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Rory made a humming sound. “How old is she?”
“What does that matter?”
“It doesn’t. I’m curious.”
Mandy chewed the inside of her mouth to stop saying anything else. Rory would answer the question when she was ready to.
She cleaned the coffee machine.
“I think he’s a rat for not communicating with her yet, especially as she was a virgin. Guys can be real a-holes. Sounds to me like she picked one to have her first tango with. I’d tell her to move on. He probably already has.”
“Okay, I’ll pass that on.”
“At least the experience was good though, right? That’s got to count for something.”
“It was, so she said. But I think she hoped for more.”
“Like I said, guy’s a loser.” Rory leapt off the counter. “I’ll catch you later. Thanks for the sustenance.”
Mandy was still thinking about what Rory had said when her aunts arrived.
“I’m taking Marla to the hospital to have her leg checked soon, Mandy.”
“Okay, Aunt Sarah, I’ll lock up.”
“It’s bridge night, dear, so we’ll probably just go straight to Mrs. L’s house. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Mandy looked at her aunts and came to a decision. If she was going to do this, she needed their consent.
“Can I talk to you both before you go?”
Aunt Marla wore a red dress today with a flirty little hem and Aunt Sarah was in pink. Both, of course, looked amazing, as they always did.
“Of course.” They sat at one of the tables.
“Is everything all right, darling?” Aunt Sarah said.
“Yes, I’m fine… better than fine, actually.”
They both beamed.
“We’re so glad you’re taking life in both hands now, Mandy. We don’t talk about what happened, but we need you to know how proud we are of the young lady you’ve become,” Aunt Marla said.
“I’m trying.”
“We know. We’ve always been proud of you, dear, never forget that. But lately, it’s been like watching a flower open up to the sun.”
“That was pretty, Marla.”
“Thank you, Sarah.”
“Now. What I wanted to discuss was the shop next door. I know we discussed it briefly but I think we should go for it. But I won’t do that unless you’re both on board.”
They nodded.
“As I explained, I want to lease the shop, knock out that wall, and make Tea Total bigger. Then I want to put in a reading nook and sell books and have story time.” Mandy said the last sentence so fast she wasn’t sure her aunts understood it.
They turned as one to look at the wall, then back at her.
