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He glanced to his car idling in front of the house—he did have a date waiting for him—then turned his gaze back to Allie. “Let me know if I can do anything else. You have my number.”
She and Laney managed to give him looks that said, “Not on your life,” and, “Why are you still here?”
“Sure, Sam. You should get going,” Allie said. “I wouldn’t want to take you away from your date any longer than I have.”
He knew a losing battle when he saw one. He nodded.
Now to finish up his date.
How the hell had he gotten himself into this mess?
Again?
…
“How you holding up?”
“I’m fine. I just overdid it.” Allie appreciated the concern. She did. But she just wanted to get on with her day.
“I meant about…” Laney nodded her head in the direction of where Sam and Meredith were driving away.
Allie forced a laugh. “Why would I care about them? It’s not like I’m even interested in Sam. He was just a jerk I liked in high school. That’s all.”
Laney just smiled, a little sadly. “Sure.”
“Mom, it’s for you,” Vi said running in with Allie’s cell phone. “It’s Grandma Peg.”
Darn. That kid needed to be taught the beauty of letting calls go to voicemail.
“Hello?” she said tentatively, hoping that the call had been disconnected by accident.
“What is this I hear from Vi about you passing out? In the middle of the afternoon? Where’s Laney? I thought you girls were hanging out together?”
“We were. We went to my church’s spring carnival, remember? It was nothing. Probably just the sun.”
“I wouldn’t say it was nothing. Vi tells me that man Sam was there and gave you all a lift home. Really, Allison.” Peg’s voice was shrill. “You should have called me. There is no reason to keep bringing that man into your life. And to have a seizure, right there in front of him and everyone. I hope you were wearing pants, at least. I wouldn’t want to think of giving him and the whole world a view of your lady parts.”
Allie rolled her eyes at Laney who was flipping through a magazine on the couch, a small, satisfied smile on her lips. “First, Sam was already there, and he offered. Second, it wasn’t a seizure. I just felt a little faint. And third, yes, I was wearing pants.” This earned a chortle from Laney. “As for Sam, he just left. With his date.”
“Ah. Good,” Peg said, sounding entirely too satisfied. “Now, are you going to listen to me and call the doctor? At your age, Allie, you have to start taking better care of your health. Is it possible you experienced a hot flash, dear? It’s never too early, you know. I left those vitamins in your cupboard. Try them. They’ve done wonders for me.”
That was a matter of opinion. “Don’t forget,” she said to get Peg off the subject, “Vi’s party will be on Sunday. I’m thinking about three. Have you heard whether your sisters can make it?”
“I imagine so.” Peg paused. “Are you expecting…a lot of people? You know, so I can tell everyone how much to bring?”
“Just the usual group. Our family, Evan and his family, Ryan and Chelsea, my friend Claire and her fiancé. And Molly, of course.” Allie was certain it was Molly’s presence Peg was trying to fish out. “But no one has to bring anything. I’ve got it covered.”
“Hmm. Well, seeing as how this is going to be a family event, you’re not serving alcohol, are you? There’s really no place for that kind of stuff at a little girl’s seventh birthday party—especially not on the Sabbath.”
Oh, Lord. A dry party? No way was that going to happen. Allie would need all the liquor she could consume to get through the day. What she did for her daughter… “Well, I should be going. I need to lie down for a bit,” she said, though she had no intention of sleeping.
“All right, dear. By the way, you’re not inviting that obnoxious author fellow on Sunday, are you?”
Okay, maybe Molly hadn’t been the only object of Peg’s fishing expedition.
“Not a chance,” she assured her. “So rest easy.”
No way. She had definitely learned her lesson.
