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“Yeah!” Trace says. “Like Huddy said, make sure he comes with good accessories. Like a car.”
“And toys,” Hudson adds.
“I’ll keep that in mind. A car and some toys are a good idea. It takes time to find a new daddy, though.”
Their faces fall. I hate disappointing them. But I also know firsthand what short attention spans they have. They’ll forget about it pretty fast once they’ve unwrapped their new video games. “Don’t worry. You guys know how lovable your mom is. She’ll find someone sometime. And maybe we should help herstartlooking. I’ll see what I can do.”
“Yay!” They get down from the couch and start jumping up and down, the ornaments on the tree shaking violently. Before I can corral them back, Trace stops.
“Auntie Meelie, if you get us a daddy, maybe Santa can still get us toys,” he says.
“That sounds fair,” I say, laughing. They both jump on top of me again.
Felicity comes into the living room and laughs when she sees her sons blanketing me. “Sorry, Meelie. I tried to keep them out, but they snuck past me when I was cooking at the stove.”
Ginny and I share a look, her alarm twinned with my feelings exactly. Things don’t generally go well when Felicity cooks. Fire, catastrophe, mayhem—and people running away screaming—are the likeliest results.
“I’ll take over in the kitchen.” I roll Trace and Hudson gently off my lap and get up from the couch.
Felicity exhales with visible relief. “Thanks, Meelie. Sorry. I was trying to make you something nice for your birthday, but, uh, it’s not really turning out. In fact, sorry. There’s nothing in there that you could call dinner.”
It’s so kind that Felicity keeps trying to cook despite all evidence that she should cease immediately. I squeeze her arm. “Thanks, sis. You didn’t have to do that.”
She smiles and shrugs. “You do so much for us. I wanted to do something to show our appreciation.” I know she appreciates me, just as I appreciate her. She and the boys are my family. I’d do anything for them. And the truth is we lean on each other. We’ve had to. We’d already lost Mom and Dad, so when Mark left her before Hudson was born, I ended up being the one holding Felicity’s hand in the delivery room. We’ve been there for each other ever since.
And Hudson stands a better chance of seeing his father on TV than actually meeting him.
Ginny jumps up. “Actually, I’d already planned to take the whole family out to dinner tonight to celebrate Amelia’s birthday. How does the Cordial Diner sound?”
Trace and Hudson shout, “Yay!” Hudson bounces in place, clapping, and after a second, Trace does too.
Felicity’s eyes dart around in alarm. “Y’all can go without me. I mean, I’ll have to show up there later tonight for my shift.”
“Oh, come on.” Ginny beams her winning smile all over Felicity’s objections. “It’ll be fun for you to get waited on for once.” Her eyes gleam with mischief. “You can make your coworkers jump at your beck and call. Make huge demands. Be really high maintenance.”
Felicity’s face fills with horror. “Oh, I couldn’t do that.”
“Sure you could,” Ginny insists.
“I’d never want to make anyone’s job harder.” Felicity turns plaintive eyes to me, wordlessly imploring me to call off the eager watch dog that is Ginny.
“That’s okay,” Ginny says, catching the look. “We’ll just do it for you.”
“She’s kidding!” I bend to help Hudson tie his shoes. “We’ll be model diners. Your coworkers will barely even know we’re there.”
ChapterTwo
Oliver
They cause a stir the minute they step through the door.
All the diners at the Cordial Diner turn to regard the energetic little crew. A young boy jumps from one black tile to the next white or black one and then backward according to some game of his own that doesn’t seem to have any discernible rules but has a lot of loud positive affirmations for himself. His older brother follows. There’s Ginny Thompson. Of course I remember her from elementary school when she was always hanging around. She’s no doubt the architect of tonight’s excursion as she herds the group and directs the proceedings with her pointer finger aimed at employees and diners alike. She’s practically pulling Felicity Taylor inside as Felicity tries to cling to the edge of the doorway.
I crane my neck to peer past the other diners, hoping she’s with them, straining to catch sight of the one person my eyes are hungry to see.
And then she’s there.
Amelia Taylor.
