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As always, people stopped in their tracks when Gus trotted past, commenting excitedly on his sweater. He rewarded every single one of them with kisses, and for one little girl in particular, he showed her exactly how fast he could chase his tail, eliciting a giggle of delighted surprise from both the girl and her mother before they continued on their merry way.
Mindy stopped in at the bakery for a moment, checking in on Allison who had agreed to run it for the day due to Mindy’s plans. She had been nervous about it, since it was Allison’s first day handling things entirely on her own. But the younger woman assured her that everything was going fine, and it appeared to be the truth. So Mindy and Gus headed back home for breakfast and to wait for her friends to arrive.
At eleven a.m. sharp, her doorbell rang. She could hear her friends laughing and talking on the other side of the heavy wooden door before she even had the opportunity to pull it open. Shelley, Lacy, Valerie, Sarah, and Colette stood on her front stoop, grinning at her and urging her to hurry up, since they had shopping to do.
The six of them walked down the sidewalk, heading for downtown Snowy Pine Ridge as they chatted excitedly.
“All right,” Mindy demanded, glancing sidelong at Valerie. “Let me see it in the daylight.”
Valerie grinned, extending her hand to show off the engagement ring. The women oohed and aahed over it, and Mindy had to admit that it was absolutely spectacular. When she glanced back at her friend, ready to tell her exactly that, she realized that Valerie was looking a bit nervous.
“What’s wrong?” Mindy asked. “Are you worried about the ring? I promise, we really do love it. It’s spectacular.”
Valerie chuckled and shook her head. “No, no, it’s not that. I just have something to ask. Something foryou, actually,” she added, turning toward Lacy. “Clark and I don’t want to wait long to get married, and we had a bit of a crazy idea. We were thinking about saying our vows at the party at St. Nick’s Place. We wouldn’t completely take over the party, we promise! But would you be willing to let us get married there that night?”
As Valerie went into more detail, explaining how she and Clark wanted to get married during the holiday party and how they wanted to chip in and help with the cost and the décor, excitement built in Mindy’s chest. Colette and Sarah shared a thrilled look, and Lacy agreed enthusiastically, telling Valerie that it would be an honor for them to get married at her event.
“Thank you!” Valerie looked like she might faint with relief. “I’m so excited, and Clark will be too!”
“Of course.” Lacy was beaming. “You know, I was just telling Derek that I wanted the party this year to top every other year, and now I’m positive it’s going to.”
The women chattered excitedly about the upcoming party and the wedding that would be part of it, only breaking off when they reached their first stop for the day, darting inside a clothing shop with a newfound zeal as they began to look for dresses to wear for the wedding.
The shop’s owner, a woman named Judith, was in her late fifties and had at one time been a costume designer on Broadway, watched them with thinly veiled amusement. She chimed in from time to time, giving them critiques on what colors matched their complexion and what jewelry they should use to accessorize.
By the time they were finished, each woman held an oversized bag containing the perfect dress, shoes, and jewelry for what they were now all affectionately calling “the event of the season.”
Mindy’s stomach gave a loud, obvious growl and Colette turned to look at her.
“Hungry?” she joked, and Mindy nodded, laughing when Shelley’s stomach did the same.
The women decided that since shopping had completely and utterly exhausted them, they would grab lunch together at Frosty’s Shack. They walked toward it, shopping bags swinging merrily from their arms, when Rudolph Hutchins’ truck sputtered past.
“How’s Rudolph doing, anyway?” Colette asked, turning to glance at Valerie.
“He’s great. He’s so excited about the engagement,” Valerie answered. “He pulled me aside last night and gave me the biggest hug, and I’m so glad the proposal happened at the ice rink. I think that meant a lot to him. I actually think I’m going to ask him to walk me down the aisle, but I haven’t had a chance to talk to him about it yet. He’ll be thrilled when I tell him the wedding is going to happen soon though.”
“Do you think he gets lonely?” Lacy mused, cocking her head to the side as she watched his truck fade into the distance.
“Yeah, I do, actually,” Shelley chimed in. “He always lights up when the kids show up for classes at the rink, and I think he’s gotten to be a lot more social since Valerie moved to town, but I’d love to see him put himself out there and find someone.”
“So would I.” Valerie nodded. “Knowing that Rudolph once loved my mother came as a shock when I first found out, but I know he’s capable of that kind of love. And it would be amazing to see him find that kind of happiness again.”
“Maybe we should fix him up?” Mindy asked and was rewarded with excited agreement from all of their friends.
They discussed Rudolph’s love life and who they could possibly fix him up with as they walked into Frosty’s, and Mindy paused when they entered to inhale deeply as her mouth began to water.
Frosty’s had an all-day brunch menu that she was dying to get her hands on, and she was already plotting out all the things she wanted to order as the women slid into a large booth along the far wall of the restaurant.
“Should we order a little mimosa from Louise to celebrate all the good news?” Colette asked, giving an excited shimmy as she grabbed one of the menus from the center of the table.
“There aren’t even mimosas on the menu,” Sarah retorted with a chuckle.
“Doesn’t mean Louise won’t have the stuff to make them in the back.” Colette waggled her eyebrows, eliciting another round of laughter.
Mindy glanced at Shelley, waiting for her response. Usually, Shelley was the first one to start talking about mimosas or margaritas, and she expected her friend to start planning exactly how they were going to persuade Louise to bring it out for them. But instead, she found the woman blushing, glancing down at the table with a hesitant look on her face.
“I actually won’t be drinking,” Shelley said softly. The chatter at the table died out as the other five sets of eyes turned to look at her. “I’m pregnant.”
