“I’m sorry. It sounds like Helena was important to the town, and your life here.”
Penny leaned on one of the stools and accepted an espresso from Jenn without looking at her. “As soon as I heard about her passing, I knew I had to host her celebration of life before Tracey Jefferies could make a hash of it. At her last party, she claimed the scallops were diver, but they were clearly bay. This is small enough that I can trust you to handle it.”
“Me?” Valerie glanced around as if to confirm there was no other celebration-of-life planner Penny might have been talking to.
“I assume you learned some valuable lessons from Dad’s event?” She stared expectantly at Valerie, then smiled. “This is a good chance for you to keep evolving your skills. I say that to my artists all the time.”
Valerie knew she was supposed to accept eagerly. It was her job after all, or was, and a way she could continue to make up her failure to the Badgertons. But there was something in the way Penny assumed she would do it, that her work was something Penny could presume to benefit from, that rubbed her the wrong way despite the smile.
But this was another chance to redeem herself and to do what she loved. Plus, Penny’s faith that she could do a good job gave her a feeling of redemption. She needed that.
“Of course I can help.”
“Yes, I already told the family. The funeral is in two days, and we can have the party the day after.” Penny didn’t wait for an answer. “It’s what I can do to honor Helena.”
Jenn followed her out, leaving Nico and Valerie alone. She put her head in her hands. “Three days.”
“She has no right to offer your services like that, and for no pay.”
Surprised, she looked up to see Nico fuming. “I have to.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I want to help.” Valerie felt itchy. “I don’t like saying no.”
He sighed. “If people don’t like you because you don’t do things for them, they’re not good to have in your life.”
“It’s not about that.”
“Oh, Valerie.” Penny came back around the corner with her hand on her hip. “Something occurred to me at your lovely little birthday celebration. It’s currently July.”
Valerie didn’t quite compute, but this was undoubtedly true. “It is.”
Beside her, Nico had stiffened, which meant that he had figured out whatever the significance of that July mention was. She began to get nervous.
“I was thinking how odd that is. Isn’t your birthday in the spring?”
Shit. It came clear in a flash of blinding realization. If Yvette got pregnant in the summer, Penny was right. It should not have been Rogette/Valerie’s birthday this month, which meant she needed an answer as to why they were celebrating. Strangely, Erica’s last birthday, a fancy brunch hosted for all her friends at the Windsor Arms, came into her mind to provide a hopefully plausible excuse.
“It’s not my birthday,” she said, looking as innocent as possible, and not at all like a woman lying through her teeth. “I actually call it Valerie Day.”
“Sorry?” Penny stared at her.
“Valerie Day,” Valerie repeated, getting into it as Nico nodded supportively beside her. “My actual birthday was close to my stepsister’s and I wanted to make sure we both had a special day. I love summer, so I picked July to celebrate as an unofficial birthday. It’s tradition now.”
Then she stopped as if this was a completely normal reason that required no further explanation. Penny opened her mouth and closed it before she said, “You picked it.”
“I did, yep!”
“Oh. Well. What’s your actual birthday, then? So I know for my family calendar.”
Luckily, Valerie had always been good at mental arithmetic and could even figure out restaurant tips without a calculator. Nine months from a possible impregnation day was a cinch. “May 19.”
Penny didn’t reply, but turned and left. Valerie and Nico said nothing as the door closed downstairs and remained silent until they saw Penny walk down the path. Then Nico grabbed her in a hug. “Quick thinking,” he congratulated her.
She relaxed in his arms. “Do you think she believed me?”
He kissed her head. “I would have. You were very convincing.”
