Read Online Small Change by Sheila Roberts - Free Book Online

Rachel.
    â€œNothing is cheap,” said Tiffany with a sigh.
    â€œYou girls,” Maude said in disgust. “When I was young we made all kinds of things on the cheap: bath salts, friendship tea, Amish friendship bread.”
    Tiffany made a face. “Amish what?”
    Maude frowned at her. “It's delicious. I have recipes for all those things. I'll give them to you if you like.”
    â€œUh, sure. Thanks,” said Tiffany, looking anything but thankful.
    â€œPeople don't know how to be self-sufficient anymore,” Maude said with a frown.
    â€œHey, I'm self-sufficient,” said Cara, highly offended.
    â€œOh, I don't mean as far as work goes,” said Maude. “I mean knowing how to grow and preserve your own food and sew your own clothes.”
    â€œI can buy clothes cheaper on sale at the mall,” insisted Tiffany.
    Maude ignored her. “We made our cakes and casseroles from scratch, not out of a box. And we made our own syrups and jams. I can tell you, there is nothing like homemade huckleberry jam.” She looked in the direction of the teenager and lowered her voice. “I even have a recipe for blackberry cordial.”
    â€œCordial, what's that?” asked Tiffany.
    â€œBooze,” Rachel explained.
    â€œNow that's something I wouldn't mind learning how to make,” Jess said with a smile. “We'll take it.”
    â€œIf you girls like, I'll also give you some of my rhubarb to plant,” Maude offered. “You can make all kinds of things from rhubarb.”
    â€œFree food? We'll take it,” said Rachel. “And any other recipes you want to share. Maybe I'll do an Internet search and find a bunch of recipes we can make out of all this free food we're going to scrounge. As soon as school's out I'm going to have nothing to do but job hunt and worry anyway.”
    â€œYou girls,” Maude began with another shake of her faux strawberry blonde head.
    â€œHad better be going,” Jess said, edging away.
    â€œSee you later,” Rachel added, following her.
    Once they were outside, Jess turned to Rachel. “That woman creeps me out. She's like the ghost of Finance Future, all gloom and doom.”
    â€œAnd free rhubarb,” Rachel reminded her. “Don't forget the free rhubarb.”
    â€œI can guarantee you it won't be free,” said Jess. “We'll have to pay by listening to more charming tales of all her friends who whooped it up instead of saving and are now eating dog food. That hits a little too close to the bone for me.”
    â€œShe did paint a grim picture,” Rachel agreed. “I sure don't want to end up a broke old lady.”
    â€œWell, we're not there yet. We still have time to get our act together,” Jess assured them both.
    â€œI'm not wasting any,” said Rachel. “I'm going to start reading my book tonight. With the kids at Aaron's I don't have anything else to do anyway.”
    â€œYou need a man,” Jess told her.
    â€œLike I need cancer. I'll stick with my book and a good glass of wine.”
    Jess didn't push it. She couldn't blame Rachel for being in no hurry to add a new man to her life. Maybe someday she'd be willing to risk her heart again, but probably not anytime soon. It was too bad, really. It was hard to cope with hard times even when you had the support of a good husband. Jess couldn't imagine being in Rachel's shoes and having to do it all alone.
    Except she wasn't alone. She had her friends. They'd get through this all somehow. Together.

    Tiffany sent Maude on her way with shiny, pink fingernails and checked the salon clock. She still had fifteen minutes before her next client, so after cleaning up she plopped down in her chair and began to thumb through her new book.
    If you're reading this book, let me congratulate you on your excellent taste, wrote Rebecca Worth, the author. You are obviously a woman who is creative, and a little creativity is all you