Page 27 of No Such Thing as Serendipity

I’d sent Emma to get our coffee while I paid for my books.

Eight in all. I’d been surprised that Robyn’s store had a lesbian romance section.

The only time I’d read a lesbian romance had been in college when one of my girlfriends insisted on reading one aloud to me.

This should be fun. I’d picked out two that Robyn recommended.

Emma would be proud. I only bought two nonfiction books, the rest were for pleasure reading.

When I entered the café, I did a double take. Nearly all the chairs were full. After a quick count, I determined there must be at least fifty. This speaker must be good. Several other retreat participants were in attendance, but there was no sign of Dana. Not a surprise.

Emma waved at me from near the front of the room where she sat with the rest of our friends. I smiled at the thought. They were no longer just villa mates, but friends.

I slid into the chair next to Emma, and she handed me my coffee.

“Decaf,” she said.

I groaned. “I don’t even get a choice in coffee?”

“Nope.” She nudged me in the ribs. “I told you caffeine is the devil.”

“It helps me think.” I put a whine in my voice.

“Exercise, eating right, and eight hours of sleep does, too, yet I don’t hear you advocating for those.”

“I exercise,” I protested.

“One out of three ain’t good,” she said, bastardizing a line from one of the songs Mom played on repeat.

I took a sip of my coffee, deciding not to engage.

It wasn’t long before Robyn closed the double doors, separating us from the rest of the bookstore, and stepped to the podium.

“Wow. We’ve got a full house,” she said.

“Welcome and thank you for coming. I guarantee if you’ve never heard Mary Lou Chambers speak, you’re in for a treat.

” Robyn let out a small chuckle. “Well, you’re also in for a treat if you have heard her speak. ”

I glanced around the room at the eager faces as Robyn ran through Mary Lou’s impressive bio.

For some reason, my mind flashed to my last board meeting at Fortitude.

Wouldn’t they be shocked if they could see me now?

I could give Terrence a thousand guesses—hell, a million—of where I was right now, and a bookstore in Madison, Wisconsin, getting ready to listen to a talk on an unknown topic wouldn’t make his list.

“Without further ado,” Robyn said, “please, put your hands together and welcome Mary Lou.”

The women let out an enthusiastic cheer. This crowd could get wild. I laughed to myself at the thought.

A tall, slender, frizzy-haired woman stood from the front row and walked to the podium. She wore a flowing dress, much like Katlynn’s. I couldn’t help thinking I was seeing what Katlynn might look like in twenty-five years.

Mary Lou gave the group a warm smile. “Thank you for the welcome. We’ll see if you feel the same once I’ve finished speaking.”

The group chuckled.

“Seriously, this topic can be challenging for some people.”

What topic? I wanted to yell.

“I’m gonna start you off with a little quiz. It’s simple.” She pointed a clicker at the café menu, and it magically transformed into a PowerPoint presentation.

Impressive. I’d noticed the rest of the store, despite its quaint feeling, had an abundance of hidden technological features. It was something I should remember to ask Robyn about, but now I’d better listen to Mary Lou.

The slide showed six words:

Your health

Your relationships

Your reputation

“I ask you, which of these things do you have control over?”

I frowned and shot Emma a look. Mary Lou had used the dreaded C-word. Control.

Emma’s smile broadened, and she whispered, “Keep an open mind.”

Several women shouted out answers, while I glowered. I damned well had control over all these things. Every fool knew that. Personal responsibility. I hoped this wouldn’t be another “nothing is your fault” presentation.

Once the answers dwindled, Mary Lou said, “Do you really? Let’s think a little further about this.”

Emma elbowed me. “Stop slouching. Just listen.”

I sat up straighter but refused to let go of my frown.

“Please, for me,” Emma said.

Damn it. She’d played the one card I couldn’t resist, so I sat up fully and focused my attention on Mary Lou.

“What do you do to control your health?” Mary Lou asked.

Mary Lou nodded as the answers poured from the group. Diet. Exercise. Sleep. Vitamins. Preventative care.

“If you do all those things, can you still get cancer? Have an aneurysm?”

“Well, yeah,” Katlynn called out, “but it’s less likely.”

I glanced at Helena, who was nodding. She was proof that sometimes bad things happened no matter what we did.

“Hold that thought,” Mary Lou said, pointing at Katlynn. “How about relationships?”

“It’s complicated,” someone called from the back of the room.

“True, true,” Mary Lou said with a chuckle. “So what can you do?”

Just like the first question, answers filled the air. Communication. Thoughtful gestures. Putting your relationship first...

“You guys are good,” Mary Lou said. “Full of answers. I love it. So how can you control your reputation?”

Honesty. Integrity. Genuineness. Loyalty...

“What if I told you that you’re incorrect?” Mary Lou said.

“No,” someone called out.

Mary Lou smiled. “I’m afraid it’s true.” She gestured toward Katlynn. “What’s your name?”

“Katlynn.”

“Katlynn said something earlier, when we were talking about health. She said, but it’s less likely.

And that is the key. You don’t control those things, but you have influence.

No matter how many healthy things you do, a disease could hit you.

No matter what you do for your spouse, they could trade you in for a newer model.

And how many times have you seen someone’s reputation tanked on false rumors that spread like wildfire? ”

Mary Lou stepped from the podium. “That doesn’t mean you throw up your hands and say, what the hell, I have no control anyway, so I might as well drink a pint of whiskey, cheat on my spouse, and stop caring about my reputation.

It’s all about learning to let go and stop trying to control everything because you’ll lose. ”

Ugh. Learning to let go. Emma had set me up. I took a deep breath, willing myself not to shut out Mary Lou.

“I want to introduce you to a term I learned while studying Stoicism.”

The slide on the café board changed:

Dichotomy of Control

“What is the Dichotomy of Control? It’s the idea that we have little control over our external world and events. What we have control over is our judgments, desires, actions, and reactions.”

Mary Lou held up her finger. “Many people misinterpret what I’m saying, so let me clarify. You have little control over what happens, which sounds disempowering, but it isn’t. The Dichotomy of Control is one of the most empowering concepts I’ve ever embraced.”

“I see the skeptical look on some of your faces.” Mary Lou smiled.

“Hear me out. There are two reasons it is empowering. First, remember, I said control, not influence. You should continue to make a choice that may influence a better outcome. In other words, don’t drink a pint of whiskey daily and expect your liver to come out unscathed. ”

Mary Lou paused, letting us absorb her words before continuing.

“But it’s not influence that is the key concept, at least for me it isn’t.

What’s empowering is it allows me to stop focusing on the bullshit or noise coming at me every day.

I can stop giving away my power and my energy to those things I can’t change. ”

“Sounds a lot like the serenity prayer,” someone called out.

“Yes!” Mary Lou said. “There are many manifestations of this idea. Different terms used, but they’re all the same concept. Which is stop wasting your time and energy, both physical and emotional, trying to control things you can’t. And that, my friends, is what we’re going to explore today.”

“So you’re saying, we should Elsa that shit,” someone else called out.

As Mary Lou stared with a puzzled expression, two women behind me belted out the words to Frozen’s theme song.

Mary Lou laughed. “I’d never thought of it that way, but with a few tweaks, I could get behind that.”

“How about the Let Them theory?” Helena asked.

“You guys are good,” Mary Lou said. “That’s another manifestation.

You’ll find that nothing I say is new. For instance, Stoicism has been around since 300 BCE.

Most of the self-help books you’ll pick up today aren’t original.

My talk today won’t be unique. It’s just timeless truths packaged in different ways. ”

Mary Lou paused and looked out at the audience, seemingly making eye contact with each person in the crowd. “All the wisdom in the world won’t do any good if you don’t apply it in your life. So my objective today is to help you discover ways to use these concepts in your own lives.”

Mary Lou spoke for the next hour and a half, sharing stories and encouraging the audience to discuss the ideas she laid out. I remained silent. She was right, nothing she said was earth shattering or new. Still by the end of her talk, my mind was full, and my chest ached.

I debated whether I wanted to hug Emma or curse her. During the presentation, I’d noticed Emma sneaking peeks at me, but I kept my eyes focused on Mary Lou. I wasn’t ready to talk about the thoughts swirling in my head, and I hoped Emma wouldn’t push.

Several of the women crowded around Mary Lou after she finished, but I told Emma I needed to use the restroom and hurried from the room.