Mimi brought them each a hot cup of tea and freshly baked shortbread cookies. “Those are on me. New recipe—I added some pumpkin spice. Let me know what you think,” she said as she set down the small plates.
They each dipped one of the cookies into their coffee to soften them up and took a bite.
“Mimi! These are great. I’ll take a dozen back to the store,” Jeanie said.
Dot agreed. “Mind if I help promote these for Mimi?” she asked Jeanie before picking up her phone.
“Go for it,” Jeanie said. “You’re very thoughtful, Dot. I’ve always liked that about you.”
Dot arranged their tea and cookies and took an artsy photo. She immediately posted it to her story, “New shortbread recipe at Flour Power—pumpkin lovers RUN DON’T WALK to get yours today!” She noticed two unread messages from Fletcher, but she put her phone in her pocket so she wouldn’t be tempted to look at it while she caught up with her friend.
“So, how are you and Danny?” Jeanie asked. “I haven’t seen him this happy since... well, since Sadie was in his life, if I’m being honest.”
Dot took that in. She and Danny hadn’t talked about his late fiancée much. They took the long way around conversations to avoid the subject.
“I hope I didn’t overstep by saying that,” Jeanie said.
“Oh no, that’s okay. I’m glad to hear that you think he seems happy. I’m very much... well, I’m very attracted to him. And I care about him. A lot. Plus, we have so much fun together.”
“I hear a ‘but’...” Jeanie sensed Dot’s hesitation.
“It’s just that I’m not sure where it’s going. I need to be honest about things. I’m going back to the city in a month. And it just feels like Danny and Dot could be a dead end.”
“It doesn’t have to be.”
“It doesn’t?”
“Absolutely not.”
“But I am going back to New York. And I don’t even have a job for after the election. Heck, I don’t even know who is going to win at this point. And besides that, I don’t know what I even want to do.” Dot reminded herself to breathe.
“That’s a lot of uncertainty.”
“I feel like so much is up in the air.” Dot put her head in her hands for a moment to gather herself.
“So, may I ask—whatareyou certain of?” Jeanie sipped her coffee and looked at Dot over the rim of her cup.
“That’s the problem. I’m not sure.”
Jeanie set her cup down and took Dot’s hands in hers.
“Listen. I remember when I fell in love with Ted. He swept me off my feet. And never in my life did I think I would marry an American. And then to make a life inWisconsin! No less, with a bookshop of my own. It was unimaginable.”
Dot listened. “So, how did you decide to leave England and move to America?”
“Well, at some point, I got so tired of the indecision and of second-guessing myself, that I decided the only decision that mattered was trusting my heart.”
“But you and Ted knew you were in love. Danny and I haven’t... well, we haven’t said that.”
“Do you love him?” Jeanie was direct.
Dot looked at Jeanie and then broke away and looked out the window. She paused for a long while and thought about what to say. Jeanie didn’t try to fill the silence.
“I think I love him. But I don’t know if he’s open to loving me after what happened to Sadie and the baby. And I don’t think he’d want to move to New York. So, I just... I don’t know.” She looked back at Jeanie who was stirring a sugar packet into her second cup of tea.
“Here’s what I think,” she said, setting her spoon onto the saucer. “Sometimes, you have to go for what you want, even if that means you won’t necessarily get it.”
Dot nodded. “Go on.”