Page 53 of Keeping Kara

“And plastic tool sets, of course,” Penny said.

“Of course. That’s a given. My girls are gonna know how to change their own oil and flat tires and check spark plugs, at a minimum.”

“I don’t have a car yet, but you know, I would love to learn that stuff too,” Kara said.

Laryn smiled. “Name the time and day and we’ll have a lesson.”

“That’s a great idea,” Penny said. “We could all learn that. Can Bowie come too?”

“Yes!” Laryn said enthusiastically. “How awesome would it be for her to be able to change a tire without being able to see a damn thing while her date stands by helplessly?”

Everyone chuckled.

“Go ahead and have a seat. Help yourself to the chips and taco dip while I get your drinks.”

“Taco dip? I’m in!” Laryn said. “Man, I swear I’m always hungry these days. I don’t have any specific cravings though, I just crave food. Any food. All food.”

Kara smiled, loving how easy the conversation was, how at home she felt with these women.

She brought their drinks to the table and put them down before sitting.

“Oh my God, I don’t know what’s in this dip but it’s like crack. I swear I’m gonna weigh a million pounds by the time these babies are born,” Laryn said, as she shoved another tortilla chip covered in dip into her mouth.

“I doubt that, but rest assured, this dip is the good-for-you kind. At least, better than a lot of things,” Kara reassured her.

“Really? What’s it made of?”

Kara was reluctant to tell them. Some people hated cottage cheese and had a visceral reaction to anything made with it. And since Laryn was enjoying it so much, she didn’t want to ruin the experience for her.

“Trade secret,” she said breezily.

“Seriously? You aren’t going to tell me so I can have Casper make it for me at home?”

“Nope,” Kara said with a grin. “You’ll have to come see me to get it.”

“Fine. I’ll be here every afternoon after work then,” Laryn grumbled.

Kara and Penny shared an amused look.

“Right, so…wedding reception. We’re having issues coming to an agreement on certain details,” Penny said. “Neither of us wants anything super-swanky. But we also don’t want to throw a bunch of pizza boxes on folding tables in someone’s yard either.”

“You’re having it at Anchor Point, right?” Kara asked.

“Yeah. We paid to have the place to ourselves. The guys are inviting people from work, and there will be all of us girls and a few of our friends, but it’ll mostly be Army and Navy guys,” Laryn said.

“Mandy has one or two teachers from her school who she wants to invite, and Zita said there’s one medic she works with who she wouldn’t mind including, but since the rest of us work from home, we don’t exactly have a lot of girlfriends. But a bunch of guys is fine with me!” Penny said with a grin.

“Oh yeah, being around a bunch of men in uniform is such a hardship,” Kara joked.

“Exactly,” Penny agreed. “Anyway, so we want it to be a fun time, but not cheap-looking. We know we need to have chicken fingers or my daughter will revolt, but we’re not sure what else to serve. And of course, we’re struggling with the decorations.”

“I’m guessing you need something hearty to eat. I mean, if most of the people are going to be guys, they won’t want finger food or anything fancy,” Kara suggested.

“Yes,” Laryn agreed.

“Is budget an issue?” Kara asked.

“Not really. Tate and Pyro have told us both that whatever we want, we should get,” Laryn said.