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“Oh, stop it!” Doris swatted her arm. “Nothing untoward happened.”
“Not while you were there,” Alice challenged with a widening grin.
“Thank God for that.” Marge rolled her eyes. “The last thing I need burned into my head for eternity is you in the throes with Pedro.” She paused, then scrunched her face. “Oh, man. I just saw it. Now it’s stuck in there on a horrifying loop. I can’t unsee it. I might as well just walk outside and stare into the sun.”
“You haven’t changed a bit.” I burst into laughter and pulled them back into a hug.
After we finally had our fill of embracing, I invited them inside. Doris set her basket on the kitchen counter and pulled back the floral towel covering it. The warm scent of Doris’s famous fresh-baked muffins instantly filled my house.
“Oh, I missed that delicious smell! It’s been three months since I saw you and got some of these.” I hurried over and pulled one out. “Still warm!”
Doris grinned. “Fresh out of the oven, dear.”
Marge flopped back on my couch. “I can’t believe it’s been three months already. I feel like we just saw each other yesterday.”
“It feels like eternity for me.” Doris settled down beside her. “I can’t even begin to tell you how much I miss you all.”
“Axel not keeping you occupied?” Alice took a seat in the chair across from them, pressing a finger to her chin. “Because as newlyweds, you two should have plenty of things to keep you busy.”
Doris’s cheeks flushed pink as she wafted a hand at Alice. “Axel and I are just fine, thank you very much! That doesn’t mean I can’t miss you ladies.”
Doris and Axel had said “I do” in a small ceremony on the ranch six months ago. They’d had a short engagement, and Alice, of course, had teased her relentlessly that it was because she couldn’t wait to get him in the sack. Doris had denied it until she was blue in the face, but damned if they didn’t disappear for hours within minutes of the ceremony finishing, leaving us widows rolling with laughter at the accurate accusation.
“I’m just teasing, Doris.” Alice reached into her purse, pulled out a travel-sized bottle of vodka, and then dumped it into the glass of water I handed her.
“Not one bit.” I laughed as I passed glasses of water to the other ladies. “You haven’t changed one bit.”
Alice took a sip of her cocktail, then set it down. “Well, one thing changed.”
We all stared at her, waiting for an answer.
Her eyes widened. “You can’t tell?”
“Tell what?” I raked her with a gaze.
With a huff, she gestured to her eyes. “I had eyelash extensions put on this morning.”
“Is that what those are?” Marge furrowed her brow. “I thought some spiders were doing the dirty on your eyelids.”
I burst into laughter, nearly spewing water out my nose.
Alice scoffed. “They are all the rage right now. I wear falsies during my shows, but these stay on all the time. I happen to think they really open up my eyes.”
With a shrug, Marge said, “I guess if spiders doing the nasty on your eyelids is in style, then you completely nailed the look.”
Alice laughed and tossed a pillow at her. Marge dodged it, so it smashed into Doris and spilled some of the water in her glass.
“Hey! You got my pants wet!” She huffed and started dabbing at the spot. “You’d think after spending the past year together, you two would have figured out how to be nicer to each other.”
“Nah. In fact, we spend so much time together, we just figured out how to up our retorts.” Marge chuckled, and Alice lifted her glass in a cheers.
A ping of jealousy twitched inside of me thinking of Marge and Alice spending so much time together in Las Vegas. From the photos they constantly sent Doris and me of the two of them out on the town, it seemed they were glued together in their new lives. An unlikely pairing, to be certain, but the bonds of friendship we’d forged through our shared adventures had kept tight even without the Wilder Widows meetings forcing them together.
The four of us had gotten together several times since our last official outing, and as elated as I was to see them, each visit left me feeling sad and hollow when we had to say our goodbyes. It seemed so unreal that I’d nearly dismissed them when they’d come knocking on my door, and now my life felt empty when they weren’t around. Without their prodding, I might never have stepped outside my comfort zone. Even my blinding happiness with Tom couldn’t overshadow my love for these three little women who had taken up such a huge part of my heart.
“So, spill,” I said as I settled back in my chair. “What is going on with everyone?”
They all looked around, and finally, Alice started. “Well, let’s see. My show is sold out every night. Of course.” She flashed her straight, white teeth in a grin. “And, in even bigger news, the producers have approached me about booking me on a world tour. They want to takeGammyon the road! These beauties are going international!” She kicked up her legs, giving us a show of those stems that any woman of any age would turn green with envy over.
