Skylar held up her glass as if in a toast. “They hit fifty years last summer.”
Daphne tried to wrap her head around the idea of being married for that long. “Wow. I think my parents are at forty-two.”
“Max and I are heading on six,” KC said. Then, as if reading Daphne’s mind, she leaned over and squeezed Daphne’s knee. “For what it’s worth, my parents didn’t even make it to five.” Daphne gave her a grateful smile in return, but she didn’t say anything.
Skylar sipped her drink. “Half a century. Insane, right? I don’t know how they do it. They seem pretty content too. I mean they bicker here and there, but for the most part they genuinely enjoy each other’s company. If I were married to the same man for that long, I think I’d kill the poor guy. I can’t even imagine being married for one year, much less fifty.” Marriage and children had never been in Skylar’s plans.
“Did they have a big party to celebrate?” KC asked.
Skylar nodded. “We all went to Hawaii.”
Daphne turned her head. “You mean all of you, including your million nieces and nephews?” Skylar had three sisters and two brothers who were all married with multiple kids.
Skylar took another sip of her margarita, then set it on the bench next to her chair. “The whole burrito. It was a zoo. Total chaos. I swear to God we took up half the hotel. It was fun, but also exhausting. I spent nearly every night at the bar trying to de-stress.”
“More self-medicating?”
“Exactly. Perfect use case.” She glanced at the dwindling liquid in her margarita glass. “Speaking of which, I might be in need of a refill soon.”
Daphne closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair. “I can’t imagine having a family that big. When I was a kid, by default our family vacations were always so tame.” Daphne was an only child.
An only child with an only child.
She’d never been on a vacation with her own parents as an adult, although she and Brian had once gone on a cruise with his parents when she was pregnant with Emma. The elder Mr. and Mrs. White weren’t unkind people, but they were so formal and reserved that for the entire week Daphne felt like she was still auditioning for the role of daughter-in-law—even though she was already married to their son.
Throughout the duration of their union that feeling had never gone away. Will they like Alyssa better?
She tried to push the negative thoughts aside as she heard KC asking Skylar a question. “Did everyone get along okay on the trip?”
“Pretty well, or well enough. There were at least two tantrums a day, but usually only one was by an adult.”
Daphne blinked. “What?”
Skylar pushed her arm. “I’m joking.”
“Oh, got it.” Daphne was still only half paying attention, still thinking about how Brian’s parents had never quite warmed to her. In the early part of her marriage, she’d tried so hard to get them to like her, and while they’d defrosted slightly over the years, she’d grown to accept that they were never going to embrace her with open arms, figuratively or literally. They just weren’t that type of people. But it still stung that they had never seemed all that interested in the person she was, treating her instead as their son’s wife, now ex-wife, or as their granddaughter’s mother. Never as Daphne. And I let it happen.
Skylar gave her a strange look. “Daphne, are you okay?”
Daphne forced a smile, but she knew it was a bit stiff. “Yes, sorry, I’m just a little scattered right now.” I’m a mess. Can’t you two see that?
“You clearly need to get used to hanging out with me again. You’re way out of practice,” Skylar said.
“Agreed. We need to break you in,” KC said.
Daphne stared out at the water, unable to look her friends in the eye. “I’ll take that.” It pained her that she couldn’t open up to the people she’d once shared everything with. She wanted to, but she just couldn’t do it. She felt pitiful for her inability to break free from her stagnation, to make changes she knew she needed to move herself forward.
After a few moments of silence, Skylar sat up in her chair and stretched her arms over her head. “So anyhow, the big Aloha Family Adventure went well, and no one ended up in the hospital, although one of my sisters nearly lost it when my nephew sailed out of one of the swinging hammocks at the hotel and landed right on some tiny old Japanese lady.”
KC covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh my gosh! Was he hurt? Was she hurt?”
Skylar shook her head. “Luckily no, but when he landed on the lady, it startled her so much that she farted, like really loud. She didn’t speak a lick of English, but apparently flatulence is a universal language.”
Daphne laughed, and KC let out a little shriek. “That’s hilarious!”
“My nephew thought so too. We all did, but my sister was mortified. She’s a bit uptight if you ask me, although I’m not one to judge anyone’s parenting style. I don’t even have a cat.”
“Parenting is tricky, that’s for sure,” Daphne said. “It’s not like anyone gives you an instruction manual, you know? So you end up feeling your way through, learning as you go.”
“Same goes for being a stepmother,” KC said. “I pretty much walked in blind and still have no idea if I’m doing it right. But neither one of them is in jail, so that’s a good sign.”
Daphne smiled at KC, wishing she could be as forthright with her lack of confidence. I’m still hoping I’ll figure it out too. Why couldn’t she just admit that?
Skylar stood up and stretched her arms over her head again. “I honestly don’t know how people do it. I have no problem running a global sales operation, but for the life of me I couldn’t handle raising kids.” She pointed at Daphne. “I’m so impressed that you have a teenager and still look so good. I think being a mom would age me rapidly.”
“I bet you’d make a great mom,” Daphne said. She meant it. Skylar was perhaps the most competent person she knew.
Skylar turned toward the house. “I guess I could do it if I had to, but to be honest I don’t think I was born with that gene. I’m more than happy being the cool aunt who lives in New York City.”
KC pumped a fist in the air. “That’s the spirit! Who wouldn’t want a cool auntie who lives in New York City?”
Skylar tipped her glass at her. “Exactly. Now come on, ladies, let’s get you each a margarita.”
Twenty minutes later, Daphne leaned over the granite island in the kitchen and looked at KC, who was stretching on the floor next to the barstools. A sea of gleaming copper pots and pans hung overhead on an oval rack. Daphne wondered if they’d ever been touched. “You’re really still playing soccer?” she asked. KC had just shared her plans to participate in an adult tournament the following weekend.
KC moved her legs into a straddle position, then leaned to the right to grab her toes. “Why wouldn’t I still play? I love it.”
“I think it’s fantastic that you’re still playing,” Skylar said. “I bet you run those young whippersnappers into the ground.”
KC looked up at her with a grin. “I don’t know about running anyone into the ground, but I do a pretty good job of holding my own out there.”
“Are you the oldest one?” Daphne asked KC.
KC shook her head. “Not by a long shot. Tons of older people play soccer. In fact, the tournament next weekend is over-forty.”
“A whole tournament for people over forty?” Daphne raised her eyebrows. “I’ve been to a few volleyball tournaments with Emma, and they’re pretty intense even for the kids. Seems like a soccer tournament would be really hard on your body.”
KC sat up and stretched her hands over her head. “It’s a lot of running, but it’s not that bad if you have subs. I’ve been playing in tournaments for years, but this is the first time I’m old enough to play in the over-forty division, so I can’t wait.”
Skylar gave her a strange look as she reached for the pitcher of margaritas. “Do you realize how weird that sounds?”
KC laughed. “They have over-thirty, over-forty, over-fifty, even over-sixty. That way you can always play against people your own age, so it’s competitive. I’m really looking forward to it. After all these years of chasing around youngsters in the over-thirty division, in the over-forty I’ll get to be the fastest one again.”
“Only you could make turning forty sound like something to aspire to,” Skylar said. “You should work in advertising. You could probably package up sand and sell it at the beach on spring break.”
“Wouldn’t it be nice to be on spring break again?” Daphne said with a wistful smile. “To be that young again?”
KC switched her stretch to the other leg. “Guys, we are young.”
“We’re not that young,” Skylar said.
KC nodded. “Well sure, we’re not twenty anymore, but who cares? We’re not old, just older than we used to be.”
Skylar pointed at her. “Seriously, you should join an advertising agency. You could make millions.”
“I feel old,” Daphne said softly, surprised at her candor. She thought of her conversation with Clay, how she’d been too embarrassed to tell him the reason behind her reunion with her friends.
KC looked up at her. “Well, you shouldn’t. Didn’t you hear what Harry and Eleanor said to us? To them, we’re the youngsters. Just because I can’t run as fast as I did when I was in college doesn’t mean I’m old. It doesn’t mean I can’t still play soccer and have fun.”
“Harry and Eleanor seem to have made quite an impression on you,” Skylar said.
KC nodded. “They seem like good people.”
Daphne nodded too. “Supersweet. A little, um, feistier than I expected for people their age, but they have a warm aura about them.”
“Oh, now I want to meet them,” Skylar said. “I like me some feisty.”
KC pulled one foot behind her and moved into the hurdler’s stretch. “Trust me, you guys, as a woman who is married to an older man, I know from personal experience that age is just a number. It means nothing unless you let it mean something. It’s all in how you think.”
“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 uh . . . 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 r
eady 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.”
Wait for the Rain Page 6
