Chapter Thirty-two
Three months later.
There was so much to do. Reese grabbed another bag from the many Matty had brought in. A rush of anxiety washed over her, adding to the nervous ball in the pit of her stomach.
“Baby, let’s calm down. It’s going to all come together,” Matty reassured her as she came up behind her to kiss her cheek and wrap her arms around her waist. It calmed her momentarily. Matty never failed to ground her.
“I just want it to be perfect.” She pulled out two blocks of cream cheese and a box of ranch packets. “Do you think I should have picked different food? Are finger foods enough?”
“It’s more than enough. It’s a nice afternoon party. No one will expect a heavy meal.”
She bit on the inside of her cheek. Reese had gone over the plans for the party so many times. Poor Matty had indulged her over and over while she went over the plans. She had never hosted a party before.
“I just want it to be nice.”
“It will be. Now, put me to work. I’m all yours.”
That made Reese smile. Matty was a constant support. “Umm, let’s prioritize the food and split it up. Do you mind doing the stuff that’s actually, like, you know, cooking?”
Matty barked out a laugh. Neither of them bothered pretending that Reese barely functioned in a kitchen.
“I have no problem with that. Let’s work on the things that need to be assembled and chilled before the hot stuff.
The veggie pizza crust needs to bake and cool before we top it.
The sliders and pigs in a blanket can wait.
The dips need to be chilled, and the pinwheels need to be assembled and chilled as well.
We need the veggies cut. Can you use a knife without hurting yourself? ”
Reese rolled her eyes as she scoffed. “Of course I can,” then she paused, “I mean, like just making them into bite-sized, right?”
“For the tray, yes, but for the pizza, it needs to be very small.”
“Oh, well, I’ll start on the tray. We’ll see how I do with the finely chopped stuff.”
Matty just shook her head and started emptying the rest of the bags.
Today, they would be hosting a small party. Matty thought it was a housewarming party to celebrate the house transformation being complete. Which it was, but what she didn’t realize was that it was also to celebrate her new job. It was a secret Reese could barely keep to herself.
She glanced at her phone when it vibrated. It was the text she was waiting for.
“Matty?” Reese called. She deliberately sounded panicked.
“Yeah?” Matty entered the living room, her eyebrows knitted together.
“My high heels are at your place. I need them.”
Matty’s eyes dropped to her house-shoe-covered feet. “Can’t you pick a different pair?”
“No, I bought them just for this party. They match my dress perfectly.”
“It’s like fifteen minutes to the party.”
“I know, but I want them for pictures. Please, baby, will you go get them?”
She could tell Matty wanted to protest but in the end, she relented. “Okay, yeah, I’ll go get them. Where are they?”
“Still in the box. Look in my bottom drawer.”
Slowly, their lives had begun to merge. She had things at Matty’s place, and Matty had things at hers.
“Okay, yeah, I’ll go get it. I’ll try to be fast.”
She gave her a quick kiss and went out the door. The engine of her new-to-her used car came to life. Something else that was new in their life together.
The last few months had been exciting and filled with changes.
Good changes. The house was fully cleaned out.
The walls had been painted, new hardwood flooring had been laid, and they had furnished most of the rooms. She still didn’t have a bed in the guest room or a desk in what would be the office, but that was fine.
The living areas were fully and wholly usable and that made a huge heaviness leave her shoulders.
It was a happy and calming place. That was why she picked pale blue for the living room and a pretty yellow for the kitchen with a lemon theme.
A little kitschy? Yes. But it made her smile, and Reese liked smiling these days.
Once Matty’s car was out of sight, she texted Bette back. Less than a minute later, her SUV was pulling in the driveway. She rushed outside.
“Did she give you any problems with leaving the house?” Bette asked as she got out, popping the hatch on the back of the car as she went.
“I think she wanted to but didn’t argue.”
“I hope we can get this all done before she gets here. Kerrie and Kenny are going to try to stall her. Does she still think the party is at 1:30?” Zoe asked as she came around the side.
All three of them began grabbing bags, with Reese gently picking up the cake box. “Yes, she doesn’t realize it’s really at 2:00. She’s going to be so surprised.”
Working together, the living room was soon transformed. A large banner with "Congratulations" in foil letters on it hung over the food table. Streamers were quickly pinned here and there, over the windows and on the stair banister. All three were sweating by the time they had finished.
“I think we did great!” Zoe gushed, wiping her forehead.
Reese nodded, fanning herself as she flipped on the ceiling fan. “Yeah, it’s really festive in here.”
People began to show up not long after they finished. Elsie and her husband Jake were the first, followed by Jayvon and his girlfriend. Before long, the little bungalow was buzzing with people.
“Aunty Reese, Aunty Reese, I can see her car!” Gage yelled as he ran inside. As soon as Haley and her family arrived, Reese had tasked him as the lookout for Matty.
“Thank you, Gage. Okay, everyone, let’s get ready to surprise her. When she comes in, let’s all yell congratulations,” Reese instructed.
Everyone turned to face the front door. It felt like it took ten minutes for her to pass the window and then get to the front door with Kenny and Kerrie behind her.
When the door opened, there was a pause, then the room erupted into a chorus of “Congratulations!”
Matty’s mouth dropped open as she clutched the shoebox tightly to her chest. Behind her, Kenny jumped, causing Kerrie to grab him when he nearly fell over. Matty and Kenny’s faces were painted with shock while Kerrie was grinning big. Reese hoped someone got a picture of it.
“What—what is this?” Matty asked.
“This is for you. We wanted to celebrate your new job,” Reese gushed.
“But I thought we were celebrating your house?”
“We can do both.”
Matty’s mouth opened and closed a few times before she launched herself into Reese’s arms. She whispered in a raw voice, “Thank you, baby.”
“You’re welcome. You deserve it.”
They stayed embraced for a few more seconds before pulling apart. They had guests waiting.
“Okay, let’s start eating. We’ve got all the finger foods and cake.”
“Cake?” Matty asked. She was still holding the box.
Reese plucked it out of her hands, pulled the heels out, and stuffed her feet into them using Matty’s shoulder to balance, then quickly slid the box and house shoes under a nearby table. They’d get that later. “Come look.”
Reese had been so relieved when Bette agreed to grab the cake.
There would have been no way for her to hide it from Matty.
It was a chocolate and vanilla marbled sheet cake with blue and white buttercream icing, little hammers and wrenches, and “Congratulations Matty” written in white icing.
It was prettier than Reese had expected.
“Oh, Reese, this is... shit, I might cry,” she laughed, looking up at the ceiling and sniffling back tears.
Reese looped her arm around Matty’s waist. “Go for it. No one’s going to judge.”
“Matty, tell me about this new job,” Jake, Elsie’s husband, said, clapping her on the shoulder. Reese released her arm around her girlfriend but stood beside her, beaming with pride.
Matty rubbed the back of her head, letting out a little laugh.
“Well, it’s still in maintenance. I’m working for a woman who owns several commercial buildings with salons and tanning businesses.
She also has two large apartment complexes, with another two being built over there behind the hospital.
Once those are up and running, I’ll get to hire an assistant to help me, so I’ll, well, I guess I’ll be a manager. ”
Reese didn’t miss the glint of excitement in Matty’s eye. She was so happy to see it. Matty had more than proven herself worthy of a good-paying job. She had a steady head and took it seriously.
The day after the wedding, Matty called Grammy.
She asked Reese to sit beside her and hold her hand while she did it.
It hadn’t been an easy call. It took several rounds of asking Grammy to stop interrupting her to get it all out.
She would call Grammy every other week on Sunday to see how she was doing.
If she mentioned Clay, then she would hang up.
She would not go over to the house, and she would have to ask someone else for help for the time being.
Grammy pushed the boundary for three weeks until she accepted Matty wasn’t giving in.
Their relationship has improved. It was going so well that Matty asked Grammy if she would like to have lunch next Sunday after church at a restaurant so that they would be in a safe space.
Matty’s treat. Her eyes lit up now when she talked to her and that made Reese’s heart swell.
Matty deserved to be loved and treated well.
“That sounds like a good setup. I think you’ll like it.”
She loved seeing the thrilled look on Matty’s face. “Thank you, sir.”
Despite Reese’s concerns about hosting a party for the first time, she thought that it seemed to have gone well.
Over the next three hours, they ate, mingled, and, much to her surprise, opened a few housewarming gifts.
She hadn’t expected that. It couldn’t have gone better.
She was left feeling overjoyed and loved.
“Are you sure you don’t want help cleaning up?” Haley asked as the party wound down.
“No, we’ve got it. Thank you, though.” She pulled Haley into a hug.