Page 34 of Lemon Pound Cake Club

"It means y'all spend too much money on making things pretty."

"They are pretty."

"They're flowers."

"They're art."

"They're flowers."

I laughed so hard my stomach hurt.

"This is what y'all argue about?"

"This?" Camille smiled. "This is a calm evening."

"You should've heard the debate over outdoor Christmas lights last year."

"Oh, don't start," Nia groaned.

"It lasted three weeks."

"It lasted because somebody kept adding to the group chat."

"That somebody was you."

"It was all of us," Simone admitted.

"It really was," Tasha agreed.

As we walked, I slowed down and really noticed the neighborhood. A young couple pushed a stroller and shared an ice cream cone. Under the pavilion, two older men played chess and argued about whose turn it was.

Somewhere in the distance, music played softly from a backyard. The whole neighborhood felt alive.

"You've been awfully quiet."

I looked over to find Camille watching me.

"I'm just taking it all in."

"And what do you think?"

I smiled.

"I think I'm starting to understand why everybody loves it here."

The women exchanged knowing smiles. Tasha bumped my shoulder.

"Told you."

"Give it another month," Nia said. "You'll be volunteering for every committee we have."

"I don't know about all that."

"Oh, you will," Simone laughed. "This neighborhood has a way of pulling you in."

I glanced around once more. Maybe she was right. I wasn’t thinking about the life I’d left behind. I was starting to let this place become something new.

We smelled grilled onions and garlic in the air before we reached the clubhouse parking lot.