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Sounds like you’re going to sell me a timeshare, AJ joked.But Asher and I are in.
I’ll be there, dear, Kristen said.Can I bring Clara and Lena?
Bring them,Robin said just as Jean confirmed she’d be there.
Kelli could definitely go if she rearranged a class at Whole Soul. She sometimes held herself back from her friends, but this time, she tapped out,I can be there, but I’m voting with Alice. We need more details.
All of my cop alarms are going off, Laurel said.But I’m always down for a free lunch, so I’ll be there.
Only Eloise hadn’t responded yet, and Alice had never truly said if she’d be there or not, but Kelli looked up as Shad said, “They’re taking our order, hon. Do you know what you want?”
She glanced at him and then the menu she’d set down. “I’ll have the mango raspberry salad, please,” she said. Then she set her phone aside so she could enjoy her last lunch with Parker before he left for the summer.
Whatever Robin had up her sleeve could wait for a few hours.
ChapterFour
“I’m going to ask them tomorrow,” Robin Grover said as she entered the kitchen. Her oldest daughter, Mandie, sat at the bar, writing something in a notebook. She didn’t look up, and Robin would have to take a sneak peek at her daughter’s musings later.
Duke, her husband, turned to her from the fridge. “That’s great, babe. They’ll say yes, right?”
“I think so,” she said, stepping into his arms. “But it would be better if you could get all your fishing buddies to come help us move. These are mygirlfriends.”
He wrapped her in his arms, and Robin counted herself lucky to be there. Not only that, but Duke would be home for the next two and a half weeks while they packed up everything they owned in the house they’d lived in for twenty years and then moved it into their new house. She’d once taken a lot of weddings to be able to make their ends meet, but she’d only scheduled a few events this summer. Duke had been to Alaska and back on his fishing boat once already this year, and he’d return the moment they were moved into their new house. Then, Robin would be a single parent for the rest of the summer, and Duke would return right before Mandie had to pack everything she owned and move it to New York City.
She was starting at NYU in the fall, and if Robin didn’t think about it for longer than three seconds, she was fine. If she even allowed that fourth second to drag on, she got a little teary. She didn’t want to act like that in front of Mandie, because she wanted her to think Robin believed in her. She did, of course. She was just going to miss her daughter a lot.
“I got the schedule worked out,” Mandie said, and Robin turned out of her husband’s arms to find her daughter holding up the notebook. “If we can get the bride out of the dressing room by four o’clock for the first wedding, then the second bride can take it at that time so she can be ready for her wedding at five.”
Robin smiled at her daughter and rounded the island to see the schedule more clearly. “Have you called Tina to talk to her about this?”
“It shouldn’t even be me doing this,” Mandie said, her eyes shooting daggers at Robin as if it were her fault the wedding venue had double-booked. They’d called Robin yesterday to tell her the wedding she had booked there in only two more weeks wouldn’t actually be able to be held there.
Mandie had taken the call, as she was working for Robin this summer. She also worked at the grocery store, and Robin was proud of her daughter for how responsible and hardworking she was. She’d argued back with Tina and said she’d make it work.
“The first wedding only has the building until four. That’s why Tina booked us in the first place. We agreed to have the four to ten slot.”
“We could call Laney and see if she’ll move the wedding back a half-hour.”
“All the printed materials have gone out,” Mandie said with a shake of her head. “No. I’ll call Tina in the morning.” She snapped the notebook closed and got to her feet. “I found this new recipe in the produce section today, and I want to try it tonight. Is that okay?”
“Someone else cooking for me?” Robin asked. “That’s always okay with me.”
“Yeah,” Duke said. “Me and your mom will go sit outside.” He grinned at Mandie, took Robin’s hand, and led her toward the sliding glass door that opened to their backyard. They sat in the swing, and Duke rocked them back and forth with a push of his toe.
“I am going to miss this backyard,” Robin leaned her head against his bicep.
“Hon, our other place has a backyard nicer than this one.”
“Yeah,” she said. “But this one is full of memories.” She could see all the birthday parties she’d hosted here for the girls. Mandie’s graduation party. Anniversaries. Backyard barbecues before Fourth of July fireworks.
Jamie had loved it when Robin would stake down a long piece of plastic and spray it with the ice-cold water from the hose while she slid down it. She could hear the giggles, see the joy in their eyes, and feel herself wrapping them up in towels when they got too cold.
She smiled to herself, grateful for such a thing as her memories. They weren’t all good, but she’d rather have the good with the bad than not be able to remember anything at all.
A sigh slipped from her lips. “I should tell my mom we’re moving a few days early, right?”
“If you want,” Duke said. “Clara would probably like to move in. Kristen, I know, would like her to be out of that condo.”
