Chapter 19
“Hey, thanks for agreeing to meet at my house tonight,” Reva told her girlfriends as she placed a large tray of finger sandwiches on the coffee table.
Charlie Grace carried a large pitcher of strawberry daiquiris into the living room. “You’ve had quite the few days. It’s to be expected, with the major life change you just made,” she remarked while filling the waiting stemmed glasses, skipping Reva’s which was already brimming with her virgin mocktail. “And planning the funeral had to be a drain on your emotions.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” Reva told her. “You will not believe the day I’ve had. It’s like something out of a disaster movie.”
Lila leaned forward with curiosity. “Oh? What happened? Was it Bill Buckley from accounting again?”
Charlie Grace shook her head with a grin. “Please tell me he finally wore matching socks.”
Reva sighed and leaned back against the plush chair cushion. “I wish it were that amusing. But it’s much worse. Our office flooded. And I mean, seriously flooded.”
Capri’s eyes widened. “Flooded? How did that happen?”
Reva kicked off her shoes. “It turns out the building’s old pipes finally gave out. Water everywhere—carpets, equipment, files. You name it.”
“Oh, no!” Lila’s voice was filled with sympathy. “That sounds like a nightmare. What did you do?”
Reva was quick to answer. “Well, at first, I just stood there, watching my desk become an island. I mean, there were literal waves every time someone walked through the water.”
Charlie Grace broke into laughter. “I’m sorry to make light of this, but I’m picturing you surfing on your office chair.”
Reva smiled despite the situation. “Honestly, at one point, that seemed like a viable option. But then, panic mode kicked in. We had to salvage what we could.”
Capri reached for a sandwich. “Was anything important ruined?”
“Thankfully, most of our crucial documents are backed up digitally,” Reva told them. “But some of the physical files weren’t so lucky. And our poor office plants drowned.”
Lila’s hand went to her chest in mock despair. “Not the plants! Were you able to save any?”
“A few.” Reva took a sip from her glass. She smiled. “But let’s have a moment of silence for the fern I’ve somehow kept alive for three years. It doesn’t look like it’ll survive the flood.”
Charlie Grace grinned and held up her cocktail glass in a toast. “Here’s to the great fern catastrophe. We’ll remember you fondly.”
“Well, if you need any help with replacing water valves, tell the guys to just give me a call. I helped fix Betty Dunning’s kitchen sink last week. Her P-trap was cracked and leaking. Made the kitchen smell like rotten eggs.” Capri raised the sandwich to inspect the egg salad nestled between the slices of bread.
“So, what’s the plan now?” she asked casually, shrugging before taking a bite. “Are you going to work from home?” Her words were muffled by her chewing.
Reva passed her friend a napkin, a smile playing on her lips. “Seems so. The office is closed for repairs for the next couple of weeks. Which means…pajama workdays!”
Charlie Grace rolled her eyes. “As if you’d actually work in your PJs.”
Reva paused, a thoughtful expression crossing her face as she tilted her head slightly, directing her ear towards the staircase. “Do you hear that?” she asked.
All three of the women on her sofa shook their heads.
“It’s nothing. Lucan is likely asleep,” Capri said.
Lila nodded in agreement. “Besides, if that little guy wakes, he’ll nod back off.” She pointed to the baby monitor on the table. “You’ll know if something needs attention,” she assured.
Charlie Grace lifted the cocktail glass and took a sip. Her expression immediately turned soft. “Oh, this is good.” She shifted to face Reva. “You’re finding out motherhood is an extreme sport. That’s why most of us moms wear workout clothes every day.”
Lila nodded in agreement. “The biggest thing I remember is that there was just no transition. You had to hit the ground diapering.”
“Oh, but wait. They grow up. That’s when the real fun begins,” Charlie Grace warned. “Before I had Jewel, I didn’t know I could ruin someone’s day by saying, ‘Get dressed, please.’”
They all laughed. It felt good to laugh after the week Reva had experienced. While her friends were attempting to console her, juggling motherhood—even if temporary—with her duties and responsibilities had been far more challenging than expected.
She sighed, admitting, “I just didn’t realize I would have to know everything by my second rodeo. That’s still a very low number of rodeos.”
Lila laughed and reached for her drink. “By the time they are teenagers, it’s nothing but the Wild West. Take, for example, my daughter’s upcoming prom.”
Charlie Grace kicked her stocking feet up on the edge of the table. “I love the dress Camille picked out. The pink color really sets off her blonde hair.”
Lila sipped her daiquiri. “At least she settled on the dress. Prom date? Not so much.”
“What do you mean?” Reva asked.
“Well, she wants to dump Randy Eisman for Cody Meacham. Cody asked her two days ago, apparently unaware she had already committed to another boy.”
“The new football jock from Cheyenne?” Capri asked. “Yikes. Hate to say it…but who can blame her?”
Lila reached for a sandwich. “I told her she couldn’t do that to Randy. It’s tacky.”
Capri frowned. “Tacky? Maybe. But I agree, a prom date’s not like a dress. You can’t just change it without expecting a few…wrinkles.”
The room erupted in laughter as they toasted to the complexities of high school dramas and the lessons learned from the crazy ups and downs of growing up.
Reva tucked her legs under her on the sofa, enjoying the warmth of the crackling fire as rain tapped against the windows. A ring at the doorbell pulled her attention. “Who could that be?” she murmured, getting up to answer.
She peeked outside and spotted an Amazon delivery truck parked in the yard. Surprised, she opened the door to find Chet Olson standing on her front deck. “Sorry to bother you, Mayor. I have a delivery. Want me to bring it in?”
“Wow, that was fast.” Reva blinked in disbelief. She’d only placed the order the evening before. “Thank you.” She motioned him inside, then glanced over her shoulders at the girls and shrugged.
The guy carried in several boxes, making multiple trips in the rain.
Capri got up and came over, her interest piqued. “What’s all that?” she asked, inspecting the growing mound of boxes.
“What in the world did you order?” Charlie Grace echoed, joining them.
Reva straightened and lifted her chin. “Nothing. Just a few things for Lucan.”
“A few?” Lila’s eyebrows arched so high they threatened to merge with her hairline.
Facing her friends’ astonished stares, Reva shrugged, adopting a defensive yet light-hearted tone, “Look, I can spoil Lucan if I want to.”
Capri laughed. “But we thought by spoiling Lucan you meant buying him a couple of socks and a bib.”
Charlie Grace chimed in. “Yeah, I guess we were wrong. You meant the whole internet, apparently!”