Page 25 of The Wedding Favor

Gloria let out a very unladylike curse word. “Oh. Him.”

“He’s a great guy.” Why did I always rush to defend him?

“No, he is not. That boy has been careless with your heart for far too long. I don’t like him.”

“You’ve never met him,” I pointed out. That was mostly my fault, though. I’d never told Aidan about Gloria or that I’d continued coming to Shady Cove long after I graduated high school. It had been nice to have a place where people looked forward to seeing me. Aidan always had a way of outshining me. Not on purpose. Or at least, I didn’t think it was on purpose.

“You can thank the good Lord for that. Only He knows what I would have done if I were in the same room with that boy.” Her hand curled into a fist.

I snorted, picturing Gloria punching Aidan in his face. I bet she had a pretty good right hook. “Thank you for your willingness to defend my honor.”

“What did he have to say for himself?”

I blew out a breath and said the next part quickly. “Missy was with him. They moved the wedding date up to next month and he asked me to be his best woman.”

“What in the world is a best woman?”

“It’s like a best man, except… a woman.”

Gloria remained in fuming silence for several seconds. “That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. I hope you told him no.”

I sighed. “I said yes.”

“You have the self-preservation instincts of a dodo bird.”

“Tweet. Tweet.”

“Well, obviously you must have a date, darling. He needs to be amazing. Someone totally unexpected.” Abe Ramos and his dimple and the tattoos and his long hair popped into my head once again. He was so different from Aidan, they weren’t even from the same planet. Aidan would have a few things to say about him being my plus one.

Aidan had a lot of opinions when it came to my life.

Gloria paused at the opened door of the room before hers. She knocked gently. “George?”

The sound of an evening gameshow mingled with wheezing snores was the only reply. George hadn’t been at Shady Cove long, less than a year. He was quiet, kept to himself, but Gloria had made it her business to seek him out. “Everyone needs a friend. Especially the people who think they don’t,” she said. While Gloria did most of the talking in this friendship, George seemed content to let her.

We peeked inside the doorway to see the long, thin frame of a sleeping man stretched out in a recliner, his mouth hanging open and glasses askew.

Gloria tsked and waltzed into the room like she owned it. “George, what have I told you about falling asleep in this chair?”

I leaned a shoulder against the doorframe. “You sure you should go in while he’s sleeping?”

“Someone has to watch out for him.” She pulled a throw blanket from the bed and arranged it over George. Then she found the remote and turned the volume on the television down and removed his glasses. George didn’t budge. “There. Better.”

Someone tapped my shoulder and I turned to find Kathy Baumgarter. The social worker was tiny, her head barely reaching my shoulder. She was a bit older than my mom and had been at Shady Cove “forever and a day.” I liked her a lot and often found myself asking her questions about the residents and how I could help.

“She’s really been good for him,” Kathy said quietly, watching Gloria. “Makes sure he’s not holed up in his room all day.”

I smiled as I watched her fuss over him. For all her bluster, Gloria was one of the kindest people I knew. She just kept her heart of gold wrapped in judge-y looks and bluntness. “I imagine the poor guy didn’t have a chance to say no.”

“That, too.” She laughed softly.

“Any luck with his family?” As a social worker, part of her job was working with the residents and their families. Unfortunately, she saw the sad side of those relationships far too often.

Kathy sighed. “No one’s come to see him in the entire ten months he’s been here. His son dropped him off and seems to have fallen off the earth.”

Someone called Kathy’s name. She gave me a one-armed hug and rushed off just as something whispered past my ankle and scurried into the room. Bruce jumped onto George’s lap. After turning in few circles, he settled down and stared at Gloria with large yellow-green eyes. The Death Cat blinked slowly.

Gloria snapped her fingers. “Bruce, get out of here.”