18
HONEY
I followDanni to the pickup, and she motions to the front passenger seat. I slide in, and she takes off, bumping down the lane then veering off into a field as I watch John and Monster, sitting next to him, become smaller and smaller.
“It’s not far,” Danni says, “but we’ll drive the pickup there so we don’t have to lug anything.”
Danni chats about the renovations going on in Heaven and some local gossip about a disbanded book club.
Emma hops out to open a gate, and Danni drives through it, then waits for Emma to close the gate and climb back into the pickup. We bounce through a field until we get to a pavilion, plunked down in the field, surrounded by nothing but dying wildflowers and clumps of seedy grass with puffs of white. “It doesn’t look like much because most of the wildflowers have died off, but it gets us away from the guys. We would have taken you to our favorite beach in Heaven, but we’ll save that for next time.”
Emma purses her lips. “Just a warning, Wren. If Danni wants to take you anywhere as a surprise, wear a bathing suit. Unless you love to skinny dip.”
Danni smirks. “You only hated me for a few minutes.” She turns to me. “Emma and I will take you to Crescent BeachbutI’ll give you fair warning. I promise.” She hops out of the pickup.
“This is where Danni and Bear were engaged and married,” Emma says, pulling out a picnic basket from the back seat. She points to the ground. “Watch your step. Lacy and Ava ride through here sometimes.”
Danni runs ahead and turns the lights on, and the pavilion twinkles softly. “It looks much more dramatic at night,” she yells out to us.
Emma lays out a blanket on the plank flooring then sets the picnic basket on it. “We didn’t bring wine, but Danni packed champagne and—” She eyes the champagne bottle. “I guess this is nonalcoholic champagne. Huh. Gosh, I hope it tastes okay.” She pulls everything else out as she talks. “Pineapple juice, lots of ice, champagne glasses...” She pulls out a big bowl of grapes, assorted boxes of crackers and a variety of cheeses and sets them on the blanket. Frowning at one of the boxes of crackers, she shakes it and groans. “Sorry. It looks like Hudson ate every single cracker in this box between the time I pulled it out of the cabinet and the time I stuck it in the picnic basket.”
I laugh. “Unless you invited a bunch more people, I think there’s more than enough to eat here.”
She tosses the box back into the picnic basket in mock disgust.
“How old is your son?”
“Eleven. He’s eating and growing like crazy right now.”
Remorse slides like a wave toward me, trying to pull me under. Trudi. The last growth spurt she had. She grew out of her shoes, and I didn’t even notice. She’d been stuffing her little toes in them because she loved them so much. Purple, sparkly slip-ons. She danced around the house in them.
Danni joins us, shaking me out of my memory. She pulls a bunch of floor cushions from a big bag she lugged from the pickup. After tossing them onto the blanket, she plops down onto one.
Emma hands us each a champagne glass. “Let’s celebrate.”
“What are we celebrating?” I ask them.
“Oh, nothing in particular,” Danni says, shrugging then winking when Emma bends down to fill the champagne glasses. “Just life in general.”
Emma sits up and cocks an eyebrow at Danni. “I saw that out of the corner of my eye.”
Danni’s eyes widen. “Saw what?”
“You might as well tell me now what that wink meant. I can keep secrets better than anyone else.” She shrugs. “Then we can celebrate properly, and we can all talk to death about whatever it is the two of you are hiding.”
I can’t help but chuckle. I take a deep breath then decide to forge onward. “I’m guessing that Danni brought nonalcoholic champagne because of me.”
Emma’s gaze flicks from me to Danni then back to me. “Oh… right.” Her whole neck and face turns crimson. “I feel like a real imbecile, and I’m sorry. You… You don’t drink anymore.”
“Emma, she’s trying to tell you she’s pregnant,” Danni says.
Emma’s eyes veer to the bottle in her hand. “Of course!Of course that’s why!I just… Congratulations! I’m so happy for you, Honey.” Her eyes widen, and she covers her mouth. “I just called you Honey, didn’t I? Instead of Wren. Should I just shut my mouth right now?”
Danni puts a hand on her arm. “Emma. Take a breath.”
I laugh. “It’s okay. Really. I did drink for a while—if that’s what you were thinking about—but I don’t anymore. So, really the nonalcoholic champagne is for two reasons. And, you can call me Honey. It’s just the three of us here. We all know my realname.” I smile gently at her, and she slumps into the cushions and stretches her legs out and groans.
“Actually, it’s a relief,” I tell them. “Not having to pretend I’m someone else right now. I’m not very good at it.”
