“Oh, Christie,” Maddy says excitedly through the glitching. “Good to see you. Thank you again for setting all of this up.”
Christie bats a hand. “Easy to do when it was so delicious.”
“Everything okay?” Mrs. Fisher asks.
I turn around, allowing Maddy to glimpse the striking woman. I want to make an introduction, but my mouth opens with no sound escaping. Mrs. Fisher’s hawk-like stare shreds any confidence I was grasping onto.
She views the laptop. “You must be Madeleine West.”
“Just Maddy is fine,” Aunt Maddy replies. “So lovely to meet you. Apologies for not being there in person.”
Mrs. Fisher grimaces. “The sound and picture is terrible.”
I try to respond, but I’m mute again. Christie leaps in with, “It’s the weather. It’s making the Wi-Fi signal weak.”
Laura makes her way around the group of ladies and motions to the table. “You’re all welcome to take a seat here. We’ll bring out the food shortly.”
The mothers and daughters take their seats, leaving the head of the table to Mrs. Fisher. The other end is supposedly for me, but right now, I’d rather run naked out in the rain.
Laura gives me a nod. I shake out my hands and turn back to the laptop. A glitching Maddy stares back at me.
“Baby, you’ve got this,” she says in a broken tone as her image blurs on the screen. “We talked about this so much. You know our menu like you know your soccer plays.”
Trying not to appear petrified, I nod at Aunt Maddy, scooping up the laptop. I place it down at the end of the table and step back, ready for Maddy to lead the meeting.
“Mom, this is Jamie,” Tabitha says, elbowing her mother. “You know, Kai’s friend.”
Mrs. Jones nods at me. “Oh hello. Nice to meet you.”
I fake a smile. “You too.”
“You know, I heard the nicest reviews about the Henderson function you catered,” Mrs. Jones says. “I’m very excited to try this food.”
“Oh, really?” I turn to the laptop. “Maddy, did you hear that?”
An empty chat screen mocks me.
“No,” I whine, tapping the keys hard. I call her again and announce to the group that I’ll bring the food while I wait for Maddy to reconnect.
I plant the laptop onto the counter and scoot past, entering the kitchen where three trays of food await. I pick up one, and Jake follows with the other two. As we pass the counter, I glimpse the laptop screen.Call Failed.
Jake nudges me forward and whispers, “You got this, champ.”
We walk back to the table and place the trays down. Jake leaves, and I clasp my hands in front, standing tall against their penetrating stares. I know I should talk. The table is awkwardly silent as they wait for me to talk. It’s like my brain is on pause.
Christie’s mother clears her throat. Her smile is encouraging. “So, what do we have here, dear?”
“Umm,” I falter, rubbing the back of my clammy neck.
“It smells divine,” Mrs. Garcia says, gazing over the eye-pleasing array of treats.
The Logan’s Point local renews my confidence. I wave a hand over the display. “My aunt thought these were all cute and bite-sized, perfect for a garden party.”
Mrs. Fisher picks up a finger sandwich. “I’d agree with that.”
It might be a small dose, but it’s optimism none-the-less. I sneak a peek over at Kai and Milo’s booth. Both twins have their eyes locked on me while eating their burgers. Gosh, watching me must be the equivalent of an old-timey freakshow.
I look back at the table, and the ladies make yummy noises as they try the food. I swallow the queasiness bobbing upward, and talk them through each of the mini quiches, the tarts, and finger sandwiches available. Theyoohandahhover buzzwords like buttery, delicate, crumbly, luscious, honeyed, silky, and zesty.
