable urge to pop it, so I thought we could do it together—by walking on it.”
“You want us to step on bubble wrap?” Elise asked, sounding confused.
“Think of it as our own Valentine’s dance and fireworks in one.”
“But fireworks are for Independence Day or maybe New Year’s.”
“That’s the point,” Anne Marie said bracingly. “New beginnings.”
“And we’ll drink champagne, too?”
“You bet. I’ve got a couple bottles of the real stuff, Veuve Clicquot.”
“Veuve means widow, you know. The widow Clicquot’s bubbly—what else could we possibly drink?”
The door opened, and Lillie and Barbie entered in a cloud of some elegant scent. As soon as they were inside, Anne Marie locked the shop.
“Party time,” Lillie said, handing Anne Marie a white box filled with pastries.
“I brought chocolate,” Barbie announced, holding up a box of dark Belgian chocolates. She wore a red pantsuit with a wide black belt that emphasized her petite waist. Was there no justice in this world? The woman had the figure of a goddess and she ate chocolate?
“I read that dark chocolate and red wine have all kinds of natural benefits,” Elise said.
Anne Marie had read that, too.
Lillie shook her head in mock astonishment. “First wine and now chocolate. Life is good.”
Leading the way to the back room, Anne Marie dimmed the lights in the front of the shop. Beside the champagne and flutes, she’d arranged a crystal vase of red roses; they’d been a gift from Susannah’s Garden, the flower shop next door. All the retailers on Blossom Street were friends. Hearing about the small party, Alix Turner from the French Café had dropped off a tray of cheese, crackers and seedless green grapes, which Anne Marie had placed on her work table, now covered with a lacy cloth. Lydia had insisted they use it for their celebration. It was so beautiful it reawakened Anne Marie’s desire to learn to knit.
She wished she could see her friends’ gifts as more than expressions of sympathy, but her state of mind made that impossible. Still, because of the other widows, for their sake as well as her own, she was determined to try.
“This is going to be fun,” Elise said, telling them why Anne Marie had spread out the bubble wrap.
“What a wonderful idea!” Barbie exclaimed.
“Shall I pour?” Anne Marie asked, ignoring the sense of oppression she couldn’t seem to escape. It had been present for months and she’d thought life would be better by now. Perhaps she needed counseling. One thing was certain; she needed something.
“By all means,” Lillie said, motioning toward the champagne.
Anne Marie opened the bottle and filled the four glasses and then they toasted one another, clicking the rims of the flutes.
“To love,” Elise said. “To Maverick.” Her voice broke.
“To chocolate!” Barbie made a silly face, perhaps to draw attention away from Elise’s tears.
“And the Widow’s champagne,” Lillie threw in.
Anne Marie remained silent.
Although it’d been nine months, her grief didn’t seem to diminish or become any easier to bear. She worked too much, ate too little and grieved for all the might-have-beens. It was more than the fact that the man she’d loved was dead. With his death, she was forced to give up the dream of all she’d hoped her marriage would be. A true companionship—and the foundation of a family. Even if she were to fall in love again, which seemed unlikely, a pregnancy past the age of forty was risky. The dream of having her own child had died with Robert.
The four sipped their champagne in silence, each caught up in her own memories. Anne Marie saw the sorrow on Elise’s face, the contemplative look on Lillie’s, Barbie’s half smile.
“Will we be removing our shoes in order to pop the bubble wrap?” Lillie asked a moment later.
“Mom has this thing about walking around in stocking feet,” Barbie said, glancing at her mother. “She doesn’t approve.”
“It just wasn’t done in our household,” Lillie murmured.
“There’s no reason to take our shoes off,” Anne Marie said. “The whole idea is to have fun. Make a bit of noise, celebrate our friendship and our memories.”
“Then I say, let ’er rip,” Elise said. She raised her sensibly shod foot and stomped on a bubble. A popping sound exploded in the room.
Barbie went next, her step firm. Her high heels effectively demolished a series of bubbles.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
Pop.
Lillie followed. Her movements were tentative, almost apologetic.
Pop.
Anne Marie went last. It felt…good. Really good, and the noise only added to the unexpected sense of fun and exhilaration. For the first time since the party had begun, she smiled.
By then they were all flushed with excitement and champagne. The others were laughing giddily; Anne Marie couldn’t quite manage that but