“It’s nothing. Lucan is likely asleep,” Capri said.
Lila nodded in agreement. “Besides, if that little guy wakes, he’ll nod back off.” She pointed to the baby monitor on the table. “You’ll know if something needs attention,” she assured.
Charlie Grace lifted the cocktail glass and took a sip. Her expression immediately turned soft. “Oh, this is good.” She shifted to face Reva. “You’re finding out motherhood is an extreme sport. That’s why most of us moms wear workout clothes every day.”
Lila nodded in agreement. “The biggest thing I remember is that there was just no transition. You had to hit the ground diapering.”
“Oh, but wait. They grow up. That’s when the real fun begins,” Charlie Grace warned. “Before I had Jewel, I didn’t know I could ruin someone’s day by saying, ‘Get dressed, please.’”
They all laughed. It felt good to laugh after the week Reva had experienced. While her friends were attempting to console her, juggling motherhood—even if temporary—with her duties and responsibilities had been far more challenging than expected.
She sighed, admitting, “I just didn’t realize I would have to know everything by my second rodeo. That’s still a very low number of rodeos.”
Lila laughed and reached for her drink. “By the time they are teenagers, it’s nothing but the Wild West. Take, for example, my daughter’s upcoming prom.”
Charlie Grace kicked her stocking feet up on the edge of the table. “I love the dress Camille picked out. The pink color really sets off her blonde hair.”
Lila sipped her daiquiri. “At least she settled on the dress. Prom date? Not so much.”
“What do you mean?” Reva asked.
“Well, she wants to dump Randy Eisman for Cody Meacham. Cody asked her two days ago, apparently unaware she had already committed to another boy.”
“The new football jock from Cheyenne?” Capri asked. “Yikes. Hate to say it…but who can blame her?”
Lila reached for a sandwich. “I told her she couldn’t do that to Randy. It’s tacky.”
Capri frowned. “Tacky? Maybe. But I agree, a prom date’s not like a dress. You can’t just change it without expecting a few…wrinkles.”
The room erupted in laughter as they toasted to the complexities of high school dramas and the lessons learned from the crazy ups and downs of growing up.
Reva tucked her legs under her on the sofa, enjoying the warmth of the crackling fire as rain tapped against the windows. A ring at the doorbell pulled her attention. “Who could that be?” she murmured, getting up to answer.
She peeked outside and spotted an Amazon delivery truck parked in the yard. Surprised, she opened the door to find Chet Olson standing on her front deck. “Sorry to bother you, Mayor. I have a delivery. Want me to bring it in?”
“Wow, that was fast.” Reva blinked in disbelief. She’d only placed the order the evening before. “Thank you.” She motioned him inside, then glanced over her shoulders at the girls and shrugged.
The guy carried in several boxes, making multiple trips in the rain.
Capri got up and came over, her interest piqued. “What’s all that?” she asked, inspecting the growing mound of boxes.
“What in the world did you order?” Charlie Grace echoed, joining them.
Reva straightened and lifted her chin. “Nothing. Just a few things for Lucan.”
“A few?” Lila’s eyebrows arched so high they threatened to merge with her hairline.
Facing her friends’ astonished stares, Reva shrugged, adopting a defensive yet light-hearted tone, “Look, I can spoil Lucan if I want to.”
Capri laughed. “But we thought by spoiling Lucan you meant buying him a couple of socks and a bib.”
Charlie Grace chimed in. “Yeah, I guess we were wrong. You meant the whole internet, apparently!”
20
Lila dug in her purse for her keys as she and Capri pulled into her yard. “Thanks for the ride,” she told her friend. “Hey, you want to come in?” They’d wrapped up at Reva’s early after noticing their dear friend was nodding off as they visited.
Capri lifted one shoulder. “Sure, why not?”
