Page 37 of The Wedding Toast
“What are you girls going to get up to this morning?”
“I don’t really know.I feel like everyone else is so busy getting things ready, and there’s not much left for me to do,” said Becca.
“That’s as it should be,” her mom said.“You need to make the most of this time to hang out with Callie.”
“I’m up for a walk if you are,” said Callie.“All this good food is making me worry that I won’t be able to fit into my bridesmaid’s dress by Saturday.”
Elena laughed.“You need feeding up.You should come and visit more often.”
Becca could only smile when her mom nodded her agreement.“You know your folks would love it if you lived closer to Becca.”
Callie opened her mouth to reply but stopped when Jacob and Bentley entered the kitchen.
“Hey, everyone.”He greeted them all with a smile, came to Becca, and leaned in to kiss her cheek.“How’s it going?”
“Everything’s wonderful,” she told him.“I’m just wondering how to be useful.”
“That’s the point.You don’t need to be useful – you just need to be ready on Saturday.And if it’s any consolation, I’m only waiting around at the moment.That’s why Bentley’s here as well.”
Bentley smiled around at them.“Smoke’s going to land here to drop Mom and Russ off.”
“Oh, that’s right,” said Becca.She glanced at Jacob.“Xander and Tori are coming with them, aren’t they?”
“They are, but they probably won’t stick around for long – they’ll want to go and get settled into wherever they’re staying.”
Becca didn’t know how to feel about that.She didn’t know Xander and Tori well, but she really liked them, and she was hoping that Xander didn’t feel like he couldn’t stay here – in his family home – because of her.
Jacob rested his hand on her shoulder.“I’ve told you before, sweetheart, he wouldn’t want to stay here anyway.”
“Neither would Tori,” Bentley added.“Those two like to do their own thing.They didn’t want to stay at our place either.”
“Can I get you anything?”her mom asked.
Jacob and Bentley both shook their heads.
“Is Chuck around?”Jacob asked.
“He’s off with Walt, looking at the flowers again,” said her mom.“Although what else they think they can do at this point, I don’t know.”
“They’re just trying to make sure that everything’s perfect,” said Callie.“I know this morning they were talking about having the ones from the greenhouse ready for Alara to use on the arch.”
“How’s this arch coming?”asked Bentley.“I heard that Alara’s daughter is making a lot of friends around here.”
Becca laughed.“Little Zia.I love that girl, she’s wonderful.”
Jacob smiled big as he told Bentley, “She’s a little character.She’s going around naming everyone.”
Elena chuckled.“Has she come up with any more new ones, do you know?”
“I got two names,” said Callie with a laugh.
“Two?”Becca asked.“I thought she decided that you were Miss Callie Clay.”She looked around at the others.“Get this – when Callie said that her name was Callie Claiborne, Zia decided that it meant clay burn, that she burns the clay, you know, when she’s making her pottery.”
Everyone laughed at that, and Callie rolled her eyes.“That’s right, and when I tried to explain to her that’s not really my name, she decided that I am Lady Sunshine.”
“Oh, I like that,” said Becca.“It suits you.”
Her mom nodded.“It does.”
