Behind the Pine Curtain by Gerri Hill Page B

tell me you’ve learned to cook?”
    “I can cook quite well, thank you.”
    “This I can’t wait for.”
    Kay leaned back, relaxing as Jackie went back inside for more tea. God, it was so good to have her back, she thought. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed her. Rose was right. She didn’t really have friends.
    A few from high school that still lived in town. She was friendly enough with them, she supposed. She knew practically everyone in town, in fact. But close friends? No. She had her family, that was it. If she needed something, they would be there, no questions asked. But, after her disastrous marriage, she had retreated even farther, being content with her business and her house and Rose’s kids. In reality, she hadn’t given a thought to dating. As she’d told Rose, there wasn’t anyone in town she was even remotely interested in. Not that some hadn’t called. Secretly, she feared she would end up like Ms. Cutter, sixty and still alone. But was it so bad? It beat the hell out of living with Billy Ray Renfro. She would enjoy her time with Jackie, even if it was only for a week. And maybe now, they could keep in touch. Who knows, maybe she would venture to California for a visit, if Jackie offered.
    “You look relaxed.”
    “Mmm. It’s a nice evening, isn’t it? I don’t sit out here much.”
    “No? I’d be out here all the time. I have a nice sized deck that looks out over Monterey Bay,” Jacqueline said as she handed Kay her tea. “On a clear day, I can see across the bay to the Santa Cruz Mountains. But even on foggy days, which are often, I still enjoy sitting out there.”
    “I remember how much you always liked being outside. Even at night, Mama would have to run us in.”
    “Yeah, I do miss this. Ingrid’s got this great house, up near Santa Rosa.
    Whenever I’m there, I make her cook outside so we can enjoy the gardens. I’ve thought about buying something like that, but I just haven’t gotten around to it.”
    “When did you move from Los Angeles?”
    “When Ingrid moved to San Francisco. I didn’t realize how much time I spent with them. Other than Christopher—and he still lives in LA—
    they were my social connection. But I didn’t want to move to the city, which is where they moved to first. So, Monterey is south of San Francisco, north of LA. Close enough to both. Although, when Ingrid moved to Santa Rosa, that’s quite a trek for me now. But I usually spend at least one weekend a month with them.”
    “She’s your agent still?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Are you involved?”
    “Ingrid? God, no. I mean, she’s a really good friend and even if she was single, no. But she’s got a lover. They’ve been together as long as I’ve known her.”
    Kay sighed. “It’s a different world, isn’t it? I mean, here I am, still so naïve about things.”
    “It’s a different world from Pine Springs, yes. I was thinking, as I was driving out here, that most of the towns were still stuck in the last century. But is that such a bad thing?”

    “Isn’t it? It’s like we haven’t grown. We still have the same prejudices that our parents had, that their parents had. It just goes on and on.
    Change is very slow to come.”
    “Well, on some levels, I guess it’s not necessarily a good thing. But think of Rose’s kids. They’ll get to grow up in a small town, enjoying pleasures that most city kids have never even heard of.”
    “But they’ll miss out on so much more.”
    “But they won’t really know they’re missing out on it, you know. I mean, we didn’t know what was out there. We didn’t care. But TV and the Internet, that’s changed everything. Kids know a lot more now.”
    “Yeah. They know there’s more out there than just Pine Springs. Each year, more and more kids leave, go off to college and don’t come back.”
    “And you wish you were one of them?”
    “Sometimes.”
    Jacqueline studied her. “Why didn’t you go to college? It was all we talked