The Hot Flash Club Chills Out by Nancy Thayer

frogs on the asymmetrical closings and a neat Mandarin collar. “Thank you, thank you.” She gave them a mock royal wave, Queen Elizabeth style.
    “And Faye looks like an artist,” Polly said, admiring Faye’s yellow silk nightgown and turquoise kimono splashed with flowers and birds. “While I”—with a rueful grin, she held out the cuff of her light fleece robe, which she wore over a heavy cotton nightgown.
    Alice searched for a compliment. “You look the most comfortable.”
    “I thought it might be cold here,” Polly explained. “I’ve read that because the sea is still cold, the island takes longer than the mainland to warm up.”
    “Very sensible,” Faye said.
    Polly sighed.
“Sensible.”
    “Marilyn wins the prize for
sensible
!” Alice said.
    They all focused on Marilyn, who wore faded, old, mismatched sweat pants and sweatshirt.
    “They’re cozy!” Marilyn protested.
    “Do you wear those with Ian?” Faye asked gently.
    “Of course.” Marilyn looked puzzled. “Why not?”
    The other four laughed.
    “So much for our ideas about what’s sexy,” Polly said.
    “Well, I’m sure the right clothes make
us
feel sexier,” Alice said.
    Faye had her head cocked. “I’m thinking. Marilyn, what you’re wearing now isn’t much different from what you wore in the day. And I’ll bet you don’t have any saucy little summer numbers to wear on the island.”
    “Shopping spree!” Alice and Shirley yelled simultaneously.
    “I’ll drink to that!” Faye raised her glass.

    Around midnight they agreed it was time for bed. They carried their glasses into the kitchen, setting them in the sink for a morning washup. They double-checked that both front and back doors were locked. They took turns using the bathrooms, called good night, then sank down into their various beds.
    They fell asleep at once, exhausted by the long day and the fresh salt air, and if anything woke them in the night—a noise, a drift of air, a shifting shadow—they simply snuggled more deeply into their pillows, sinking back into their dreams.

12
    E veryone rose early, except for Alice, whose snores from the front bedroom sounded like the purring of a large cat. Shirley went into the front parlor to do yoga. Faye and Polly set off for the Nantucket Bake Shop to buy croissants and bagels and sweet rolls, and Marilyn went in the other direction, down to the Grand Union to buy milk, sugar, coffee, and juice. The four were gathered in the dining room, just finishing their breakfasts, when Alice padded barefoot into the room, rubbing her eyes.
    “I can’t believe I slept so late!” She collapsed in a chair.
    “Coffee?” Shirley poured a cup and handed it to Alice. “We’re planning our day. It’s gorgeous out there, sunny and warm.”
    “I want to walk around town some more,” Faye said. “The yards are all like little jewel boxes bordered with white picket fences.”
    “Daffodils everywhere,” Polly added.
    “Flowering magnolia,” Marilyn said.
    Shirley wasn’t impressed. “We can see those things at home. I think we should go to the beach. I walked down by the town pier yesterday and it was just heavenly.”
    “Okay, then! Let’s do it
all
!” Faye started gathering up her breakfast things. “We don’t have to leave until this evening.”
    “Hang on,” Alice grumbled. “I haven’t finished my coffee.”
    “And I haven’t finished my croissant,” Polly added. “Alice, try the beach plum jam. It’s amazing.”
    As she spread the jam on her roll, Alice looked around the dining room. “What a lot of antiques Nora Salter’s got in this house.”
    Marilyn agreed. “I don’t know how she’s able to notice that anything’s gone missing, there’s so much here.”
    “The scrimshaw alone must be worth a fortune,” Polly said. Seeing Alice’s raised eyebrow, she pointed to a box on the mantel. “Scrimshaw is ivory with designs etched and inked into it. Original scrimshaw was made of whale’s teeth, but