Rian had assured her that she and Jade wouldn’t mind getting together with her and Jules “and your whole circle, Diane. You were such a help to Jade when I was away, and you know how much we appreciate everything you and Bette and Tina have done for us … for me especially … while I’ve been rehabbing.”

“Well, be careful about what you say, Rian!” Diane had warned her playfully. “You may regret saying all that!”

Rian had hung up soon after they’d exchanged notes about when the rest of Jade’s friends could be expected.  She’d made it to the grassy area next to the beach a few minutes later.

She surveyed the scene once she got there.   “Not a bad spot anywhere,” she observed. Of the twenty odd, white-clothed tables, about eight were occupied and Rian could see the remaining tables each had a view of the beach, and fell under the protective shade thrown over the area by the surrounding trees.

She chose one that was amongst those closer to the buffet. Rian didn’t want to risk carrying a plate full of food on one hand for more than ten or so feet while steadying herself with a cane on another hand. The resort had thoughtfully left a cane for her use that had a four-pronged, rubberized end that Rian assumed gripped the sand well. It would certainly be more stable in this setting than the cane she’d brought. Even so, she was fearful about possibly losing her balance while she carried her food around.

“Hi! I was wondering if my friends and I could join you?” Rian looked up from her plate to see a pretty woman, in a bikini like she was, smiling at her. To her chagrin, Rian realized she had been so engrossed in enjoying her breakfast and lost in her own thoughts about Diane and Jules and all of Jade’s friends in New York, that she hadn’t realized that most of the tables around had filled up and a throng of people had gathered around the breakfast area already. The table Rian had chosen, closest to the buffet, could seat about six people, and, when she’d sat down, she’d thought that she and Jade could occupy one end of it and another party could sit at the other end.