Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
Pam Williams was putting herself through law school. She worked for Janice at night and studied and attended school during the day. It was easy to admire her. No matter how late she worked, she put in the time to study, determined to make her dream come true.
Cindy Atler had gotten married young to her childhood sweetheart, Matthew, and had two boys: Moses, four, and Isiah, six. Her husband had been killed fighting a fire two years earlier, and she’d been struggling ever since. She had money, but emotionally she needed to put distance between herself and her family. They meant well, but she had to stand on her own two feet and raise her sons the way she saw fit. She loved her parents but felt they were smothering her and taking over parenting duties. She told Rory and the others that she thought her husband would be disappointed in her if she continued to allow her parents to take over, so she’d moved.
Sally Hudson was tall and beautiful, turning heads when she walked down the street or into a room. Perpetually cheerful, she owned a dog grooming service, driving a large van to the homes of her customers. She loved what she did, and her business was a huge success. She’d started out as a dog trainer and then became a vet tech, but she had always dreamed of owning her own business. She had saved until she could put a down payment on the dog grooming van. It wasn’t long before she was so busy that she had to turn away clients. She had moved in at the same time Rory had.
All five women were waiting in the lounge, a room near the lobby where residents could take visitors if they didn’t want to bring them into their apartments. Mostly, the women used the small lounge when they got together for coffee and sorted their mail. It was a ritual they had created to touch base with one another and keep up with what was happening. The women sat sorting through junk mail, tossing it into bags to get rid of it while they visited.
Rory didn’t get a lot of mail other than bills and junk mail, so she put hers in a canvas tote she had, waited until the mail piled up, and then took it to the office at the bar and used the shredder. The other ladies laughed at her for shredding junk mail, but she’d always done it everywhere she went and was a little obsessive about it. She checked her mailbox, pulled out the stack of mostly throwaway letters and rushed into the lounge.
“You’re late,” Cindy said, greeting her, holding out a tall to-go mug. “Your coffee.”
“I think I love you,” Rory said, taking the mug. “I didn’t have time to make coffee, so this is going to be my first cup. I can’t believe I fell asleep and stayed that way.”
Cindy laughed. “I don’t remember what sleep is. I don’t think I’ve slept the entire night for the last five years.”
Lydia fake-frowned, her hands stilling in midair over the stack of envelopes in front of her. “Isn’t Isiah six? Are you saying you still get up with him at night? Ellen is three, and I was holding out hope that in a few months she wouldn’t be getting into my bed at night.”
“Honestly,” Cindy admitted, “I get up to check on Isiah and Moses. I can’t help myself. That first year with Isiah, Matthew took turns with me.”
“You’ll be checking on those kids when they’re teens,” Janice warned. “Only they’ll be crawling out windows to go to parties.”
Rory found herself laughing as she sorted through the mail, tossing the junk into the canvas tote to be shredded when she had a full bag. It was relaxing and fun to be part of the group even if she didn’t contribute very much in the way of entertainment. There were times when she had funny stories of her customers to tell, but for the most part, she enjoyed listening, and the other women were used to her staying quiet.
She had plenty to talk about if she was put on the spot. She’d traveled so much and was happy to tell her friends about the various places she’d lived in. She just loved hearing them talk about their lives. She loved the camaraderie of being with the five women. In truth, she found she was enjoying San Francisco more than any other place she’d lived.
“I much prefer animals,” Sally announced. “I have no worries at three in the morning that a toddler or a teenager could be climbing out the window.”
“With your looks,” Pam said, “the teens might be climbing in your window.”
Rory laughed with the others at the horrified expression on Sally’s face.
“Don’t say that. Don’t even think it. I was lucky to fall into this group of cool women, but most detest me on sight. If they thought their son crawled into my house via window, I’d be arrested immediately.”