“They’re also out of print and very hard to find,” Sarah said. She leaned back in her orange armchair and swung one of her slippers back and forth on her foot. “Hmm. How about Tana French? You said she’s good, right?”
Annie nodded. “She is. Maybe
Faithful Place
? I heard it’s her best, and I haven’t read it yet.”
Mia and Tamara shrugged and scribbled it down.
“All right.” Annie rose from another of the hideous armchairs. “I need to go. I’m driving to Fresno later and I promised my neighbor that I would look in on her before I go. She broke her ankle last week, but she’s too stubborn to stay in the hospital.”
The three other women exchanged panicked glances.
“Oh, no, you can’t go just yet.” Sarah pressed her down into the armchair. “Don’t let her leave, girls.” She rushed toward the kitchen while Mia and Tamara hovered over Annie as if they wanted to bodily keep her in the chair.
Annie frowned. “What’s going on?”
Sarah came back into the living room, carrying a cake covered in burning candles. They started singing
Happy Birthday
, making up for their lack of vocal talent with pure volume. With a smile that was almost brighter than the candles, Sarah stopped in front of Annie. “Surprise! You didn’t think we would let you leave without cake and presents, did you?”
Tamara slid a heavy box that was wrapped in dotted paper onto Annie’s lap.
“Uh. No,” Annie said, but it wasn’t true. When no one had congratulated her, she had thought the other book club members had forgotten about her birthday. She had been disappointed but had quickly gotten over it. After all, Tamara and Mia were more Sarah’s friends than hers, and Sarah was a busy woman.
Sarah pushed the cake toward her, nearly singeing Annie’s hair in her enthusiasm. “Blow them out and make a wish.”
Annie stared at the candles. What should she wish for? Health? Money? Love? She was almost never sick, didn’t lack for money, and had stopped believing that love was for her.
Okay, then I wish that Jake will fall for our trick and believe that something he did drove me into the arms of a woman.
With determination, she took a deep breath and blew out all the candles.
“Open your present,” Sarah said while she pulled out the candles and cut generous pieces of cake for everyone. “It’s from all of us.”
Annie slid one finger beneath the tape, removed the wrapping paper, and folded it.
“Sarah wanted to hire a stripper, but we convinced her that you would appreciate this present more,” Mia said.
“Thank you.” Whatever the present was, Annie was sure she would like it better than a half-naked man gyrating on her lap while her friends watched. She lifted the lid and looked at the objects in the box—five of Sandra Scoppettone’s mystery novels. “Oh, wow. How did you get them?” What Sarah had said earlier was true. The books were out of print and hard to find, at least at a reasonable price.
Sarah chuckled. “My female charms took care of that.”
“More like your credit card,” Tamara said.
“Thank you very much.” Annie gave each of the women a short hug. “I don’t want to appear ungrateful, but I really have to go.”
“Take some cake,” Sarah said.
Annie’s parents had invited her to a restaurant, and she didn’t want to spoil her appetite, but Mrs. Perez, her neighbor, would appreciate a piece of cake. She waited until Sarah had packed her some cake, then hurried to the door. She hadn’t even made it to her car when her cell phone rang. One glance at the caller ID made her smile. How nice of her mother to call her to wish her a happy birthday even though they would see each other later. “Hi, Mom.”
“I’m sorry, darling,” her mother said, “but would you mind meeting us an hour later? Your father got called in to conduct a matinee because his colleague called in sick. We already called the restaurant and changed the reservation.”
Annie unlocked her car, slid into the driver’s seat, and closed her eyes.
Great. And I ran out on my friends without even trying the cake.
She tried not to let her disappointment show. “Sure, Mom. No problem.”
“Great. I knew you’d understand.”
Yeah. Annie the Understanding. That’s me.
When her mother ended the call, she sat for a minute, staring at the bushes in front of Sarah’s house, then gave herself a mental kick and started the car.
* * *
“Oh, great,” Drew said with a glance at her phone’s caller ID. “Jake.” Was he calling to tell her again to stay away from his sister? She picked up the phone and steeled herself. “Hi, Jake.”
“I need a birthday present,” Jake said. A radio played in the background and a car’s engine hummed, indicating that he was on the road.
Drew looked at her phone, frowning, then shook her head and moved the phone back to her ear. “I’m doing wonderfully. Thank you so much for asking, dear friend. And by the way, need I remind you again that talking on the phone without hands-free equipment while you’re driving is illegal in the great state of California?” Knowing Jake, he wasn’t using hands-free equipment.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Jake said. “No time for pleasantries or long lectures. It’s really urgent.”
“So which of your many girlfriends are you trying to impress?” Drew asked.
“Huh? Why would you think this is about a girlfriend?”
Drew rolled her eyes. “It’s not because I’m a mind reader. Usually when you call to ask for something, it’s about a woman.”
“But this time, it’s not.” He paused and then laughed. “Yeah, well, I suppose it is.”
Drew reached for the calendar she kept next to the phone to see if any of their common acquaintances’ birthday was coming up. Nothing. “Want to clue me in? Whose birthday is it?”
“Annie’s.”
“Oh.” Drew clicked on a pen to write it down in the calendar. “When is it?”
“Today.”
The pen dropped on top of the calendar.
His sister’s birthday is today, and he’s only starting to search for a present now?
She shook her head. Maybe being an only child wasn’t so bad after all. She picked up the pen and circled today’s date, October 26, in the calendar. “So why aren’t you out shopping for a present? Why are you calling me?”
Loud honking made Drew flinch away from the phone. “You’re blocking the road, idiot!” Jake shouted. “There are people here who want to get somewhere before sunset!” Then he lowered his voice and grumbled, “Damn tractor.”
Drew rubbed her ear. “Jesus, Jake, can you give me a warning next time before you start shouting in my ear?”
“Sorry,” Jake said. “About Annie’s present ... I thought I could give her a good bottle of wine or maybe one of the wine gift sets you sometimes put together for your customers.”
“Hmm.” Drew scratched her head. “I’m not sure if a bottle of wine is the best present for Annie right now.”
For a moment, only drum beats from Jake’s car radio filtered through the line. “Why not?”
“Well, after the wine tasting last weekend ...” The memory of a buzzed Annie put a smile on Drew’s face.
“You didn’t get her drunk, did you? Drew, I’m warning you. If you—”
“Chill out, and give the big-brother act a rest. I never have to ply women with wine. You know that. They all come into my arms quite willingly.” She paused to give Jake’s imagination ample time to picture Annie in her arms.
Jake barked out a laugh that didn’t sound totally convincing. “Not Annie.”
“If you are so convinced about that, why are you getting so defensive?”
“I’m not—”
“Yeah, yeah.” Drew grinned. It seemed he was beginning to have some doubts. “So, back to the topic at hand. Do you really think wine is a great idea for your sister’s birthday?”
“You’re a vintner. What’s wrong with wine as a present?”
“Nothing—if you’re giving it to a colleague or an acquaintance you barely know. But for your sister ... isn’t it a little impersonal?”
The tick-tick-tick of Jake’s turn signal echoed through the line. “Impersonal? I don’t think so. Annie likes wine.”
“If you insist. What kind should I put in the gift set? Red? White?”
Jake turned down the volume on his car radio. “Um. White?” It sounded like a question, not an answer. “Ah, you pick whatever you think is best.”
“Okay.” She would put together a nice gift basket with two of her best bottles of Cabernet, a few snacks, a bubble bath, and other things that would help Annie relax after a long day at work. “When do you need it?”
A car honked in front of the house. At the same time, Drew heard the sound through the phone. “Right now,” Jake said. “I just pulled in your driveway.”
Drew tapped the phone against her forehead. “You’re something else, my friend. One of these days, you’ll pay the price for doing important things at the last minute.”
“Hey, it’s not my fault. My parents were supposed to remind me to buy a birthday present, but they forgot.”
Drew sighed. Annie’s parents were just as bad as Jake.
Poor Annie.
Then and there, Drew decided that she would get Annie something nice for her birthday. Something Annie would like, not just the next best thing that was convenient to get. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
* * *
After one last glance to make sure the flowers still looked good, Drew rang Annie’s doorbell and looked at her watch.
Already half past five.
Driving to San Luis Obispo to get Annie’s birthday present had taken up more time than she had expected. By now, Annie was probably out, celebrating her birthday.
To Drew’s surprise, the door opened immediately.
Annie stood in front of her, dressed in a burgundy blouse and elegant pants that emphasized her long legs.
Drew had to swallow before she could speak. “Uh, hello, Annie. Happy birthday.” She held out the bouquet of apricot-colored roses.
“Oh. Thank you.” Annie took the flowers and stared at Drew as if she didn’t know what to do with her or the flowers. “How do you know it’s my birthday today?”
“Uh.” Drew didn’t want to lie to her, but she also didn’t want to tell her about Jake’s last-minute birthday present. “Jake mentioned it when I last talked to him.”
At the mention of Jake, a shadow flickered across Annie’s face, but she said nothing. For a few seconds, they stood facing each other in the doorway, then Annie said, “I have to leave in half an hour, but would you like to come in for a minute?”
“If I’m not disturbing you and your guests.”
“No. I’m alone, so come on in.”
Alone?
Drew followed Annie into the house. Wasn’t Jake here to give Annie the wine? And where were her parents and friends? Would Annie meet them for dinner?
“Please have a seat while I find a vase for these,” Annie said, indicating the roses.
When Drew stepped into the living room, the cat was sitting on the coffee table, inspecting the gift basket with the Cabernet, which Annie or Jake had placed there. “You better get down before Annie catches you,” Drew said and set him on the floor.
“Did you say something?” Annie called from the kitchen.
“Uh, no, just talking to Amadeus.” She scratched him behind one ear and whispered, “I’ve got your back, buddy.” She took a seat on the couch and allowed Amadeus to sniff her pant legs that probably smelled like dog. While she waited, she looked around the living room. A pile of paperback novels rested on top of neatly folded wrapping paper. A card stuck out from the book on top.
“Can I get you something to drink while I’m in the kitchen?” Annie called.
“Just water. Thanks.”
After a minute, Annie entered the living room, carrying a glass of water and the bouquet, which she had placed in a glass pitcher. “The only vase I owned fell victim to Amadeus.” She shook her head at the cat. “What did I tell you about jumping on the coffee table, hmm?”
The cat strode away with an expression of total innocence on his striped face.
Drew bit her lip to keep from laughing.
Annie put the gift basket on the floor to make room on the table for the improvised vase and Drew’s glass of water. “Jake dropped this off a few minutes ago.” She sounded casual, but the downward tilt of her lips gave away her hurt feelings.
Dropped it off? What was so important that he couldn’t stay to celebrate her birthday with his only sister?
But Drew didn’t want to ask and hurt Annie even more.
After positioning the flowers the way she wanted them, Annie sat in an easy chair on the other side of the table, pulled one of the bottles from the basket, and read the label. “Ah. It’s one of yours. That’s how he knew my fondness for Cabernet.”
“Yeah,” Drew said. “He insisted on giving you wine for your birthday, so I made sure it was one you liked. That’s when he mentioned that today is your birthday. I hope you don’t mind my coming over unannounced.”
“No, that’s okay. And thanks again for the flowers.” Her words and tone were polite, but her stiff posture told Drew that Annie was uncomfortable with either the visit or getting flowers—or both.