“Same here. I might text her and see if she needs anything,” Maude said. She helped herself to a piece of cake. “I love coconut cake. Is this from Publix?”
“No,” Blaise said. “I made it on Sunday, with the instruction of my very grumpy neighbor, Earl Tanner. It’s his late wife’s recipe. It’s been in my fridge, taunting me since then. Best coconut cake I’ve ever had. Well, the cake he made was. No promises what this one tastes like.”
“I love that your grumpy neighbor bakes.” Maude smiled as she sniffed the cake. “It smells crazy good. I can’t wait to try it.”
They all got their food and drinks and sat in the living room. Paige smiled at the group. “I heard the three of you dominated at trivia night. I wish I could have seen that.”
Essie grinned. “We won three games in a row.”
Blaise nodded. “We’re now the reigning champions.”
“We killed,” Maude added.
“Well,” Paige said. “I’m sorry I couldn’t make it but…” She let out a happy sigh. “I was on a date.”
That got the response she was hoping for: smiles, oohs, little gasps. Essie even clapped her hands.
“Tell us all about it,” Blaise said. “Or as much as you’re willing to tell us.”
“His name is Graham, he’s British—sorry, English—an absolute gentleman, and he took me to Salt & Cedar. I’ve already seen him again, and I will be seeing him a third time soon.”
Essie let out a little squeal. “That’s fantastic. And Salt & Cedar isnice.”
“It is,” Cece confirmed. “I took my daughter there after she helped me get moved in. Not cheap, either.”
Maude had a funny, knowing look on her face. “A third date? Won’t that ruin your TikTok rep?”
Paige laughed. “I’m not sharing him with that audience just yet. It’s too good.”
“I get that,” Maude said.
“How was your week?” Paige asked.
Maude’s smile disappeared. “Good and not so good. I went out for sushi with Dr. Oliver Keen, which was good.” Her smile came back. “Really good.”
Paige’s mouth fell open. “Lester’s doctor?”
“Yes,” Maude said. “But I’ve known him since high school.” Her smile had an unexpected shyness to it. “We were a couple then.”
Cece nodded. “He told me about that after I mentioned you. Pretty cool that you’ve been able to reconnect.”
“It is,” Maude said. “He hired me to do some digging on his ex-wife and I discovered somesignificantdirt on her.” She frowned. “Not what I was hoping for, but Ollie was happy. His attorney thinks he’ll be able to get Ollie his dog back at least. Ollie lost him in the divorce.”
“That’s awful.” Blaise looked horrified. “I cannot imagine that.”
“That poor man,” Essie whispered.
Maude shrugged. “I’ll be glad if something good comes of it.” She smiled again. “Besides going on the first date I’ve had with Ollie in thirty-seven years.”
That made them all laugh.
Paige turned to Cece. “How about you share next?”
Cece exhaled deeply. “I hate for this to be more of the same, but I did some investigating into my son-in-law.” She looked at Maude. “You know already because we talked.”
“We did,” Maude said. She looked at the rest of them. “Nothing conclusive yet.”
“What happened?” Essie asked.
