Page 39 of Wolves' Midlife Reunion
“I can stay here and feel sorry for myself, or I can do something about it,” she said as she took out her phone and fired off a text message.
Tina stopped at the liquor store on her way to the covenstead and arrived with a few new bottles of wine. “I’ve never tried any of these,” she said as she, Amanda, and Chelsea got set up on the back porch. The evening was cool, but the sun had been shining in through the screens all day. It was the perfect mix for a night outside.
Amanda lit a few candles on the patio table for ambient lighting. “Hey, I’m always up for trying something new! I was glad when you texted, because I wasn’t sure what to do tonight.”
Chelsea nodded in agreement. She was setting down a hefty charcuterie board that looked incredible. “Beck and Corbin already had plans for a daddy-son night, so this was perfect. Is anyone else joining us?”
“I think it’s just us three.” Tina opened one of the bottles of wine and filled their glasses. “There’s a lot of power in that number, though.”
“One of my favorites,” Amanda agreed. She took a small sip of the wine and raised her brows. “That’s nice.”
Chelsea tried it next and nodded her approval. “Reds have never been my favorite, but that’s pretty smooth.”
Tina raised her glass to her lips, truly glad that she hadn’t spent the whole evening just wallowing around in her place, feeling sorry for herself. She took a long sip of wine, trusting her sister and cousin. It was just as good as they promised, and she relaxed into her chair. “How was your day, Amanda? I know you’ve been pretty packed at work.”
“I have, and that’s part of the reason I was so eager to take you up on this invitation. I’m supposed to be adjusting my clients’ energies, helping their bodies and their spirits align, but it’s rough when they’re all coming in back-to-back and I barely have time to pee.”
“Sounds to me like you need to give yourself a break,” Chelsea advised. “If your practice is doing that well, maybe it’s time to bring on someone new.”
“I thought about it.” Amanda held her glass by the stem and swirled it slowly. “I’d have to be really careful, though. If I bring the wrong person in, it could be disastrous.”
“Or wonderful,” Tina pointed out. “Do you remember when I first opened the shop? I didn’t trust anyone else to help me run the place. The next thing I knew, I had to close down every time I had an emergency or got sick. That’s not great for business.”
Amanda narrowed one of her wide brown eyes as she pointed a finger at Tina. “You’ve had some real flakes in there.”
“A few,” Tina admitted, “but a lot of them have been good. I’ve had some pretty steady employees, and of course, Nia and Collette have been amazing. Nia, especially, is getting to the point that she’s coming up with new ideas and displays.”
“You could just put the word out with people you know,” Chelsea suggested. “That might be better than just a general help wanted ad.”
“Yeah, I could look around.” Amanda helped herself to a cheese cube. “What about you, Chels? You’ve probably been just as busy as the rest of us.”
“Oh, sure. I’ve had several requests for birth charts over the past month, both in person and online, but so far, I’ve been able to manage. I do need to make some upgrades to my website, though.”
After they’d shot a few ideas about that back and forth, Tina smiled. “You know what’s funny? I said we should get together to relax, but all we talk about is work!”
“You’re right.” Chelsea turned in her seat and looked straight into Tina’s face. “So, why don’t we tackle the elephant in the room. Tell us what happened between you and Dex.”
Tina stuffed a couple of cheese cubes in her mouth. “Who said anything happened?”
“Your face,” Amanda supplied. “Your aura.”
“The way you’re holding your wine glass like you might break it,” Chelsea added. “Or perhaps it’s those dark circles under your eyes that say you’ve worked yourself even harder than usual.”
“Hey!” Tina touched her face self-consciously, but she knew Chelsea was right. She could feel how tired her eyes were every time she blinked.
“That’s true.” Amanda gave Tina an analytical look. “You look like you did just after you graduated high school.”
“I’d love that to be a compliment, but I have a feeling it’s not,” Tina retorted. “Also, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Chelsea plucked a slice of salami from the tray. “You and Dex had spent four years on the will-they-won’t-they rollercoaster, but there was still a chance it’d work out as long as you were still in school. Once graduation came, you knew that was the end.”
“And that’s when you started throwing yourself even harder into studying and work.” Amanda picked up the story for her. “Not that you weren’t always a hard worker, but that’s when you started doing it to the point of exhaustion.”
“Which looks like it happened today.” Chelsea polished off the last sip of wine. “Let’s try the second bottle, and you could tell us.”
Tina opened the Moscato, laughing uncertainly. “I knew I needed some time with you guys, but I thought I could just relax and talk about this when I was ready.”
“Oh, hell no.” Amanda held out her glass. “Pour the wine and spill the tea. We’ll just drag it out of you if you don’t.”
