Page 41 of A New Year In The Presidential Suite

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Lori walked into Sal’s and stood a moment looking around.

Susannah waved to her from a large table in a booth and hurried over to her. “Hi. I’m glad you could make it. Come over and meet some of my friends. One woman couldn’t make it, but three others could.”

As Lori approached the table, she noticed the different appearances of the others. A blonde, a redhead, and a woman with jet black hair. They all smiled at her as Susannah made the introductions.

“I know you, Allison, from Bright Beginnings,” she said, smiling as she took off her coat and slid into the booth facing outward. Allison was married to a surgeon and had two little boys enrolled at the school.

The other two women lived in the Highlands, along with Susannah, her husband, Josh, and Guy.

“It’s delightful you could join us,” said one of the women. “I hear you dated Guy Phillips recently. We couldn’t make the Valentine dance at the club, but I heard all about it.”

“If you look now, you’ll see Guy coming into the bar with a woman who is his new decorator,” said the other woman.

“I don’t know what that’s all about,” said Susannah. “But I do know that Cynthia Walters set them up.”

“Her name is Sage Winters,” said Allison. “Isn’t that artsy?”

They studied the woman with strawberry pink hair, a low-cut, V-neck white sweater, and tight black leather jeans that matched her boots.

“Wow, she’s sexy,” said Susannah. “I can’t imagine what she’s doing for Guy’s house, but I bet it will have an edgy new look.”

“Quit staring, or they’ll notice us,” said Allison. “We’re here to have fun, not spy on one of our neighbors.”

Susannah put a hand on Lori’s arm. “We ordered a pitcher of margaritas. Is that all right with you?”

“Sure,” said Lori.

“You okay?” asked Susannah softly beside her.

“Yes,” Lori said firmly. “I’m not surprised to see Guy out with someone else. I’m glad. We were really never more than friends catching up with one another.”

The pitcher of drinks came, and after drinks had been poured into each glass, the women at the table lifted theirs in the air.

“Here’s to another Girls’ Night Out!” said Susannah. “Time to relax and remember what it’s like to have a few minutes to ourselves.”

“Hear! Hear!” cried the women in unison.

The conversation darted from one light-hearted subject to another before settling into more serious matters. Lori loved that the women could talk honestly about their feelings and were comfortable enough to ask for advice.

One of the women turned to Lori. “What about you? Anyone serious in your love life?”

“Not at the moment.” She swallowed hard. “I dated Guy a couple of times, but more as friends catching up than what I’d call a serious date. He’s a nice guy, but it wasn’t going to work out between us.” Lori looked around at the group. “Most of you know I was happily married before my husband died. Should I be worried about finding someone I think is as wonderful, or should I understand that I might not find something like that again and settle for less?”

“Oh, hon, I didn’t know about your husband,” said one of the women who reached across the table and squeezed Lori’s hand. “We’ve only been here a couple of years.”

“I don’t think you should settle for less with anyone,” said Susannah. “No matter who you find, it will be different. But it doesn’t have to be less than you want or deserve. We all want a little magic in our relationships to help us get through the bad times.”

Lori nodded thoughtfully. She and Nick had needed a lot of that to get through the ugliness of the disease.

She cast a glance across the room, and seeing how Guy and Sage were huddled together, she knew she’d been right to turn down Guy’s latest invitation. They looked happy.

Soon, she was laughing with the others as Susannah told a story about Elle swearing at the dog.

“Honest, I didn’t realize she’d overheard Josh swearing while he was at his workbench in the garage,” said Susannah. “It’s like me when I’m picking up poop in the yard and let out a few F-bombs,” Susannah added, bringing more laughter.

The rest of the evening was just as enjoyable, making Lori happy to be part of this group. Here, she could talk to the other women in a way that wasn’t possible with her sisters. Aurelia and Flo wanted to protect her too much.