December 15, 2027

12:22 p.m.

Violet's Kitchen

Bailey had to wonder why her mom was making her go to Violet's Kitchen to have lunch with three of her mom's friends. One of which happened to be her substitute teacher. Why Violet's Kitchen, she wondered. Violet's Kitchen was a small restaurant that sold soup, salad, sandwiches, and cheesecake. It wasn't a dump, but it wasn't nice. There weren't a whole lot of workers there. Violet, obviously, who was some sort of a manager/head chef combination, not to mention the owner of the restaurant. Then there were Paolo and Florence, the two chefs. Last but not least was Lola, Violet's seventeen-year-old daughter, who ran the cash register and did anything else Violet felt the need to have her do. Lola's boyfriend, Vince, was in charge of maintenance, but he only came in after he was done for the day at one of the colleges in D.C.

Erica tried to calm down a screaming Greta. "Greta, Greta, shh," she said. "You're almost seven- that's too old for tantrums!" Bridget turned around in her seat, and handed Greta a book. That should calm her down for the remaining two and a half minutes before they arrived at Violet's Kitchen.

Lena checked her watch. Just as she did, Tibby, and who she assumed must be Bailey, walked up to the table she sat at.

"Lena!" Tibby cried, giving her friend a hug.

"How are you?" Lena asked politely.

"I'm doing good," Tibby said. "One of the smaller cinemas over in Chevy Chase bought my most recent film. It'll be playing mid-January."

"That's great," Lena said. "What's it about?"

"It's about this young girl," Tibby explained. "She finds a box of memories. Her mother has died, and so she shows it to her aunt. It's actually quite boring."

"No, it sounds like…" Lena saw a flash of yellow out of the corner of her eye. It was Bee! "Like a good movie," Lena finished. Tibby knew she was going to say something else.

Just as Bridget and her two daughters sat down at the table, Konstantina came back in from the restroom, and Carmen sat down with her little girl. They had been trying to pick a cheesecake.

"You guys now me as Mrs. Christensen," Carmen said. "But here, you can call me Carmen. And this is my daughter, Gilda. She's in first grade."

"I'm Bridget," Bee said. "You know Erica, and Greta is six."

"Tibby," Tibby said. "And Bailey."

"I'm Lena," Lena told the group. "This is my daughter, Konstantina."

"Let's get some food!" Carmen said.

Carmen ordered a big bowl of Spicy Southwest Soup, and so did Bailey. Lena and Greta got plain turkey sandwiches. Tibby ordered her all-time favorite, a sweet salad with apples and cranberries in it. Konstantina got a gyro. Bridget, Erica, and Gilda all got grilled cheese.

Talk around lunch involved their life, school, accomplishments, and other lighthearted topics.

Nobody mentioned the Pants. Carmen, never once, spoke the name Bailey out loud. Nobody wanted to mention that they hadn't seen each other since the funeral of Harold Vasko. The past was done, as far as this meal was concerned.

They ordered cheesecake. Half a cake with chocolate, half with mixed berries. They ate cheesecake. It all happened, but it didn't quite happen. Nobody had pictured it like this.

But one significant thing happened. For the first time, Bailey and Erica noticed how clingy Konstantina was to her mother. For the first time, they were in the same place, trying to connect. Bailey talked to Erica about something other than schoolwork. They talked about Konstantina (sort of behind her back). They talked about how awful it must be for her, growing up without a father. They talked about how amazing brave she was. They talked about being her friend. They made each other smile. Maybe it was more important to the girls than to the original Sisterhood.

Or maybe not.