CHAPTER TWO #2
“So you want me to plan her whole birthday?” Amy knew she’d have no problem doing that, but part of her mind was working to figure out how to draw him into this for his daughter’s sake.
“Yes. You’d have an unlimited budget, and I’d pay you for your time.”
Sometimes Amy forgot how wealthy the Collingsworths were. Josh and Cami were no exception, but, aside from the luxury bus they used for travelling, they didn’t have many of the trappings of the rich.
She leaned back against the counter and crossed her arms. “Okay. I’ll do it, but under a couple of conditions.”
Will gave her a wary look. “Conditions?”
“Yep. She’s your daughter. I want you to help plan it.”
“And?”
“And I won’t take any pay for doing this. Consider it a labor of love.”
“A labor of love? You don’t even know her,” Will pointed out.
“She’s a child. What’s not to love?” Amy said with a smile. “Do we have a deal?”
“What kind of help are you talking about?” Will was obviously not going to agree to anything without a few more details.
“Nothing too elaborate. Just some help with decisions. And maybe a pinata or two.”
“A pinata? Why would you need help with that? Wouldn’t you just buy it?”
Amy grinned. “Never! I have the perfect recipe to make one. And you’re going to help.”
He regarded her for what seemed like forever before nodding. “Okay. Deal.”
“Perfect. When is her birthday?” Even as she asked the question, Amy was mindful of the other memory the day held.
“Two weeks from today.”
“So it’s on a Friday? Would you be willing to maybe have it on the day after? Sometimes that’s easier if parents work during the week. Maybe have it Saturday afternoon?”
His face clouded for a moment, but he still said, “That would be fine. I’ll just explain to her that because she wants a friend -party she’ll have to wait an extra day. Somehow I think she’ll be okay with that.”
“Great! Maybe you could drop her off here a couple of times so we can spend some time together. That way I can get a feel for what kind of party she’d like. We’ll need to get invitations out pretty quickly. Do you know her friends’ addresses?”
Will shook his head. “But I think Laurel or Violet can help with that. They volunteer at the school so they might know how I can get the information.”
Amy began to gather up the remaining dishes. “I’ll give you my email address so you can send them to me once you have them.”
“Thank you. I appreciate your willingness to help me out.”
“You’re welcome. I love kids, so this will be fun.”
He stared at her for a long moment. “I guess if you’re a teacher you need to love kids, eh?”
“It certainly helps,” Amy said. “But I’ve always loved children of all ages.”
“I’m sure your students must love you. Isabella was talking about how nice you were, and she was only with you for a short time.”
“Ah. How sweet.” Amy put the detergent in the dishwasher and turned it on. “She’s a lovely little girl.”
Will shifted from one foot to the other. “Well, I’m going to go see Jessa and ask her if we can borrow her backyard for the party.”
“That would be perfect,” Amy said. “It would be easier for me to be able to do the preparations since I need to be here for Jessa.”
Will nodded then left the kitchen. Amy stared after him for a moment before turning her attention back to the remaining things that needed to be put away. She was putting plastic wrap back on the food Laurel and Violet had brought when they both came into the kitchen.
“Hey, hun, let’s just transfer the leftovers into Jessa’s containers. I don’t want to take anything home,” Violet said. She opened a drawer and began to pull out some containers and lids.
“Me either,” Laurel agreed. “I made extra so there would be some leftovers.” She glanced at the bowls on the counter. “But it looks like we had some hungry people here tonight.”
“I heard Will ask Jessa about having Isabella’s party here,” Violet said. “And he told her you had agreed to help plan it.”
Amy nodded. “He found out I was a teacher, so I guess he figured I might have an idea of how to plan a friend party for her. I agreed...with a couple of conditions.”
“Conditions?” Laurel asked looking very much like Will when he’d said the same thing.
“One had to do with him offering to compensate me financially for my help. I told him I wouldn’t take pay. The other was that he be involved.”
Violet’s eyes widened. “And he agreed?”
“Yep. Even with the threat of having to make a pinata.”
“Wow.” Laurel glanced at Violet then back to Amy. “I’m impressed. Normally he’s quick to pass off stuff like that when we try to get him involved.”
“I guess time will tell if he’ll actually make himself available,” Amy said.
“True.” Violet settled on a chair at the table and plucked a cookie from the plate Amy had set out. “I just hope that he doesn’t realize there are people who would have happily taken his money and done all the work without his help.”
Amy pressed a finger to her lips. “Shhh. Too late for him now.”
The three of them laughed conspiratorially.
“Of course, we’ll help you, too,” Laurel assured her. “But I am super curious to see how much you manage to get him to do.”
Conversation on the subject stalled when Will walked back into the kitchen.
“Did she agree?” Amy asked.
Will nodded. “So we just need to decide on the time for the invitations.” He turned to his sisters. “I’m going to need help getting the addresses to send them to. You know a lot of the moms at the school, right?”
Laurel nodded. “We can get that for you.”
“Thanks.” He pulled out his phone and glanced at Amy. “You were going to give me your email address.”
“Right,” Amy said and rattled it off for him, repeating it once to make sure he’d input it into his phone correctly.
“I’ll email you once I have the information from Laurel and Violet.” He slid the phone back into his pocket. “I think Isabella’s grandparents might fly in for her birthday. My folks won’t likely come since we were just there, but we’ll see.”
Amy finished wiping down the counters while Violet and Laurel talked with Will about Delia’s parents.
She wondered if they found comfort in how much Isabella looked like their daughter.
And if they knew how much Delia had struggled with her pregnancy.
Amy shared almost everything with her mom, but she knew that wasn’t always the case for all mothers and daughters.
She was curious to meet the grandparents and see how they interacted with Isabella and Will.
Soon Will excused himself and went to the backyard. Within a couple of minutes, all the dads were traipsing back into the house with the kids, most none too happy at having been dragged away from their play time.
Will and Isabella were the first to leave, but the other two families followed shortly afterward. Lance and Julia disappeared upstairs to spend some time with Jessa before it was bedtime for the little girl.
Amy finished cleaning up and chatted with a couple of the guests who had returned after spending the day at a nearby beach.
When Lance came down after putting Julia to bed, they went over what they anticipated the next day would hold.
She was glad her cousin was detail oriented, too.
It helped to know what they expected of her and what she needed to do. It made things much easier for her.
Before falling asleep, she emailed Cami with details of the last couple of days and then phoned her mom to touch base.
Then in the darkness of her room, Amy prayed for God’s wisdom and understanding as she dealt with Will and Isabella.
She felt drawn to the little girl who had no mother to love her and a father who apparently couldn’t love her.
Given that Isabella’s age was the same as the kids she usually worked with, Amy felt that maybe God had another purpose for her time in Collingsworth in addition to helping Lance and Jessa.
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