raised the decibel level in the corridor to deafening. There were hugs among the women, back-slapping among the men, and the children jumped up and down in joy. No one would have guessed that they’d all seen each other less than twenty-four hours ago.
The Mannings and the Palmers snaked through the dining room in a long parade as the hostess led them across the room to a table in a far corner set up for ten.
Sarah, Jack’s wife, began to suggest that couples sit opposite each other, but the children had already chosen places. Soren, a slender, fair-haired ten-year-old, grabbed a frosty pitcher of water and started filling glasses. Rosie, a year younger, with glossy black hair, wide brown eyes and a busybody attitude, took a basket of rolls and distributed them to the bread plate at every place.
Ben suggested to Soren that he not fill the glasses to the top and Corie handed Rosie the small tongs that rested beside the basket. “At the foster home,” Corie explained as they sat, “everybody helped put the meal on the table.” She smiled at the children. “Good job, guys.”
Cassie felt a new sense of comfort at being part of this warm, loud group, but also a new insecurity she hadn’t experienced when she’d been with them in Texas. Then, she’d thought her old childhood bugaboo had been beaten. Now, as she watched how confident everyone seemed, she realized she was a little broken. Jack and Corie had had more difficult lives than she’d led, yet she was the one with a leftover emotional tic.
“Hey.” Grady pulled a chair out for her and guided her gently down. “They’re much less alarming than the noise they make,” he said quietly, about to take the chair beside her when Jack shouldered him out of the way.
“You had her company all the way over on the plane,” he said, pointing him to the chair on the other side of him. “And I understand she’s staying in your loft.”
“She is. Turns out, she’s a great cook. I had crepes with blueberry compote for breakfast.”
Jack laughed. “Saved from your own bachelor cooking until the wedding. Thank you.” Jack accepted a menu from a formidable-looking fortyish waitress with a crisp black-and-white uniform and dyed red hair styled in a topknot and bangs. She distributed menus like she was dealing cards, listing off the details of the salmon special. She looked around the table and asked gravely, “Who poured the water?”
Soren raised his hand worriedly. “I did.”
She nodded. “Well done.” And walked away, promising to be right back to take their drink order.
Everyone laughed at Soren’s relieved smile. Ben ruffled his hair and caught Corie’s eye. She sat with Rosie at the end of the table on the opposite side. Their shared look spoke of love and happiness.
Cassie looked away and found Jack struggling for composure. He must have caught the look and was probably overcome to see his sister so at peace. She watched him reach for his glass of water, already empty, and handed him hers.
“Here,” she said.
But Soren had already foreseen the problem. “I got it, Aunt Cassie,” he said, coming around the table to lean over Jack, reach for the pitcher and refilling his glass.
Jack pretended to frown at him. “Am I going to have to tip you?”
Soren, his blue eyes alight with the teasing attention, spread his free hand as though the answer should be obvious. “Corie said I did a good job, and the waitress said ‘well done.’ And she’s a professional.”
Laughter erupted again and Jack grabbed him and gave his shoulder a gentle noogie while he giggled. Grady reached out to save the pitcher.
The waitress returned to take their drink orders. Soren went back to his place beside Ben and everyone got serious about studying the menu.
During lunch, Sarah, a slender woman of medium height, with light brown hair and blue-gray eyes, held up her Caribbean-blue napkin.
“Is this the shade you were talking about for the wedding?” she asked Corie.
Corie nodded, opening her napkin. “It is. In silk. Or charmeuse, it’s even more beautiful, with a softness you can’t quite get in paper. I wish we had time to make dresses for all of you. I think the best thing to do is just wear your favorite dressy dress. I’m wearing one I made for myself.”
“That pretty pink one with the quilted look?” Helen asked. A comfortably plump woman with a warm smile, she was Ben’s natural mother and Jack’s adopted mother.
Corie shook her head. “I’ve been designing a new line, something different—less street chic and more...” She smiled as she thought. “More...elegant. The two of you can just wear whatever dressy dress you have that you love the most. I’ll have to find something for Rosie. The guys are renting suits because neither has one! Helen knows the owner of the rental place and set up an appointment for them in the car on the way over.”
“I’ll try to find a dress in this color,” Helen said. “It’s so pretty.” She stuffed the napkin in her purse. “What else can we do to help? You must be overwhelmed with just a few days to plan while adding two children to your household.”
“I am, a little.” Corie sat quietly, everything about her remarkably calm. Cassie thought she seemed too small and fragile to be able to deal with so much, but she knew her sister had lost her father at twelve, escaped a cruel and negligent stepmother shortly after that, and finally found serenity because of an accidental meeting with a woman who ran a foster home and took her in.
Corie had spent the time since then working as a waitress while studying to be a designer, and helping her foster mother stay afloat financially. She so deserved to be happy.
“But,” Corie went on, “life with Ben is so much more wonderful than I ever thought I’d know. And the kids are going to be an adjustment for both of us, but I know it’ll work in the end. They’re both great.” She laughed lightly. “I hope you don’t mind that your dinner rolls were manhandled. Or rather, Rosie-handled.”
Helen dismissed that with a shake of her head. “Of course not. I think we all grew to love both of them while we were visiting you in Texas. They’re precocious and seem happy with their new lives. But they’re not going to leave you much time to get ready. Seriously, how can we help?”
“I’m not sure where to start,” Corie admitted. “I thought knowing I had a dress to wear was a forward step.”
Sarah took a notebook and pen out of her purse and smiled from one to the other. “You’re right. The dress is very important, and I love that it’s one you designed yourself. So why don’t Cassie and Helen and I divide the rest of the duties?” She made a few notes in her book. In her management persona, she was impressive, and they all waited quietly for her to give instructions.
“How many people?” she asked.
“Fifty, tops,” Corie replied. “Some friends of Ben’s from the police department. Some neighbors. That’s it.”
“Good. That’s manageable. Have you thought about where to have the ceremony?”
Corie made a face. “I called the church while we were still in Texas, and they’re already booked. And there’s so much going on in most of the venues around town because of New Year’s Day.”
Cassie
