Raven set her elbow on the table and her chin on her hand. “If you don’t want to put them in your pocket, you can carry them in your bra.” She lifted a delicate shoulder. “That’s what I do.”
“Good to know.” For now, Maggie slipped the stones into her jeans pocket.
Luke brought their drinks around, and the ladies put in their order.
“What’s new with you, Maggie?” Edith asked.
“Well, I’ve started doing social media marketing again. That’s what I used to do before… before I came here.” Ugh. The last thing she wanted to do was open up to these ladies about herstalker and her husband. So, she deflected to something else. “I’m trying to get more eyes on the diner.”
“Is the diner not doing well?” Rosa asked.
“That’s not it. I’m assuming you heard about Deb’s ankle?”
The women nodded.
“Well, the boys are concerned about the medical bills. They still haven’t ruled out surgery. So, I’m trying to bring in more business so they don’t have to worry so much.”
She sipped the last of her milkshake, realizing she’d just aired someone else’s dirty laundry instead of her own. Ugh, she should be ashamed of herself.
“Goodness, surgery?” Anna held her hand over her heart.
“Self-employed health insurance is such shit.” Rosa crossed her arms.
Edith clapped her hands. “Ladies, perhaps the…wecould do a basket dinner to raise funds for Deb.”
“Of course!” Rosa beamed. “We absolutely should.”
“I’ll post it to the whole group later, but with the four of us I believe we’ll have a consensus.”
Raven brought her sweet tea to her lips. “I can’t imagine anyone saying no.”
Anna nodded. “You’ve got my vote.”
Maggie looked on, confused. “What’s a basket dinner?”
“It’s a fundraiser,” Edith explained. “Volunteers cook the food, usually something simple like pasta, and people buy tickets they can put in to win prize baskets.”
“Local businesses donate the prizes, and the charity or family in need gets the proceeds.” Anna continued.
“That sounds delightful!” Maggie bit her lip. “How would you know how much food to make?”
“Well, in the past, we’ve used RSVPs. But the venue does need to be big enough to hold everyone.”
Luke arrived with Katya in tow, a plate in each of their hands, “What are you ladies plotting now?”
Edith folded her arms on the table as he set her plate in front of her. “Luke, would your mother mind if we did a basket dinner to help with her medical expenses?”
Luke blinked in surprise. “That’s very kind of you. I can ask her.”
“I’m afraid not as kind as one would hope.” Edith shrugged. “I thought we could host it here. It’s certainly big enough.”
“I’m sure Virginia would host, but her dining room isn’t as large,” Raven added.
“Let me talk to Mom and Shorty and see what they say. When were you thinking?”
Edith tapped her chin. “Well, the Spring Fling is this week, and then there’s Easter.”
“And May is when tourist season starts so there will be more people around.” Raven thanked Katya for her salad.
