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I’m in, Eloise said.I’m texting Aaron right now.
Matt will be off-island, AJ said.But Lisa and Asher and I will be there. Great idea, Robin!
Robin loved being praised for her ideas. Just once, however, she’d like someone else to plan the beach weekend. She set the cookies on the counter and pulled over a notebook. If they were going to the beach in only a few days, Robin needed to start prepping food, supplies, and drinks.
By the time she made it back to her phone to text Mandie and Jamie about their beach afternoon, the group text had blown up. She read through the messages quickly and answered Kristen’s question with,Of course you can bring Theo. Everyone is invited.
Her pulse skipped and flipped in her chest, but her thumbs flew across the screen.I’m calling a Tell-All. I feel disconnected from everyone, and I want to know what’s going on in everyone’s lives.
The Tell-All meant everyone would have to share something, and usually something big. Something secret. Something they were afraid of or worried about. Something they maybe hadn’t revealed yet.
Robin read over the text and decided if she couldn’t tell her best friends that she felt disconnected from them, there was a problem. She sent the message as she drew in a breath and held it.
Seconded, Alice said almost the moment Robin’s text showed as going through.
Traditionally, with the five of them, they needed three people to agree to the Tell-All or it didn’t happen. With as many as they had now—nine or ten people, they really should have five or six people agree to achieve the majority.
Third, Laurel said, and Robin smiled fondly at her phone. She wasn’t the only one feeling like she hadn’t spoken to everyone, and right on top of Laurel’s message came El’s. She wanted the Tell-All too, and satisfied, Robin picked up the cookies and headed over to Kristen’s condo.
Once she arrived, she drank in the silence of the senior community. If she listened hard enough, she could hear the waves coming ashore from the ocean just beyond the last building, where Kristen lived.
She knocked on the door and stepped back. She couldn’t tell if Kristen was home or not, though she’d spied her minivan in the parking lot. But she could be anywhere here at her condo, as they had activities and beachfront access. She couldn’t hear anything from inside the condo. She could potentially leave the cookies, but they’d be melted if Kristen was gone for any length of time.
“Meow.”
Robin looked over to find a gray and white cat peeking around the corner of the building. It didn’t look exactly tame, and Robin clutched her cookies a little tighter. Then she told herself not to be ridiculous. The animal was a cat, not a chocolate-chip-cookie-eating lion.
She looked back at Kristen’s door and pushed the doorbell. It clanged inside, and a moment later, Kristen said, “Coming!”
Relief punched through Robin for some reason, and she waited a few moments until Kristen opened the door. She ran her hands through her hair, and she looked a bit…disheveled. “Robin, hello.”
She held up the bag of cookies. “I brought you a treat.”
Kristen’s face brightened, but she glanced over her shoulder. “Thank you. Come in.” She backed up, and Robin crossed the threshold of the condo. To her left, she found Theo sitting on Kristen’s couch. The TV wasn’t on. No radio. He was just sitting there.
All at once, Robin knew she’d just interrupted them doing…something. Embarrassment filled her too, and she bustled into the kitchen. “Hello, Theo.”
“Robin,” he said. He groaned as he got to his feet.
Robin threw the cookies on the counter. “I won’t stay. I was just dropping by.” She couldn’t even look at Kristen for some reason.
“I have to get to the office,” Theo said. “So don’t rush off on my account.” He moved over to Kristen and took her into his arms. Robin didn’t mean to, but she couldn’t stop staring at them. “See you later, Kristen?”
“Mm, yes,” she said.
Theo leaned down and kissed her, right in front of Robin, and then he turned and left the condo through the still-open door. Kristen moved to close it, and she pressed her back into it as she faced Robin.
She had no idea what to say. Only a few feet separated them, but the silence was as thick as rubber. “I…” she started. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Kristen’s face formed into a smile, and Robin felt hers doing the same thing. “So we’re kissing Theo now.”
Kristen nodded but still said nothing.
“How long has this been going on?”
“A little bit,” Kristen said as she finally pushed away from the door. “He’s coming to beach day.”
“That’s fine,” Robin said. “Great.” She watched as Kristen opened the bag and took out a cookie. “Are you going to tell everyone at the Tell-All?”
