Chapter 2

                                    

                                          
                    
                          
Grace ducked into the small sundry store right off the lobby and purchased a cup of hot coffee and a pastry wrapped in plastic. Keeping her head down and sunglasses on, for fear of running into the overly-enthusiastic Silver Wings coordinator, she quickly headed out the sliding glass front doors of the main lodge, peeking up to see a sign that indicated the lake, boathouse and recreation center could be reached by following a path to the left, while the conference center and stables were to the right. Steering left, she decided to stroll by the lake with her breakfast and see if it was still possible to rent snowshoes or skis from the rec center as she had during childhood vacations. 
                          
Silver Wings be damned, she thought, feeling stronger and better with every step away from the lodge. She could still enjoy the austere, frosted beauty of the Adirondacks with an agenda of fresh air and exercise.
                          
Grace's phone buzzed in her pocket. She balanced the half-eaten pastry on top of her coffee cup and answered the call.
                          
"Hello?"
                          
"Mom! You went! You're there!"
                          
Grace felt her lips tilt up in a small grin. Addy's enthusiasm was infectious.
                          
"Well...the room was paid for, after all. It would have been wasteful to refuse. What choice did you leave me?"
                          
"I'm so delighted! Well, I don't want to keep you from the..." Addy paused. "Wait a second. You're supposed to be at the Welcome Breakfast. How come it's so quiet?"
                          
"Slipped away when my phone rang," lied Grace quickly. She didn't have the heart to tell Addy the Silver Wings part of the weekend was already a bust.
                          
"Oh. Well...did anyone look interesting? Or familiar?"
                          
"Familiar?" Grace's heat dropped. "Oh, Addy...what did you do?"
                          
"This is unconfirmed," said her daughter, "but  Stewart Whitman may or may not have also been invited to The White Deer Inn."
                          
"Adelaide!" Grace stopped in her tracks, shaking her head with pique. "Please tell me you did not invite Stewart here this weekend."
                          
"But you like him," said Addy sheepishly.
                          
"As you well know, Stew and I are just friends. Friends. And that's all we'll ever be. He's almost eighty, for goodness sake!"
                          
"So was daddy," protested Addy, "and Mr. Whitman is a very handsome older man."
                          
 "Addy, I have no romantic interest in Stewart. Zero." She sighed, knowing that marriage to Stewart would lead her to the same sort of respectful, passionless union she'd had with Harold, and that's not what Grace wanted. "It'll be very awkward to see him here. You've likely raised his expectations with this stunt."
                          
"I'm sorry, Mom. I should have told you that Shannon invited Stewart."
                          
Shannon Whitman, Stewart's daughter, was Addy's oldest and best friend, and Grace had felt the pressure of the girls' good intentions over the last year as Grace and Stewart were invited to parties, dinners and holiday events, always—and conspicuously—the only singles in attendance.
                          
Grace took a deep breath and sighed again, resuming her walk toward the rec center. "Yes, you should have. But it's too late now."
                          
"What will you do?"
                          
"The ratio of women to men is in his favor," said Grace dryly. "I have no doubt he'll find someone nice."
                          
"You're nice," said Addy. "You deserve someone nice, too."