It takes forever to plan my first “accidental” meeting with the ladies of Thornfield Estates. The moment had to be perfect, after all—I was only getting one shot at this, and I wanted to be sure I nailed it. I’d thought about trying to engineer something in the village, bumping into them at Roasted, maybe just strolling down the sidewalk, bags from one of the pricier boutiques hanging off my arms.
I’d spent hours imagining that scenario, and while it was satisfying, it didn’t have quite the impact I wanted.
Then I’d thought about being really bold and just texting them, inviting them over for lunch at Eddie’s, but the house still held too much of Bea, and I was worried that I’d look like a pale imitation standing in her space.
Then I remembered that Emily Clark and Campbell Reed both loved to walk the neighborhood in the mornings, and suddenly I knew exactly how I wanted that first meeting to go down.
So here I am, walking the sidewalks of Thornfield Estates, Adele on her leash pulling me along.
Walking a dog when you’re not being paid to do it is actually kind of fun. The weather is nice, Adele is well-behaved, and I like how she looks back over her shoulder at me whenever she spots something new, wagging her tail, giving me her little doggy smile.
Or maybe I just like her more now because she’s mine. Mine and Eddie’s together, bought after Bea was long gone.
I’m so busy thinking about that, this idea of Eddie and me having something that’s only ours, that I almost miss the moment when Emily and Campbell see me.
But when I glance up, there they are, both wearing white and brightly colored neon sneakers, both with sunglasses so huge half their faces are covered.
That’s a shame because it means I don’t catch as much of their expressions as I’d like, but the subtle parting of Emily’s lips, the way Campbell’s stride stutters just a little, is enough.
“Jane?”
Emily moves forward, a little faster than Campbell who ambles up behind her, hands pressed to her lower back.
“Oh, hey!” I say, raising my hand, then tucking my hair behind my ear, ducking my head a little, in full Sheepish Mode.
“I thought you’d quit dog-walking?” Emily asks, glancing down at Adele, and I laugh a little, winding a part of the leash around my palm.
“I did,” I say. “I’m just out walking Adele for a little exercise.”
I wait for it to click. They have to put the pieces together themselves because if I push it, the gossip will be about how smug I was.
Look, don’t get me wrong—I am super fucking smug right now. But I also want Emily and Campbell and Caroline McLaren to eventually see me as a friend, not an enemy, and that means I have to nail this delivery, the moment they first see me as Eddie’s girlfriend, not the dog-walker.
“Did Eddie give her to you or something?” Emily asks, and I stifle a sigh. Of all the ladies in the neighborhood, Emily is the nicest, but definitely not the brightest. I suddenly wish Caroline were there. I’d have to do a lot less work for her.
Luckily, Campbell comes to my rescue. Shoving her sunglasses up on her head, she looks at me, eyes wide. “You’re the mystery girl,” she says, then nudges Emily. “Remember, we said that we thought Eddie was seeing someone?”
Emily’s jaw drops comically round, a little “oh” escaping her mouth.
I wave my free hand, shifting my weight slightly. “It was really sudden,” I say, “and it’s still really new, and I felt awkward saying anything, and…” I trail off, then give a sort of groan, rolling my eyes. “Well, now I feel really awkward.”
This is another trick I’ve learned over the years—make people think they have the upper hand, and they trust you so much faster. I can already see Campbell’s expression softening, and Emily’s smile seems genuine.
I’m not a threat, not an interloper. I’m just Sweet Jane Who Got Absurdly Lucky and Knows It.
They can work with that.
Emily reaches out and slaps affectionately at my arm. “You minx,” she teases. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard anyone use that word, but it sounds right coming out of Emily’s mouth.
And then, just like I’d hoped, she gestures back toward her house. “This is too good a story to hear while we’re standing in the middle of the street. Let’s go back to mine.”
It feels different, being in Emily’s house as a guest.
I let Adele out into the backyard with Major and Colonel, smiling as the dogs wag their tails at me, then go back inside to the kitchen, where Campbell and Emily are standing at the counter. They’ve totally been talking about me—they look up too quickly when I come in, and move a little farther apart—but they don’t seem suspicious or pissed off. Just surprised, probably.
And if I’m honest, I like being the subject of conversation.
Emily is shoving pieces of fruit into a juicer, the motor whirring, and the resulting juice is a dark, viscous green, but I take it anyway, smiling as I sip.
It tastes like someone dumped half a pound of ginger into grass cuttings, but this is what women like Emily and Campbell drink, so fuck me, I guess I’ll develop a taste for it.
“Sooooo,” Emily drawls, leaning on the counter, propping her chin on her fist like she’s a teenager at a slumber party. “Tell us everything.”
I laugh and shrug. “I mean, it’s really not that interesting. We got to talking one afternoon, he asked me for coffee, and then…” I trail off, grinning and looking demurely down at the counter.
Always better to let people use their imaginations, rather than giving them every detail.
Except that Campbell wants details, because of course she does.
“So, like, what are you two now?” she asks, tapping her nails against her glass. She’s got a new ring on her index finger, a thin gold band studded with diamonds, and I try not to stare at it, try not to want it. “Like, is it serious?”
She’s smiling when I meet her gaze, her head titled down in that conspiratorial “girl talk” pose I’ve seen her, Emily, and Caroline do a thousand times, but there’s something hard in her eyes, and a muscle ticks in her jaw.
Careful, careful.
For a second, I think about going the helpless ingenue route again, all, “Oh, I don’t know, we’re taking it day by day,” that whole song and dance. But there’s another part of me that doesn’t want to do that. That wants them to know I’m here to stay, so they better get used to it, and fast.
No shrugging, then. No blushing. I look Campbell directly in the eyes as I say, “It is, yeah.”
Emily gives a little squeal and reaches out to squeeze my arm. “This is so exciting!”
Campbell glances over at her, and I can see her waver. If Emily throws her support behind me, then what choice does Campbell really have but to do the same?
She must figure that out, too, because she finally smiles at me, and says, “It really is. Congratulations, Jane.”
Now I can go back to the “aw shucks” thing. “I mean, we’re just dating,” I say. “It’s not like we’re getting married.”
“But you’re living together, right?” Emily asks, and when I don’t immediately answer, she says, “I mean, I just assumed. If you’re walking Adele for funsies.”
“We are,” I reply, glancing down, feigning a little embarrassment. “My apartment was on the whole other side of town, so it just made sense to move in.”
I catch a little look between Emily and Campbell, but don’t know what it means exactly. Do they think I’m slutty for moving in with a man so fast? Do they think Eddie’s stupid for letting me?
I don’t know, and before I can say anything else, Emily shrugs. “So you might get married one day. Seems likely.”
I see her gaze slide over to that massive stainless-steel fridge of hers. There’s a picture there, of Emily and Campbell at some backyard barbecue thing, Bea Rochester and Blanche Ingraham standing between them.
They’re all smiling, Emily’s arm around Bea’s waist.
I let them see me noticing the picture, then look back at both Emily and Campbell. “You both must really miss her. And Blanche, too.”
Emily frowns slightly, her fingers coming up to play with the little gold-and-pearl-inlay cross around her neck, and Campbell finishes the rest of her juice.
“It’s definitely different without the two of them around,” Emily finally says, the words a little slow and halting, her frown deepening.
“Less drama, that’s for damn sure,” Campbell adds, then looks back over at me, waving a hand. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
I actually want her to say a whole lot more of that. What drama?
A little of the smugness leaks out of me, deflating me as I sit at Emily’s counter. It’s a reminder that there’s a whole world here full of undercurrents and stories and connections and voids. Just when I feel like I’ve got a handle on it, some new thing pops up, some indication that I’m a newcomer here. An outsider.
“That was actually the last time we were all together,” Emily says, walking over to the fridge. “Fourth of July. It’s so weird, but I keep thinking I’ll get a text from Blanche, or Bea will email me about the Neighborhood Beautification Committee or something.” She shakes her head. “I don’t know when I’ll get used to them not being here.”
Fuck, this is not going the way I’d hoped at all. I can practically feel myself scrambling for some ledge to hold on to, some way to turn this all around.
Unfortunately, what I latch on to is, “The Neighborhood Beautification Committee?”
Kill me now for letting those words come out of my mouth.
Emily’s eyebrows go up a little, her eyes widening. “Oh, yeah,” she says. “We haven’t had a meeting since … well, since Bea and Blanche, because it just felt too weird without them there. But with summer coming up, we should probably plan something. Don’t you think, Cam?”
Campbell nods, getting off the stool and carrying her glass to the sink. “Definitely. Those flower beds by the sign at the front of the neighborhood look like complete dog shit.”
I’d just passed those flower beds yesterday, and thought to myself that they looked lovely, all colorful and a little wild. But now I agree with Campbell, giving a way too enthusiastic, “Totally!”
There’s a beat of silence, just a little too long, and I find myself rushing into it. “I know I’m pretty new to actually living in the neighborhood, but if you need someone on that committee, I’d love to help.”
The idea of spending time talking about flowers with the women in this neighborhood makes me want to die, but if Bea did this, then I want to do it, too. Let them get used to me. To the idea that I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.
I can see that Campbell wants to object, probably on the basis of me just living with Eddie rather than being a homeowner myself or whatever, making up some rule that didn’t exist until right this second. I know her type, after all.
But Emily beams at me. “That would be so fun!”
Campbell smiles, too, but it takes longer, and when she looks at me, it feels more like she’s baring her teeth. “Super fun.”