One minute you're at the top of your game, and the next, you receive a hit that knocks your skates out from underneath you.
Still reeling after an unexpected loss, Ryan Nyberg not only finds himself back in his beachside hometown of Neptune Bay, bu...
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For a Tuesday night, the monthly Stitch and Bitch event was livelier than I would've figured.
"Surprised?" Mara asked, her eyes twinkling with amusement as she bumped her hip with mine.
"Yeah," I admitted, my gaze arching across the room. "I mean, I know it's been a while since I've come to one of these, but damn, it's really grown."
The last time I'd attended was last spring alongside my mom, a few months before she'd passed away. Back then, Stitch and Bitch had been a fun experience hosted by the administrative staff at the local retirement home to bring some of the townspeople in on a monthly basis to knit and talk to the residents. Fast forward more than a year later, it now looked like a choose-your-own-adventure type of night out in the town hall. The town seniors were still at the center of it all, having been bussed over to participate in the fun, but there was also so much more. There were knitting circles, easels to paint at, and even an origami station. A long table was set up on the far side, full of appetizers and desserts for all to pick over, and a makeshift bar had been created, with the money going back to fund programs at the retirement home.
It was amazing, and I was glad Mara had convinced me to come tonight.
"It sure has," she replied before rubbing her hands together in anticipation. "So, what's our poison tonight? A margarita while we work on our knitting skills? Some beers as we learn how to fold paper cranes? Painting a masterpiece with a glass of pinot grigio in hand?"
"How about we grab a margarita, but try our hands at painting?"
"I like it," Mara said, looping her arm with mine as she led me across the room to join the line for drinks.
With about ten people in front of us, I turned to her and asked, "So, how was work? Anything new and exciting happen?"
As the sole lawyer in town, she had opened her own practice a few years back, and while she got the exclusive business of nearly everyone in Neptune Bay, the town was only so big. Sometimes she had to widen her reach and take on cases in bigger, surrounding cities.
"Not really." She lifted a shoulder. "Just regular day to day stuff, but seeing as it's the summer, I definitely prefer not being swamped. Especially since I'll be able to easily close down the office Friday while Sam and I take a road trip along the coast this weekend."
"That'll be a nice little getaway. Are you staying in an Airbnb?"
She nodded, grinning excitedly. "Two of them. A cute little cottage a few hours away on Friday night and then a funky waterfront condo on Saturday." The word 'condo' struck a weird chord in me—a reminder of yesterday's events—but I didn't let that show. "What about you? Any fun weekend plans?"
Considering Ryan had texted me mid-afternoon to let me know his parents had confirmed they were open to watching Bowen on Friday night, I definitely had something planned.
