Then she was reading her book club book until she finished it. That jogged something in her brain. She wrote downsnacks for book cluband thought about getting stuff to make a veggieand dip tray. That would be all right, wouldn’t it? Paige was a healthy eater. She’d at least appreciate it.
Maude looked inside her fridge again and made note of what she needed, which was almost everything. She needed to do better about grocery shopping but it just wasn’t her favorite thing.
Finally, she decided she had enough on her list to sustain her for two weeks or more, and headed out.
At Publix, she grabbed a cart and rolled it into produce, only to remember that she hadn’t checked her containers to see if any of her veggies were ready. She rolled her eyes at herself. When she did things like that, she always wondered if it was age creeping up on her.
Hopefully not. But maybe she should start taking something. Like extra vitamins. Or whatever was all the rage these days.
She found some good-looking peppers, a couple of cucumbers, then added a bag of baby carrots and a pint of cherry tomatoes. She picked up some celery and a tub of the good ranch dip and added those to the cart. That would be her contribution to book club.
Because it was watermelon season, she got one of those, too. That would be a good snack to have while she was gaming.
She walked the rest of the aisles, getting everything on her list and a few things that weren’t. She’d already decided she was making a vat of pasta salad. She could eat that for a week. Or until she ran out.
She also picked up a package of nice dog treats for Cookie. It would give her a reason to visit Ned and see how he was doing.
Finally, cart overflowing, she hit the registers and checked out. She might have enough stuff for three weeks, but that was all right with her. Anything that meant less shopping was a win.
She was loading her bags into her car when her phone went off. She dug it out of her purse. Ollie. “Hey, how are you?”
“Busy. Just got out of surgery and got your voicemail. How are you?”
She was smiling, but that didn’t jive with what she needed to tell him. Still, it was nice to hear his voice. “I’m good. Just putting groceries in my car.”
“Why don’t you call me back when it’s more convenient. I’ll be in my office for a while, so I promise I’ll answer.”
She was still smiling. “Okay. Give me a few minutes and I’ll call you as soon as I’m home.”
“Sounds good.”
She hung up, finished loading her car, returned her cart, and headed for home. Once she was in and her groceries were put away, she took her phone into the living room and called him back.
“There you are,” he answered.
“How was surgery?”
“Textbook perfect. Gotta love that.”
“For sure. So, first of all, and I hate to do this, but I need to reschedule our dinner on Thursday. I forgot I have book club that night.”
“That’s all right. I’ll just sit at home, all alone, feeling lonely, listening to sad music.”
She laughed. That was the Ollie she knew, always teasing. She sighed, wondering if he’d keep that mood when she told him the second piece of news. “Maybe you should get a fish.”
“I might. With a tank big enough that I could swim in it, too. I hear that’s the best way to bond with your fish.”
“Is that right? I can honestly say I don’t think Pixel wants me in his tank.” She chuckled. Then exhaled. Time for the really bad news. “Listen, I’ve been researching Emily…”
A moment of silence passed. “Okay, I’m ready. What did you find?”
“I hate telling you this over the phone.”
“It’s all right. I’m sitting down.”
“Do you know a guy called Derek Nyland?”
“Yes. He works for the same real estate company. He’s in Emily’s office. I’m not going to like what comes next, am I?”
