Page 60 of Pretty Relentless

“This is perfect, thank you.”

“Can I put in an order?” she offers.

I turn and look at the specials board, happy to see Saul’s bacon-wrapped meatloaf listed. “You still have some left?”

She nods. “He’s been making double batches lately, so we’ve actually been making it through the day.”

“Green beans?” I nod as she scurries off to the kitchen to put in my order. When that’s done, she takes off her apron anddrops down onto the bench across from me. “What a day,” she says, leaning her head back against the wall behind the booth.

“We can do this another time,” I suggest.

Ellie waves off my comment. “It’s okay. TD should be here shortly, and then we’ll head home. He had team lift and a leadership council meeting for the team,” she informs me, referring to the football team her husband coaches.

“If you’re sure,” I start, hating to keep her here if she’s ready to go home and put her feet up.

“I’m sure. The reason I asked you to stop by is to see if you were interested in helping me with a baby shower. Well, two baby showers, actually,” she says, her eyes bright with excitement.

“I’d love to help,” I insist without needing to hear a single detail.

“Really? Oh, thank you so much. Both Blair and Hallie said they’d help throw the other’s shower, but that just seems silly. I mean, I know they’re best friends and sisters-in-law, but they shouldn’t have to lift a finger to do anything, especially if we combine their showers into one.”

“Oh, I like that,” I tell her, taking a drink of water.

“At first, I wasn’t sure about that. They both deserve their own day to be showered, but once Hallie suggested it, the idea didn’t seem so bad.”

“Those two have been best friends forever,” I agree, knowing they’d love to have their showers together. Their babies—who will be cousins—are due a month apart.

“Agreed. Patience offered to host the showers at their house, but I was afraid that might be too uncomfortable for Blair’s mom.”

Blair’s mom and dad split up the summer between our junior and senior year of high school, thanks to her dad’s affair with his much younger nurse, Patience. Once Frankand Donna’s divorce was finalized, Donna and Blair moved to Merrillville, Indiana, while Frank and Patience got married one week after the divorce. They also had a daughter, Aggie, who is eight now, and even though it’s taken a long time to get to a place of common ground, that wasn’t always the case, so I can understand Ellie’s worry where the exes are concerned.

“We could rent the community center,” I suggest.

“I think that might be the easiest,” she agrees. “I called this morning to see what dates are available next month. February twenty-sixth is a Sunday.”

My brain starts to do the math. “Yikes. That doesn’t give us a lot of time.” About six weeks to be exact.

“No, but we can totally do it. We just need to confirm the venue and date. Once we have that, we can finalize invites and get those in the mail. Blair and Hallie are both working on a registry, and what I was hoping you’d help me with is the decorations. You’re so crafty and creative, I think you could come up with some cute stuff.”

I nod. “I’d love to,” I tell her enthusiastically. “Blair is having a girl, so that’s easy. The tricky one is going to be Hallie, since they want to be surprised.”

“Hallie and Logan are doing a forest animals theme in very neutral, light colors, and Gabe and Blair are doing everything pink and girly,” she confirms.

“Well, I’ll figure something out,” I state, ready to go home and start planning. “I can help with invites and whatever else you need.”

“Thank you. All the moms have volunteered to help too, so we’ll have plenty of hands.” There are several, including Donna, Blair’s mom, Patience, her stepmom, Debbie, Hallie and Gabe’s mom, and Patty, Logan’s mom. Not to mention the grandmas.

“Well, you tell me what you want me to do, and I’ll do it.”

The bell chimes, signaling a server to the kitchen for a completed order. When Ellie glances over there and sees the to-go bag, she jumps up and goes to retrieve it. “Here’s your food.”

“Thank you,” I reply, pulling out a twenty from my wallet. “Keep the change.”

She gives me a grateful smile. “Thanks. I’ll call and book the community center tomorrow and text you.”

“Are we sure Hallie and Blair are available that day?”

“They both told me they’d make whatever date we picked work. Gabe may have to be on-call for the clinic, but he promised to cover for Blair so she had nothing on her calendar,” she adds.

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