When Carol “Toots” Bixby had asked Alexa to plan a ladies-only spa vacation a dozen years ago after the death of her husband, Bix Bixby, neither understood it would be the start of a beautiful circle of friendship. Toots was grieving, but not devastated, at least not yet. The overwhelming grief would come once she recovered from the exhaustion of his illness and funeral. Bix was twenty years her senior and, as his second wife, Toots had put in some hard time on the caregiving front as her husband’s physical and mental health diminished. Even his grown children agreed that she had earned her prenup payout and then some, a fact they acknowledged by not making a peep when the Montecito house went to Toots outright. They owned the oil company after all. What was a single piece of residential real estate compared to natural gas fields?

Toots, at the time an energetic former interior designer in her mid-sixties, cornered Alexa after Feldenkrais and begged, “I need two weeks away somewhere with lots of body treatments, a few fun coconspirators, and a discreet staff. If you know what I mean. And I don’t want to see any of my neighbors, so not Rancho La Puerta or Miraval. Also, I want to make no decisions more complex than lemon or lime in my drink, so you must come, too.”

Alexa nodded, understanding the assignment. “There’s a place in Antigua.” She recruited a handful of other Montecito women, all second and third wives, now widows, in the same circumstance: Mitsy, Roxanne, Ming, and Frannie. Thus the Merry Widows were born, and remained a vibrant force collectively, traveling, socializing, and playing mahjong together while talking, laughing, and empathizing nonstop.

At first, Alexa was on the outside, the hired hand paid to put their yearly trips together. But over the years and the global destinations, she was swept into their circle. She was not a widow, but she shared their desire for independence in her later years.

Tonight was their monthly dinner and the timing couldn’t be more perfect. Penny had texted her that afternoon and given her the go-ahead to announce the engagement. The official photos would be up on Penny’s Instagram any minute. Alexa guessed that once Penny checked the engagement photos off her list, the wedding planning would begin in earnest. She could sense that Penny had plans in the works but wanted to save the details for some reason.

“I have exciting news,” Alexa declared as soon as Bernard, their usual waiter, placed her sauvignon blanc in front of her.

“You’re retiring!” guessed Ming, a former financial planner who had worked her golf handicap down to a respectable plus ten in retirement.