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Baker snickered. “That sounds like your therapist talking.”
“Probably.” I kissed Ella on the head. “I think I would like something to eat now. As much as I want to crawl under the covers and hide, the food truck awaits.”
“Don’tyou have to be at work soon?” I shoved a bite of scrambled eggs in my mouth.
Baker checked her watch. “I have a few minutes before I need to go.”
The dining room was practically empty except for us. The one little boy who was with his mother let out a high-pitched squeal. Ella came to life and mimicked him, only louder. Satisfied that she’d bested him, she went right back to sleep.
A throat cleared from the doorway.
“Marlow?” She was here because of Andrew. Because I’d hurt him.
She shifted uncertainly. “I came in as someone was leaving. I told Mrs. Quinn I was stopping by, but I didn’t know the protocol—”
“It’s fine.” Baker waved her over.
“I, uh, well, I’ve been thinking about what you said at Dino’s. I came to volunteer.”
Relief swept through me. She didn’t know yet.
“Have you had breakfast?” I asked, pointing toward my plate with my fork.
“Yeah.” She took a seat beside me and looked at her lap. This wasn’t the same woman we’d had dinner with. She was almost shy, which didn’t suit her.
“Let me finish up, and I’ll take you to Mrs. Quinn.”
“I should have called or something,” she said to herself.
“Marlow.” I waited until she looked at me. “You’re welcome here any time.”
Her posture relaxed, but she still appeared out of her element. And that’s when I realized what spurred her strange behavior. She didn’t like the unknown, being out of her depth. When in her element, she was a force to be reckoned with. Out of it, she didn’t know what to do with herself.
“I don’t know what I came to do. I got up this morning and felt I needed to be here.” She glanced around the dining room. “Where is everyone?”
“Work. Doing chores. Asleep,” Baker supplied. “This is kinda late around here.”
It was barely eight, but she was telling the truth. The women here didn’t slack off once they found their feet. We had lives to rebuild.
“I thought I was early.” Marlow made a face, and I laughed.
Mrs. Quinn entered the dining room, and my eyes bugged when I saw who was with her. She came straight to our table, doing a double take when she saw Marlow.
“I’m here to volunteer,” Marlow blurted.
“I have a whole list of things I could use your help with,” Mrs. Quinn returned with her kind smile. Marlow let out a satisfied noise and relaxed even more. “This is Cricket.”
The girl who’d tried to steal Vivian’s purse at the baseball game shrunk behind Mrs. Quinn.
“I’m glad you came,” I said softly.
She peered around Mrs. Quinn at me, and then her gaze found Ella. The set of plastic keys rested on her tummy. My baby didn’t go anywhere without them.
“It’s her favorite thing,” I said, motioning toward the toy. “Sometimes I think she likes them better than me.”
Cricket looked horrified until she saw my grin. “I’m glad she likes them,” she said shyly.
“Trish, could you use some help on the food truck today?” Mrs. Quinn was back to business.
