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“You’re knittingyour friend a wedding dress?” Stevie’s hands drop to her hips. “Hold on, Eloise. Just wait a minute.”
I exchange knowing glances with Astrid. Stevie is about to make a big ask of me. I anticipated as much when my cousin asked if I had any news to share, and I answered by telling her about my Penny project.
“Eloise, can you please…”
“Stevie?” Astrid interrupts her daughter with a soft brush of her fingers over Stevie’s cheek. “You don’t need a wedding dress.”
“Mom!” Stevie drops both hands into her palms. “Why would you say that? I’m way too young for that. Everyone knows I’m not getting married until I’m thirty. That’s forever from now.”
“It’s not that long,” Astrid says with a melancholy note in her tone. “Look how quickly you’re growing up.”
Stevie peeks at her mom from between two spread fingers. “I wish I was older. I want to drive and go to college.”
“You have plenty of time for that,” I tell her. “Being grown-up isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
Stevie finally drops both hands. “I guess not. I fell on my way to school last week, and you fell… where did you fall?”
I thought I could brush off all further discussion about the bandage on my head when I walked into the brownstone and greeted not only Astrid and her little family, but Berk’s siblings and their partners.
I announced that I had tripped on a grate on the sidewalk when I was wearing heels and hit the pavement headfirst.
Astrid had rushed toward me, as had Maren, her sister-in-law, and Stevie.
They all offered hugs and when I entered the main living room, everyone else in attendance did too.
Astrid not only landed a wonderful husband and daughter, she’s part of the Morgan family. Berk’s younger brother, Keats, and Maren have a sweet baby boy named Weber. Sinclair, Berk’s sister, is expecting her first baby with her fiancé, Jameson Sheppard. They are an incredibly kind and welcoming group of people.
My cousin has told me more than once I fit right in. I feel I do.
“It wasn’t close to home,” I answer Stevie’s question as vaguely as I can. “I took a cab back to my apartment.”
Astrid smiles at my description of the place she used to live. She has made it very clear that I can live there forever if I choose to. One day, I’ll leave the security of it behind and venture into an apartment meant for me.
“That’s rough.” Stevie blows out a burst of air. “Are you sure you’re okay? Gaines is coming. He’s a doctor. He can check your head.”
“I’m fine.” I tap her hand. “I think you were about to ask me a question. Is it related to the dress I’m knitting for Penny?”
“Yes.” She steps closer to where I’m sitting on a stool next to the kitchen island.
I offered to help Astrid with meal preparation, but Keats dove into that before he wandered off to tease his brother about the apron he found in a drawer that had ‘Big Berk’s BBQ’ stamped across the front of it.
I knew it was a birthday gift from his wife, but apparently, Keats hadn’t seen it until today.
“What would you like to ask me?” I lean closer to her. “I’m pretty sure I’ll say yes to whatever it is.”
That brings a bright smile to her face. Her blue eyes light up. “There is a school dance in two months. A knitted dress would be divine.”
I smile at her choice of words. “I can knit a divine dress.”
“That’s light blue?” she questions, her hands moving in a diagonal downward slice in front of her. “Maybe it could have a white stripe that goes from my shoulder to the bottom.”
She emphasizes that with a tug of the bottom hem of the red dress she’s wearing.
“I can see it now.” I nod. “Maybe a crocheted whale on the belt, and a white cape to go with it?”
“A cape?” She jumps up and down. “You’re serious? You can do that?”
“Eloise,” Astrid whispers my name in a tone I’m all too familiar with.
