Page 68 of The Friend Game

I’ve never actually made fried chicken before but the internet can teach you anything. Plus, if Morgan Angelina-Jolie Plosner can do it, I’m sure I can.

I’m contemplating the merits of taking Liam and Ellie to the grocery store for the ingredients, when the doorbell rings.

Shoot. Lexie. I take a few deep breaths, which do absolutely nothing to steady me, then swing open the front door.

Lexie stands there, looking immaculate as ever, an off-putting smile on her face that suggests she’s pleased about something. In front of her Ellie and Mia are huddled together, each drinking from a Starbucks cup full of a pink beverage. When theysee me they both let out squeals of delight and charge at me, drinks first.

Needless to say, I come out of the three-way hug with a splotch of pink liquid on the hem of my shirt.

“Girls,” Lexie cries in dismay, “look what you’ve done to Hannah’s t-shirt!” For a second my heart softens toward Lexie Stone. The stain really isn’t that big a deal, but it’s nice of her to correct them on my behalf. Of course then she keeps talking and the feeling sort of just floats away. “We need to be careful with food and drinks even around cheap clothing,” she continues briskly. “Ellie, why don’t you take Mia inside and the two of you can look in the laundry room for something to help with the stain. And apologize to Hannah.”

The girls do as she says, both shouting apologies to me as they go. I open my mouth to tell her not to worry about the stain seeing as this is a “cheap” shirt and all, but she cuts me off.

“Well, this is fortuitous actually, getting a chance to talk to you alone for a minute,” she says. “Have you given the art show submissions any more consideration?”

“You know,” I say with faux regret, “it’s the weekend, which means I’m not working right now. I really like to keep some separation between my work life and my home life.”

“Those are pretty sounding words, Hannah,” she replies, “but if you’re not careful, soon you won’t have a work life and a home life to separate.”

“We’ll see about that,” I answer, pasting on a sickly sweet smile despite the way my insides are squirming from her words. I just need to put on a brave face until she leaves, then I can go break down in the bathroom. “I’ve got my speech all prepared for the board meeting.”

“A speech. Isn’t that cute?” she mirrors my faux smile. I don’t get a chance to respond because Ellie and Mia come sliding back into the foyer, Tide stick in hand.

“Here you go, Aunt Hannah,” Ellie trills, breathing hard from her sprint.

“Thanks, Ellie Bean.” I reach over and give her arm a squeeze. “And you too, Mia,” I tell the other girl who beams up at me.

“Well, we’d better be going,” Lexie announces. “Come, Mia.” Mia does as her mom says, but then just as they’ve turned to go, Lexie turns back to me, the cunning smile she wore when I first opened the door back in place. “By the way, I enjoyed having Ellie over today. Her visit was very,” she pauses as if to search for the right word, “informative,” she concludes. She takes Mia by the hand and tugs her down the steps.

I’m frozen in place as I try to figure out the meaning of her words. Informative? What couldEllie have told her that would put such a devious smile on her face?

All at once it hits me. My FaceTime call with Luke that Ellie walked in on. Did she mention it to Lexie? My heart is a stone, sinking to the floor. No, surely not. Anyway, it was just a phone call. Not exactly damning evidence.

But maybe enough to poke a hole in Luke’s good character.

Well that’s that. Luke and I are going to have to come forward about our friendship and hope that Etta is right about why the elder team made him sign the contract in the first place.

At least, I hope that’s what Luke will want to do…But there’s a chance he’ll decide this thing between us isn’t worth risking his career.

I guess that’s a chance I’m going to have to take.

Chapter 27

THE KIDS AND I don’t end up making fried chicken, mostly because I realized Jill–who spent every summer of high school waitressing at a diner that served American food and consequently has fryer trauma–might murder me if I made her house smell like cooked canola oil. But we did make chocolate chip cookies, so Sunday morning I show up to church with a tupperware container full of the extra (read: cookies I specifically set aside so we didn’t eat them all up) cookies tucked into my purse and plans to accost Luke after the service.

No, not accost. That has a negative connotation. I’ll approach Luke with a winning smile and an offering of chocolate chip cookies.

Much better.

Since Jill and her family always sit up front, I usually sit with Etta in the back row, but today I don’t see her anywhere. I’m about to take a seatthere anyway, when I notice a woman carrying a picnic basket. Who brings a picnic basket to church? Instinctively I know this must be Morgan Plosner. Her hair is even shinier than I imagined it. What is she planning on doing with that picnic basket? Inviting Luke to a picnic lunch?

I gasp. She probably is!

Well, two can play that game. I slide my tupperware out, clutching it in my hands as I follow her (at a safe, inconspicuous distance) to the front of the church. I’ll invite Luke to a chocolate chip cookie picnic. I think I even have a towel in my trunk we can spread out to sit on.

Although, it’s the towel I put on my back seat for Holly to sit on when she comes in the car, so it’s probably covered in her hair. She gets nervous on car rides and sheds like crazy.

Whatever, we can just stand. Yes, we’ll have a chocolate chip cookie standing picnic.

---