Page 56 of Change of Plans

“Sorry I’m late, but I’ve got goodies,” Patty said.

Then two things happened at once.

First, Cecily opened her mouth. And spewed. The pinkish goop arced in a trajectory that included the shoes, pants, and legs of Adele, Harvey, and Patty.

Unaware of the dramatic reversal of Cecily’s jelly doughnuts, Patty kept moving forward, boxes blocking her view. She stepped in the stinky pile and slipped. Yelping, Patty tossed the pastry containers, arms pinwheeling for balance. She flailed into Adele and Harvey, and all three senior citizens shuffled together, sliding and hanging on to each other.

They managed not to fall, but the cupcakes weren’t so lucky. All four boxes flew with enough oomph to launch the lids off. Bunny cupcakes were ejected into the air…

Until splatting like wet, poofy grenades on the puke-covered floor.

One box of cupcakes managed to stay shut, and landed unscathed by the door.

“Oh, Cici.” Bryce breathed through her mouth to avoid inhaling the bilious stench. She reached for her niece, who was miraculously clean, putting an arm around her frail shoulders.

Addison tiptoed, her fairy wings trembling as she leaned over the river of vomit.

“Only, guess what? This box didn’t land in the puke. An’ I can see the cupcakes! They are the cutiest little bunnies. Can we have one?”

Bryce guided Cici to the nearest chair, biting the inside of her cheeks as she gazed over at Adele and Harvey.

They stood there, the wide-eyed victims of instant karma. Their shoes and legs were splattered with pinkish-red, chunky bits.

“H-hold on, I’ll get you all a towel.” Bryce bit back the inappropriate giggles welling up inside. But a few bubbled out.

“Is shelaughingat this?” Adele hissed in what had to be the world’s loudest stage whisper.

Choking off more giggles, Bryce grabbed clean towels from the kitchen. Wiping at her leaking eyes—she wasn’t sure if they were tears of slapstick mirth or the impending guilt storm she sensed coming her way—she snagged the mop bucket, sticking it under the industrial sink faucet to fill. By the time she returned with the bucket and cleaning rags, she’d regained control over her emotions.

Kate had handed out napkins and produced an empty, sparkling gift bag. Patty, Adele, and Harvey were busy mopping themselves up, tossing the dirty paper napkins in the party bag.

“Here.” She handed Patty a towel, wincing at the barf on the poor woman’s pretty beige dress shoes. “If it doesn’t come out, I’ll pay for them. Thanks for making those, and I—I’m so sorry, Patty. I’ll get it all cleaned up in here.”

“No harm, no foul.” Patty’s amiable smile was in place as she wiped off her shoes. “Addison is right—one box survived unscathed. It’s our own Easter miracle!”

Bryce smiled her thanks at the older woman who’d been such a help to her since arriving in Wellsville. She handed a towel to Adele and Harvey, who were both looking way less forgiving and genial. Aware that she should apologize to them for her rant—if not for the words themselves, then at least for her tone and the fact that she’d blasted it all in front of everyone—she opened her mouth to try, but Harvey spoke.

“We’ve had enough. We’re going to go.”

That settled that. The apology evaporated from Bryce’s lips. She’d spun and gone to retrieve the mop bucket when she passed Cecily.

Her middle niece was using her arm, combined with the sleeve of her camouflage dress, to wipe her mouth before declaring to everyone, “I feel much better now. Can I have one of those bunny cupcakes, Aunt Beamer?”

“Let me mop this up, and then—”

Bryce caught a glimpse of black blurred movement from the corner of her eye before her oldest niece came charging into the café. June’s attention was locked in awed fascination on Drake Matthews, not registering any of the mess on the floor before her.

Smash!

The only remaining box of bunny cupcakes fell victim to the bottom of June’s zombie-stomping boots. It crumpled into a wad of pink packaging and white frosting, a few sugar eyes staring out of the mess.

Cecily shrieked as if June had crushed a nest of real baby bunnies, and Addison raced over to tug on her oldest sister’s leg.

“Get off, you’re smashing the cupcakes, Junie!”

June looked down, and her eyes bulged. “Who put those there?” She raised her boot. The cupcake box had formed around it, so the entire thing lifted as a unit until Addison pulled it off June’s leg with a wail.

Tracking through the puddle of vomit, she set the cupcake box on a nearby table, and yanked off the lid.

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