Page 131 of The Wedding Favor

I dumped our stuff in front of a row of gym lockers and sat heavily on the bench in front of them. “Thanks.”

“What’s with the sunglasses?”

I slid them off. Yessica’s eyes widened. I’d done my best to offset the effects of crying my eyes out for the last eight hours but it turned out that Gloria was correct; I was an ugly crier.

“Yikes. Who died?”

She started to snicker at her own joke but the look on my face must have said what my mouth wasn’t. She dropped on the bench next to me. “You’re serious? Someone died?”

“Gloria died,” Hallie said, her bottom lip quivering.

“Your friend at the nursing home?” She hugged me. “I’m so sorry. Are you sure you feel up to all this today?”

“This is exactly where I’m supposed to be.” I gave them a shaky smile.

After unpacking all our things—shoes, outfits, magic tricks—and hanging up what we could, the three of us ventured out in the festival to look around and find some lunch, mostly to try to distract ourselves from the trainwreck ahead.

Ali had, as always, gone all out for the festival. Patriotic streamers lined the shop awning on Main Street and floral arrangements were tied to each of the lamp posts. There was live music at a small stage set up at Legacy Park. An apple pie contest was being judged as we walked by. At the soccer fields by the high school, there were potato sack races and tug o’ war battles. The streets were already crowded and it was early still. The fireworks wouldn’t start until nine tonight.

On our way back to the stadium, someone called my name behind me. I turned to find Kathy from Shady Cove and she wasn’t alone. Several residents were with her—Jonathan, Elizabeth, Mary, and more.

“What are you all doing here?”

“You and our Hallie are in the pageant,” Mary said. “Of course we’d be here to support you.”

“I was tricked. I was told we were getting pie,” Jonathan said, frowning.

Elizabeth elbowed him. “Really? It was your idea to come to the pageant.”

“Woman,” he sputtered, his cheeks turning red. “It was not.”

“Yes, it was. You insisted on it.” Elizabeth turned to me and in a rare moment of gentleness, she took one of my hands in hers. “I’m so sorry about Gloria. We loved her very much. We know she’s not here”—her voice hitched—“but we’re here in her place.”

“I don’t know what to say,” I said. Dang it, the tears were building again.

“You don’t have to say a word, dear.” Mary patted my arm. “Come here, Hallie, I want to give you a good luck hug.”

“They insisted on coming to support you,” Kathy said.

“Thank you for making it happen.”

“Well, it was selfish on my part. I wanted to come and watch, too.” She put a hand on my arm. “Listen, I know this isn’t the right time at all but when you’re feeling up to it, will you come and see me? Gloria told me… Well, she told me you aren’t going off to school in the fall and if you’re going to be around, I thought you might be interested in the activities director position at Shady Cove. It’s only part time but, well, the residents love you and I thought… Just come see me when you’re ready. We can talk about it more.”

The more she talked, the more excitement buzzed through me until it felt like my insides were vibrating. Impulsively, I gave her a hug. “I would love that.”

“Perfect.” She smiled widely. “No rush. When you feel up to it.”

Jonathan, at that moment, had reached his daily quota of patience. “Can I get my pie now?”

FIFTY-SIX

“If you’re going to be opinionated, at least have good opinions.”

—excerpt from the unpublished memoir,

Darling, I Must Say by Gloria Hayes

“I’m nervous,” Hallie said. “What if I make a mistake?”