Page 36 of The One You Want

Margaret held up a hand, cutting them off. “I’m done wallowing and I’m done bitching. I already did that. Now I’m ready to takecontrol.”

“And this book is going to help you do that?” Sherry asked, flipping through her copyskeptically.

“No.” The weird glint was back in Margaret’s eyes. “This book is going to helpallof us dothat.”

“No offense, honey,” Sherry said. “But my Vern isn’t cheating on me. He knows I’d cut off his balls with my haircutting shears if he didthat.”

“It’s not just about cheating!” Margaret insisted. “Walking in on Logan might have been the last straw for me, but it’s hardly the only thing I’ve allowed to happen. I’ve been dating for twelve years! How many of those guys treated me like crap? How many hours did I waste crying over them when I could have been doing something productive to helpme?”

“I just think—” Sherry began again and Margaret whirled onher.

“Sherry, you’ve been wanting to go on that Mediterranean cruise for how long now? Years! And why haven’t yougone?”

Sherry shifted in her seat. “Well, Vern doesn’t like the idea of all that foreign food,” she said, a note of defensiveness in her voice. “Besides, he only gets a few weeks off a year and he likes to go down and watch the NASCARraces—”

“Exactly!” Margaret shouted, slamming her hand on the book again, making at least half of the room jump. “You have a dream, Sherry, and you’re allowing someone else to hold you back. You are not harnessing your own power.” Before Sherry could respond, Margaret turned toCora.

“I know that you’re happy in your relationship,” she said. “That’s great. But how long did it take you to tell Owen that you wanted to open your meadery? How long did you make yourself sick over money because you were afraid to ask forhelp?”

Cora glared at her. “I wouldn’t say I wasafraid—”

But Margaret was on a roll now. “Lilah, you told me just last week that you wanted to expand the bakery to do lunch items but you were afraid to have that conversation with youraunt.”

“Margaret!” Lilah snapped, shooting a glance at the owner of the bakery, her elderly Aunt Sadie who, luckily, appeared to have noddedoff.

Now Margaret turned to Jill. “How much time do you spend worrying about finding aboyfriend?”

Jill crossed her arms. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to find a person to share your life with,Margaret.”

“No, there’s not,” she conceded. “But you focus on it so much that you forget how amazingyouare!” She pointed at Jill, her eyes scanning the room. “How many of you know that she just had a paper published by a really important psychologymagazine?”

There was a murmur of surprise around the room. I vaguely remembered that Jill taught some classes at the community college on the mainland but I had no idea she was doing so well. She didn’t exactly scream intellectual when you looked ather.

“Exactly.” Margaret crossed her arms in satisfaction. “You are not harnessing your own power, Jill. You’re not celebrating it! You’re letting others dim your light.” She turned to the rest of us. “And we’re all doing it! Some of us in bigger ways than others but I guarantee every person in this room has an area of their life they want to improve.” She jabbed her finger down on the book in emphasis. “You have the ability to do that. All ofyou.”

The room was quiet for a long moment. Finally, Libby cleared her throat. “So you want us all to read this book? Because you think it can helpus?”

“Yes!” Margaret said. “But it’s so much more than that. This book is asystem. A guide to figuring out what’s holding you back and how to startliving.”

“How much money do you think this kook author is paying her for this?” Iris muttered, but apparently not quietly enough because Margaret whirled onher.

“No one is paying me anything. I just woke up one day and decided I was tired of not making myself a priority. And I was tired of watching my friends do thesame.”

She sounded so passionate about it, so sincere, it was getting kind of hard not to take herseriously.

“Who wrote this thing, anyhow?” Sherry asked, flipping through thepages.

“A group of women,” Margaret said. “Co-workers who realized they could accomplish so much more if they helped each other. These women recognize that we are all sisters and that there is strength inthat.”

“Margaret,” Riley said, wary. “I really don’tthink—”

“I know it sounds all new-age,” Margaret said, waving a hand dismissively. “But I really think if you all read it, if you all give it a chance, you’ll see how right Iam.”

There was another beat of silence, the girls in the room looking around at eachother.

“Fine,” Jill finally said. “I’m always willing to try new things. I’min.”

Margaret beamed ather.