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When he didn’t respond, Lanie slid into the chair beside him. “What are you going to do?”
“I have no idea.” And he didn’t. The numbers staring back at him told a story, and if he didn’t get them under control soon, that tale wouldn’t have a happy ending.
They were quiet for a moment, though Steven could feel his sister’s eyes on him. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair. It was bad enough that he had created the situation he was in, but that his little sister had witnessed his failure made it worse.
She sighed. “Look, last night, Trudy had an interesting idea you should consider. Why don’t you, me, and Rose meet tomorrow? We can discuss what’s going on and formulate a plan.”
He nodded, though he had no idea how they would find their way out of that mess. She came over and laid her hand on his shoulder.
“Have faith,” she said as if reading his mind. Then she left.
Once he was alone, he covered his face with his hands and groaned. Maybe Rose was right. Maybe putting off the wedding was their best bet. Only by that point, it might already be too late.
The next day, Steven’s dad dropped him off at Bea’s, where Rose, Lanie, Nate, and Trudy were waiting for him. Nate opened the door, and Rose pushed Steven inside with Lanie and Trudy following her. They found a table toward the back that could accommodate Steven’s wheelchair.
“What are you thinking of having?” Lanie asked as she flipped through the menu.
Steven raised an eyebrow. “The same thing I always have—burger and fries.” He glanced around at the rest of the table. Everyone was making small talk as they waited to order their food. “When are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
“As soon as we order,” Lanie whispered.
Shifting in his chair, Steven tried not to scowl. Somehow, it felt like everyone at the table knew what they were there to discuss except him. Even Rose appeared to be completely at ease despite the picture Lanie had painted of their financial situation.
When Bea came around to take their orders, his shoulders sagged in relief. The sooner Bea was done, the sooner he could figure out what on earth was going on.
“Good to see you out and about.” Bea leaned down and ruffled Steven’s hair. “I’ve been praying for you.” She nodded to Rose and Lanie. “And your family. How are you feeling?”
“A little stronger every day. My cast is supposed to come off next week.”
“Then you’ll be walking again in no time,” Bea said as she moved on to take the next person’s order.
I wish. Though he’d attended his outpatient physical therapy appointments religiously, he wasn’t seeing a lot of progress. But Dr. Bhati had assured him his spinal contusion was healing well and he’d likely start to regain some feeling in his legs soon.
After Bea had everyone’s order, Lanie tapped a fork against her glass. “Let’s get down to business, shall we?” She gestured to Trudy to begin.
“The other night at karaoke, I asked Rose to consider allowing us to host a fundraiser. At first, the idea was to help raise money for your wedding, but I think we can agree your financial situation has grown beyond that.”
Warmth rushed to Steven’s cheeks, and he stared at the table. He couldn’t help being ashamed of their situation.
“The one thing everyone in town is asking is how they can help you as you heal.” Trudy looked at Steven and smiled. “Even though it’s only been open since last November, your law firm has already done a lot to help the town, and folks want to give back.”
Steven glanced at Rose, expecting her to protest, but to his surprise, she appeared not only open to the idea but encouraging it. She turned toward him and gave him a smile before refocusing on Trudy.
“So, we’re thinking of holding a fundraiser in late July. While it’s for both of you, it would make sense to focus on Steven and his recovery.” Trudy nodded at Steven. “The town is anxious to help you get back on your feet in whatever manner that requires.”
“I don’t know how comfortable I am with that,” he said. “Won’t people think I’ve squandered my money if I can’t afford my own wedding?”
“Everyone knows you’ve been out of commission for a month while you healed, and you’re not back to work one hundred percent,” Trudy replied.
“People have asked me every day at the shop how they can help, and I haven’t known what to tell them,” Nate added. “So unless you want a bunch of questionable casseroles, you should consider the fundraiser.”
Steven chuckled. The refrigerator at the law office already held a couple of casseroles and pies that people had dropped off when he was there. Thankfully, very few people had stopped by the house.
“So, how would we do this?” Rose asked, redirecting the conversation.
“While we’re here, I plan to ask Bea if we can host it at the diner,” Trudy said. “We should focus on raising funds to help Steven in a multitude of capacities. We can either set up various funding options for the wedding, the firm, or medical bills, or we can have everyone contribute to one big pot of money. The latter option provides more discretion on how the money is spent.”
“And you aren’t concerned people will refuse to help because they think we overspent on our wedding? I don’t want this to look like some sort of cash grab.”
