Page 38 of Where It All Began
But Phoebe was convinced that the jig was up when she saw Sheriff Garfunkle approach with Michael Cardona.She was about to be arrested for lying her ass off. She just knew it.
“Phoebe, thanks so much for watching all the kids so we could go to dinner with John and Elvira the other night.” Hazel Garfunkle smiled winningly as she dragged Michael into their circle. “We really appreciated having a date night.”
Michael “Mr. Smooth” Cardona turned an interesting shade of baby pink and nodded until Phoebe thought his head might snap off his neck.
Phoebe managed to choke out a “Ha. No problem. Ha. Ha.” She couldn’t seem to stop laughing until Rose kicked her.
“Michael and Hazel have four kids,” Elvira lied, stepping into her role as the fictitious Mrs. Pierce and making the introductions to Phoebe’s family.
Michael’s head bobbed again, and he made a choking noise.
John clapped him on the back and grinned. “You okay there, Cardona?”
“Just great.”
Phoebe was just starting to enjoy herself when she spotted striped culottes heading their way.Ah, crap.
“You must be Denny and Diane,” Mrs. Nordemann said, shoving her way into the circle. “It’s so lovely to see you again. This is just like a family reunion!”
Phoebe again made the introductions and held her breath until her vision started to go black. There was no way to predict on which side Mrs. Nordemann’s loyalties lay. On one hand, she was family. On the other, she’d made it clear that marrying Phoebe off to John was her goal this summer.
Phoebe felt a nudge in her back and turned.
“Kid’s almost done with his cake,” John hissed in her ear.
Like clockwork, Billy opened his chocolate smeared mouth and let out a blood-curdling shriek. Phoebe clapped a hand over his mouth as her parents looked on in horror. “Ha. Ha. I think that means it’s nap time. Ha.” This time Rose elbowed her in the side. “How about I put the kids down for their nap, and you can show my family around, Elvira?”
Her friend smiled nicely for their audience. “I’d love to,” she said through gritted teeth. She leaned in. “Are you fricking crazy?”
“Please, please, please. Mrs. Nordemann might be about to sell me out, and if she doesn’t, someone is going to come looking for this baby, accuse me of kidnapping, and then I’ll be dragged back home left to spend the rest of my life wondering how everything would be different if I’d gotten my degree and moved out of my parents’ house.”
“I don’t know anything about farming,” Elvira hissed back.
“Perfect, neither does my dad. Just sell it, and I’ll be indebted to you for life.”
Elvira turned back to Phoebe’s family. “I’d be happy to show you around. Have a good nap, kids.” She patted Billy awkwardly on the head, and John shoved the baby into Phoebe’s arms.
“If you’ll excuse me, I left the grill unattended,” he announced.
Coward,Phoebe thought as she watched him high-tail it away from the mess.
Elvira led everyone off in the direction of the barn, and Phoebe cringed when she heard her friend’s comments about the barn. “Now this here’s the butter churning area,” Elvira said, gesturing toward the door to the barn. “It’s a sterile room so I can’t show you inside.”
“If I get through this, I promise to hardly ever lie anymore,” Phoebe promised the heavens as she deposited Millie back in her playpen and directed Billy back to his parents.
“Oh, there you are son. I wasn’t sure if we brought you,” his father said.
“Don’t mind him. He’s an over-indulger,” Ernest Washington whispered to her with a wink as he breezed past. “Also, don’t eat brownies made by a Fitzsimmons.”
“Thanks for the tip.”
Phoebe caught up with the tour just as everyone was coming out of the house. “And there you have it. Pierce Acres,” Elvira was saying.
“You have a lovely home,” Diane said. Her mother, still smiling, grabbed Phoebe’s arm and dragged her off the porch. “You’re living here alone with John?” she hissed.
“Oh, my God, Mom! How did you know?”
“There are no pictures in the house, no toys, no crib, and Elvira thought the linen closet upstairs was the bathroom before she opened the door.”
