“I’ll support you no matter what you decide,” Darla said. “As I’m sure your friends will too. And Gil.”
“Mom…I just want everything to go back to the way it was. Life was easier before I started chasing things I’m not even sure I want. I had a job I loved. I met up with my friends at Sweetie’s. I had book club. It was all so simple. Now everything is complicated. I just want to reverse time and have my normal life back.”
“You can’t. Sweetie’s is still closing, and Gil is still part of your life. I won’t call you weak or cowardly for dropping out of the mayor’s race, but don’t let fear allow you to push Gil away. Relationships are hard, and they can be messy, but sometimes the things that complicate our lives are the things that make life worth living.”
“Speaking of relationships, I’m glad you’ll be spending more time with Dad.”
Darla sighed. “Well, I’m sure he’ll drive me nuts, but it’ll be a good change. Until a couple of months ago, I couldn’t really imagine retiring from the bakery because the town depends on it so much. With your father being home more often, I was starting to want to slow down and enjoy my life a little more too. Sometimes things work out in the most unexpected ways.”
“Yes, they do. Sweetie’s turning into a parking lot was not on my radar.” Moira laughed.
“Neither was Gil, I’m guessing,” Darla said gently. “Just think about what I said. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.”
Moira gave her mom a strange look. “I’ve never liked or understood that saying.”
“You’ve made a lot of changes in a short time. In this case, it just means that not all of those changes should be scrapped. Some things stay the same and some things change—for the better.”
When Moira was done with her mom’s call, she sat on the edge of her bed and waited for the next call from the media. She knew which changes needed to take a back seat in her life. She wasn’t ready to be mayor. Not yet, at least. She didn’t believe in making rash decisions, and yet, that’s exactly what she’d done when she’d launched her campaign against Gil. He’d told her he’d taken steps toward running for that office for years before actually becoming mayor. Maybe she could run now, but it didn’t mean that she should.
Within five minutes of her waiting, her phone rang.
Moira held the phone to her ear. “This is Moira Green,” she said.
“Ms. Green, can you comment on the accusations that you were caught breaking and entering and destroying a Mr. Felix Wilkes’s property?”
“No comment,” Moira said, breathing through her emotions. They were bittersweet, but she also felt a peace about the decision she’d already made.
“Reports say that Mayor Gil Ryan dropped his charges and that Mr. Wilkes did not press charges against you. Do you know why?”
Moira closed her eyes. Where were these reports coming from? “No comment.”
“Do you have a comment on anything that has transpired over the last few days?” the reported asked.
“Yes. I would like to announce that I’m dropping out of the mayoral race for Somerset Lake. I wish the remaining candidates good luck. Thank you,” she said quickly before disconnecting the call and placing her phone down on the table beside her, hands shaking.
Maybe this was the right decision for her life right now, but she was still sad. Lying back in bed, Moira rolled to her side and closed her eyes, hoping that sleep would silence her thoughts, and that when she woke up, life would be back to normal.
Normal was not the case when Moira woke up the next morning. Or the next. By Thursday night, at the end of Moira’s shift, her new normal was living as a recluse. She’d managed to stay home for the last several days, but the big question of whether she would attend book club tonight still hung in the air. She loved her Thursday night get-togethers, but she was still in isolation mode. Despite Moira’s dropping out of the campaign, this story wasn’t fading fast enough. Everyone had questions that she didn’t feel like answering.
The clock ticked to five p.m., and Moira stood from her desk. Her shift was over and uneventful, for the most part. She headed back to her bedroom to change clothes for book club even though she still hadn’t decided yet if she was attending. The probability of running into anyone other than her friends was low. She could drive over and duck inside the closed bookshop before she came face-to-face with Reva.
Then again, what if her friends wanted to talk about the things Moira had done? They hadn’t really pressed her on the recent news, but she hadn’t given any of them ample opportunity either.
“Maybe I won’t go.” She plopped down on her bed and blew out a breath. As soon as she did, someone knocked on her door. She didn’t move until they knocked again. On a sigh, she stood and dragged herself to the front door. After peering through the peephole, she opened the door. “What are you doing here?”
Tess offered a knowing smile. “Making sure you come to book club tonight.”
“Shouldn’t you be at the bookshop?”
“Lara is closing for me. I had a sneaking feeling you might try to skip tonight, and then we’d be left without our goodies from Choco-Lovers.”
Moira rolled her eyes playfully. “So you were worried about the lack of sweets at tonight’s meeting?”
“No, I was worried about you. Go on, finish getting ready. I’ll wait.” Tess pushed past Moira and walked into her living room and sat on the sofa without another word.
Moira turned and looked at her friend. “You’re a little bit bossy. Did you know that?”
Tess crossed her legs and leaned back. “River says the same thing.” She made a shooing motion with her hands. “Go. I’ll be here waiting.”
Moira didn’t budge. “I was thinking about staying home tonight.”
Tess nodded. “I guessed as much. That’s why I came.”
* * *
An hour later, Moira was glad she’d gone to book club. Her friends always made her feel better.
“So tell us what happened,” Lucy said, folding her legs beneath her.
“Lucy,” Tess warned, narrowing her brown eyes at their friend. “We said we weren’t going to press Moira. If she doesn’t want to talk about it, she doesn’t have to.”
Moira blew out a shaky breath. “I really don’t want to discuss it.” She hesitated for a moment. “But sometimes the things you don’t want to talk about are the exact things you should be talking about.” She swallowed hard.
“If you’re not ready…” Tess said, trailing off. “We’re your friends no matter what.”
“None of us are able to judge you,” Trisha agreed. “I mean, my ex-husband robbed people right beneath my nose. I missed things I should have seen.”
Tess raised a hand. “We’ve all made mistakes. It’s part of being human.”
Moira nodded and took a deep breath. She knew that everyone had things in their past they weren’t proud of. It had always been hard for her to discuss her things though. “Way back in the day, I went on a date with Gil’s college roommate.”