Page 30 of Just This Once

One by one, ideas started filtering in, the women calling out ideas both big and small.

“A bake sale.”

“The car wash usually does well . . .”

“A silent auction.”

“A cake walk through the historic houses in the area.”

Finally, after idea after idea was written down, Bug King stood. “What are we, amateurs? Come on, ladies.”

“Let’s think about what’s coming up. Something that will really excite people.” Kate Sullivan brushed aside a wisp of her silky brown hair as she tapped her foot.

“Mother’s Day is around the corner,” Lark offered.

“Mother’s Dayoff. How about that?” Sylvie laughed, but my wheels were turning.

“I love that!” Mom chimed in.

A soft blush stained Sylvie’s cheeks. “I was kidding.”

“I’m not,” Lark added. “If Wyatt gave me a day of zero responsibility? I’d give him another baby just to say thank you.”

MJ laughed. “That literally makes zero sense.” She pointed at Lark. “But I like the way you think.”

I tapped a finger against my lip. There was something there, something we could use. “What if we do catered meals? ‘Mother’s Day Off’ where you can buy some delicious food—something like a main course, a few sides, maybe a salad? No cooking and no mess.”

Mom smiled. “I would have loved that on Mother’s Day.”

A hum of excitement buzzed through the crowd as the women nodded and agreed.

“This is perfect.” MJ smiled at the group, gathering consensus.

“What else do we have?” Lark was furiously taking notes.

MJ shrugged. “We could ask our brother Abel about a trivia night at the brewery. Those are always fun.”

“I also think we can end with a bang.” Tootie smiled and swept her hand in an arch. “A carnival. There’s not much going on around here between the Fourth of July and the autumn Fireside Flannel Festival. It could be an end-of-summer carnival. Like a last hurrah push before the new school year.”

Annie squealed and danced her feet. “Ilovethe idea of a carnival. The lights and music and silly little games. I think it’s absolutely perfect.”

“It’s settled then.” Bug nodded. “Mother’s Day Off, a trivia night if Abel gives us the okay, and a carnival. Does that work for you?”

Tears pricked my eyes as I saw with perfect clarity how the Bluebirds showed up for and stood behind one another. “Yes, ma’am. I can work with that.” I swallowed the glass in my throat and looked around at the smiling faces of the Bluebirds, landing on my mother. “Thank you.”

I may have never been the girl to fit in, but if there were ever a space where I had wished I could, it would be with the Bluebirds.

TWELVE

WHIP

“What the fuck are you wearing?”

My brother Royal looked down at his black apron. The wordsI Heart MILFsin bold, white letters and a glittery red heart were emblazoned across his chest. He’d even “forgotten” to wear a shirt underneath.

A smile crept across his face. “What?”

My eyes rolled and I shook my head, then lifted the black steel door to one of the smokers various residents had lent out for the Mother’s Day Off event. Plumes of white vapor carried the mouthwatering smells of perfectly smoked barbecued chicken.

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