Wait for the Rain (8 page)

“You should say that in a Yoda voice,” Daphne said. She remembered how Clay said he wasn’t even thirty yet. What would he think of this conversation? Was KC just kidding herself into believing forty wasn’t over the hill? Then again, KC had never looked healthier, or
happier
, than she did right now. Maybe she was onto something. Daphne leaned over again and gently nudged KC with her foot. “Speaking of age, are your stepsons in their twenties now?”

KC lifted her head and smiled. “One is! Isn’t that nuts? Josh is nineteen and a sophomore at UCLA, and Jared is twenty-two and living with his girlfriend in a cute little bungalow in Santa Monica. Can you believe I have a stepson old enough to be living with his girlfriend in a cute little bungalow in Santa Monica?”

Skylar held up a hand. “Please change the subject immediately. This conversation is too horrifying to continue without more alcohol in my system.”

KC grinned, then stretched both legs in front of her and leaned forward to grab her toes. “Okay, fine, we’ll go back to soccer. It’s a fantastic workout, but it’s also supersocial, especially the coed leagues. Going out for beers after the game is practically mandatory. Max and I love it.”

“I love going out for beers,” Skylar said. “Maybe I should find a league that just does that. No actual exercise, just socializing and drinking.”

Finally done with her stretching, KC jumped up and put a hand on Skylar’s shoulder. “I think they call that
going to a bar
.”

“Semantics,” Skylar said. “But a league like that would be a better investment than my gym membership, which I barely use.”

“You and Max met through a soccer league, right?” Daphne asked KC.

KC nodded. “Another perk of the coed system. I found myself a husband, and I wasn’t even looking for one.”

“I wish I were athletic,” Skylar said.

Daphne looked at Skylar. “You mean so you could meet your husband that way too? I thought you didn’t want to get married.”

“I don’t. But what’s not to like about coed recreation? Sweaty, athletic men in shorts? Count me in.”

“I can’t imagine playing soccer with men,” Daphne said. “Do people get hurt a lot?”

KC opened the refrigerator and pulled out a pitcher of water. “The men in our league are pretty chill. Once in a while some Rambo type will go in crazy hard for a tackle, but those types don’t usually stick around too long because they get the evil eye from everyone. Most of the people I play with go out of their way
not
to hurt anyone. Everyone knows we all have to go to work the next day.”

“Well, it sure keeps you looking great, that’s for sure.” Skylar looked at her own upper arm, then gave it a squeeze. “I keep telling myself I need to work out more, but the truth is I hate exercising too much to do anything about it. After a long day at the office, if I’m actually home and not on an airplane or at a work dinner or a client event or on a date, I’m like, why go to the gym when I can stay right here on my supercomfy couch and drink wine?”

KC laughed. “You
sure
you don’t want to try my beach class tomorrow morning? I’ve already got Daphne signed up.”

Daphne coughed. “You have? I u
h . . .
I thought that was just a suggestion.”

KC removed her baseball hat and pointed it in the direction of her bedroom. “It was a suggestion that we will be converting into a reality. Okay, ladies, I’m off to take a shower. What’s next on the itinerary?”

Skylar held up her nearly empty margarita glass. “I need to shower too, but first I’m going to finish this delicious beverage. Then, unfortunately, I have to make another work call, but I promise it won’t take long. I was thinking we could have dinner at a place not too far from here called Captain’s Grill. It’s right on the beach, and apparently the food there is amazing.”

“Sounds perfect,” KC said. “How dressy is it?”

Skylar gave her a look of mock surprise. “You brought a dress?”

KC grinned. “I brought
one
dress. So let me know which night I should wear it.”

“I can’t imagine you in a dress,” Daphne said. “Did you even wear one to your wedding?” Max and KC had gotten married at City Hall in a family-only ceremony.

“I wore a white tank dress from J.Crew,” she said. “Does that count?”

Skylar rolled her eyes. “For
you
, that counts. And to answer your question, Pippi Longstocking, tonight is casual. We’ll do the dressy dinner thing for Daphne’s birthday. But I have a proposition for you. If Daphne and I do your beach workout, you have to go shopping with us for girly stuff, deal?” She turned and looked at Daphne. “That’s a fair deal, right?”

Daphne nodded. “Sounds equitable to me.”

KC hesitated for a moment, then shook Skylar’s hand. “Okay, I can live with that. Deal.”

Skylar smiled. “Nice. I heard there are some cute stores in the main downtown area. Maybe we’ll head over there tomorrow and gussy you up.”

KC trotted toward her bedroom. “Do what you must. I’m not wearing makeup, though!” she called over her shoulder.

“Once a tomboy, always a tomboy,” Skylar said as KC shut her door. “God help her.”

Daphne lifted her margarita for a toast. “And here’s hoping she never changes.”

Skylar clinked her glass against Daphne’s. “I’ll drink to that.”

Chapter Five

Captain’s Grill wasn’t technically
on
the beach, but without burrowing the table legs and chairs into the sand, the outdoor seating area of the charmingly rustic restaurant was about as close to the shore as it could be. The tables were spread over a raised wooden deck, each one flanked by a large white umbrella ready to be opened for protection from the sun, or perhaps the sudden onslaught of a rainstorm, which, as Daphne now knew, was not an uncommon occurrence on St. Mirika. A string of white lanterns dotted a high fence lining the three edges of the deck not facing the water, which secluded the deck and created a protective illusion that it was the lone dining spot on the beach.

“Wow, that’s tasty,” KC said as she sipped her mango sangria.

“Isn’t it?” Skylar said. “St. Mirika is famous for it. I don’t know why it hasn’t taken off in the States. Maybe I should quit selling software and start selling mango sangrias instead.”

“Maybe I’d come work for you,” KC said. “You said I’m good at selling things, right?”

Skylar nodded. “With your charisma and my connections, we’d make a fortune.”

Daphne gazed out at the ocean, utterly mesmerized by the view. The sun was just beginning to set, casting a soft orange glow across the sky and spreading over the water, which gently rolled up against the shore.

“You okay there, sweets?” Skylar asked her. “You look a little dazed.”

Daphne nodded slowly and kept staring at the horizon. “I feel like we’re on a movie set. I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“It really is paradise,” KC said. “I love living in Hermosa Beach, but this takes the word
beautiful
to another level.” She cocked her head at Daphne. “What’s a word for more beautiful than beautiful?”

Before Daphne could respond, Skylar held up her glass. “Sangria.”

Daphne laughed. “Well done.”

Skylar took a sip of her drink. “Thank you. I’m no Daphne White, but I do have a pretty extensive vocabulary when it comes to cocktails. And this sangria is spectacular.”

Daphne glanced out at the ocean. “I think St. Mirika is the most, um,
sangria
, place I’ve ever been.”

“Me too,” KC said. “Max and I went to Maui for our honeymoon, but this blows that out of the water.”

Daphne put a hand on KC’s arm. “Speaking of the water, have you ever seen water so
green
? It’s like toothpaste, don’t you think?”

Skylar made a sour face. “What kind of toothpaste do people use in Ohio? That sounds disgusting.”

“This place really is out of a movie set,” Daphne said. “Not that I have anything to compare it to, but high rolling with Skylar kind of
feels
like hanging out with a celebrity, so it’s almost like we’re in a movie right now.”

KC turned her head as if on a swivel. “So is this the scene where the handsome stranger sends over a bottle of champagne? Skylar, does that sort of thing happen to you?”

Skylar smirked and picked up the menu. “Shush, both of you. My job is light years from Hollywood, and you both know it. Now, let’s order.” She reached into her purse and removed a pair of designer reading glasses from a sleek black case.

KC laughed and pulled out her own glasses case, although decidedly less fancy. She waggled it in the air. “You too?”

Skylar nodded and frowned. “Horrifying, isn’t it? I was in denial for months, but I finally caved over Christmas after my nieces and nephews made fun of me for holding the presents away from my eyes so I could read who they were from.”

KC laughed. “I was in denial until Max threw his pair across the breakfast table and told me to put them on. He said for weeks he’d been watching me do the same thing with the newspaper and he couldn’t take it anymore.”

Skylar looked at Daphne. “What about you? Have your eyes betrayed you yet?”

Daphne shook her head. “Not yet. But then again, as we know, I’m still in my thirties.”

“Touché,” Skylar said with a dry smile. “What about your hair? Have you yanked out any wiry grays yet?”

Daphne immediately touched the sides of her head.
Do I need to be pulling hairs out?
She’d noticed a stray gray here and there but hadn’t done anything about it. Were they obvious? She was too afraid to ask. “Not yet,” she said.

Skylar tapped her left temple. “I call the worst offenders
angry hairs
, you know, the ones that grow in every direction besides
down
? I hate those little buggers. I started yanking after my little niece asked me if I had tinsel in my hair. That was quite a rude awakening, to say the least.”

KC laughed. “That’s hilarious. In my book, gray hair is a badge of honor, like you’ve earned it!” She tapped her heart.

“I have zero interest in reading that book,” Skylar said. “My hairdresser says I’m not ready to color it yet, but when the day comes, I’m heading straight to the salon to take the plunge.”

“I’m going natural all the way,” KC said. “Like a cotton ball.”

“I bet even with a head of white fluff, you won’t seem old,” Daphne said. “You’re too much like a little kid.”

“I wear compression socks when I run sometimes,” KC said. “Does that count for something?”

Skylar laughed. “I don’t even know how to respond to that.”

As they perused the menu, Daphne stole a glance at Skylar, who, even with reading glasses perched on the bridge of her nose, looked put together
and
on top of things, as if she knew something no one else in the room did. She looked confident. Successful. Classy. An impeccable package she’d created all on her own.

When was the last time Daphne had felt any of those things about herself? Where had her self-confidence gone? Where had
she
gone?

“Daphne, hon, you there?” Skylar said.

Daphne looked up from her menu to see KC, Skylar, and the waiter all staring at her. She felt her cheeks flush.

“Are you okay, Daphne?” KC looked concerned. “You disappeared for a moment there.”

Daphne nodded. “Yep, totally fine, just taking everything in.”

“Are you ready to order?” Skylar gestured to the waiter.

Daphne looked up at him. “Oh yes, of course. Sorry. I’l
l . . .
I’ll have the mixed green salad and the glazed salmon, thank you.” She closed her menu and handed it to him.

Once he was gone, Skylar tapped her fork against her glass a couple times, then lifted it up. “I’d like to make a toast to
us
: the Three Musketeers together again, at last.”

“Aw, I love you guys,” KC said.

“You love everything,” Skylar said. “But seriously, can you believe we met when we were eighteen years old, and now we’re forty? That means we’ve been friends for more than half our lives.”

“Wow,” Daphne said under her breath. “That’s cool but kind of scary too.”

“Totally,” KC whispered back.

Skylar kept talking. “Yes, my dears, we’ve been friends for more than twenty years now. It seems like just yesterday the three of us were wearing scrunchies and drinking wine coolers from a straw in the dorms. Thank God the digital age wasn’t around when we were in college. If any of those photos got out, my meticulously constructed image as a serious businesswoman would be in serious jeopardy.”

Daphne sipped her drink. “That’s for sure. Remember that time you made out with Jason Green in the study lounge with the glass windows and didn’t know there were like ten of us watching?”

KC raised her hand as if in a classroom. “I remember! That was awesome. People were taking bets on when you two would come up for air.”

Skylar closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Apparently I had blocked that incident from my memory, but thank you both for reminding me. Now I get to relive it in all its classy glory.”

Daphne smiled. “You’re very welcome. And for the record, you were very classy. It was quite PG-13, from what I remember.”

KC held up a finger. “Also for the record, I never wore a scrunchie because they fall out too easily when I run.
My
go-to look was the reverse french braid, if you remember. I rocked that thing.”

Daphne held up a finger too. “
Also
for the record, while I admit to the scrunchie thing, I’m not forty yet. I still have two more days in my thirties, so don’t drag me down with you just yet.”

Skylar sighed dramatically. “Jeez, Louise, I’m trying to give a
toast
here. Will you two please shut down the peanut gallery and let me finish?”

“Of course, I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to cause a kerfuffle.” Daphne reached for her sangria.

KC giggled. “You and your SAT vocabulary. Who uses the word
kerfuffle
?”

Skylar snapped her fingers twice. “Focus, ladies, focus. It’s clear you’re not used to drinking sangria.”

Daphne and KC both sat at attention and looked at her as she stood ceremoniously.

“Okay then,” Skylar said with a nod, then cleared her throat. “
Anyhow
, I’d officially like to thank both of you for joining me in what I’m sure will be a trip I will remember forever. Despite our earlier conversation about age, turning forty is a big deal, and I can’t think of two women I’d rather celebrate the occasion with than you, two of the smartest, kindest, most interesting people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in my life. And believe me, I’ve met a
lot
of people. I know I don’t see either of you very often, but I
think
of you often, and I want you to know that I love you both very much. So here’s to the Three Musketeers, together forever.” She sat down and clinked her glass against KC’s, then Daphne’s.

KC reached over and put a hand on Skylar’s shoulder. “That was a beautiful toast. You’re going to make me cry.”

“No I won’t.” Skylar immediately shook her head. “You never cry. You’re always too freaking
happy
to cry. Of all those people I just said I’ve met in my life,
none
of them has ever been as happy as you.”

“I could cry tears of joy?” KC said, a hopeful expression on her face.

Skylar rolled her eyes. “I’ll believe that when I see it.”

KC grinned at her. “Okay, you’re probably right.”

Skylar set down her glass and reached for her purse. “To commemorate the occasion that has brought us here, I thought you both might like to see something. Do you ladies remember this?” She removed a small pink notebook.

Daphne caught her breath at the sight of the leather binding. “Is tha
t . . .
Daisy the diary?”

Skylar held the book against her chest. “The one and only.”

“I can’t believe you still have her,” Daphne said. “Do you still make entries?”

Skylar laughed. “Oh God no. I haven’t touched the thing since college. I can’t believe I found her, to be honest. But I’m so glad I did. I thought you two might want to read what you wrote in good ol’ Daisy at the end of our senior year. Do you remember when we each predicted what our lives would be like twenty years after graduation?”

“No way! I forgot all about that!” KC said.

Skylar smiled. “I know it hasn’t been quite twenty years, but close enough. Should we see what we each wrote? I haven’t read it yet because I thought it would be fun to wait until tonight. I have absolutely no memory of what I predicted.”

KC wiggled her fingers at the diary. “I wanna see! Gimme.”

“Only if you read what you wrote out loud,” Skylar said. “I’ll go first.” She opened the diary to a bookmarked page in the back and began to speak.
“In twenty years I will be CEO of a large company, probably in New York or London
.
”
She shrugged, then handed the book to KC. “Getting there, I guess.”

“You’re
more
than getting there,” KC said. “You’re a rock star.” She began to skim the page. “Okay, what did I writ
e . . .
Here it is!
In twenty years I will be leading a Peace Corps unit in South America or Africa
.” She laughed and handed the diary to Daphne. “Hey, that’s not bad! I’m hardly leading a unit, but I did join the Peace Corps for a couple years.”

“Well done,” Skylar said. “Your turn, Daphne.”

Daphne scanned to her section of the page, then quietly began to read.
“In twenty years I will be an award-winning journalist
.
”

A brief yet undeniably awkward silence followed, none of them sure what to say. Skylar looked like she was about to speak, but then the waiter returned with their entrées, followed by a busboy who refilled their water glasses. Once they were gone, Skylar quietly tucked the diary back into her purse and pressed her palms together. “Alright then, my official work at this dinner is done. Enough of the speeches and emotional mumbo jumbo, blah blah blah. Let’s get to the good stuff.”

“Good stuff?” KC raised her eyebrows. “You mean as in dessert?”

Skylar sighed. “I mean as in
girl talk
, Einstein. We’re forty. We’re not dead.”

Daphne lifted a forkful of salmon and willed herself to smile at Skylar. “I think I’d pay to watch you in a meeting with your staff. I bet it’s pretty entertaining.”
I was going to be an award-winning journalist.

“Oh yes, I run a tight ship,” Skylar said, then tilted her glass toward KC. “So tell us, what’s it like being married to a man in his fifties? I’ve never dated anyone that old, I mean that much
older
. You know what I mean.”

KC cut into her mahimahi. “It’s pretty great. He’s emotionally mature, a fantastic life partner, my best friend and confidant: everything I could ask for, to be honest.”

Skylar narrowed her eyes. “Really?”

KC swatted Skylar’s arm. “Yes,
really
. Why are you so surprised?”

“I guess I’m just cynical that you can find all that in one person.”

“Then I guess I’m just lucky,” KC said with a grin.

“
He’s
lucky,” Daphne said to her.

KC put a hand over her heart. “Aw, thanks, Daphne.”

Daphne took a big sip of her sangria.
I used to think I’d found all that in Brian. I couldn’t see that it was an illusion of my own making. I was too young.