“About to walk in the door,” he said.
She hurried to the front door and opened it wide. He was standing there with two bags from McDonalds. “I figured a McDonald’s breakfast would be just what the doctor ordered. Oh, hmm…guess I should have asked the doctor.”
“Sounds good to me. I need fuel to make it through the day. What did you get me?”
“A breakfast burrito with bacon and hash browns with orange juice.”
“Perfect!” She took one of the bags and carried it to the table to help him as he was balancing two orange juices as well.
While they ate, he told her that he and Jeff would be working on some of the windows on the first floor. “I’ve got to get as many switched out before the snow hits, and it’s already mid-October.”
“Yeah but we usually don’t get snow til late December or even January,” she said.
“I want to get the whole house by then. And I need to get the chimney cleaned. We’re going to have some beautiful nights in front of that fireplace this winter.”
“Fall could work for a night in front of the fireplace as well,” she said.
“This is true. I’ll schedule that for this week if I can make it work.”
Soon all of their helpers descended on them, and the women made short work of unloading the kitchen boxes. “What next?” Mom asked.
“Master bath,” Shelby said quickly. “I took a bath last night, and I had to drip dry because we didn’t have anything in there unpacked.”
When they got to the master bedroom, Tricia said, “I could work a couple of extra days this week if you want. Most of the house could be unpacked by the end of the week that way.”
Shelby thought about it for a moment before nodding. “That would help a ton.”
By mid-day, they’d done a few rooms, and Shelby grabbed her phone. “I’m going to order a bunch of different foods from Olive Garden, and then we can all just eat family style.”
“Perfect,” Mom said, wiping her hands on her jeans. “I cannot wait to see this house when it’s done. Nate is a genius.”
“He is,” Rachel said.
While the others talked, Shelby put in a DoorDash order for Olive Garden before putting her phone down. “It’ll be about an hour. They must be slammed by the after-church crowd.”
“And this is the last week you’re missing, right?” Mom asked.
“We’ve been there every Sunday except today and the day after we married. We’re not skipping out often.”
“I know. I just know you didn’t go often while you were in medical school.”
“Half the time I was working Sundays or late on Saturday. I promise, I’m not having a crisis of faith. I’ll be there next week, unless I’m delivering a baby or something. Sometimes my work has to come first.”
Mom nodded. “I just worry with Nate working on the house on the weekends that you won’t go to church on your own.”
“Nate has no intention of missing church either. Stop worrying so much!”
Mom smiled sheepishly. “You are my baby, you know.”
“I know. And I love you for worrying.”
“Are you going to be getting a new car soon?” Mom asked.
“Tomorrow,” Shelby answered.
“Are you being facetious?”
“Nope. Nate and I talked about it last night. We’re going to go look at vehicles after work tomorrow.”