Chapter 21 Morgan
Morgan
The server placed a mimosa in front of each of them, then took their orders. Crab cake eggs Benedict for Jen and one egg over easy with bacon and sweet potato hash for Morgan.
“Excellent impromptu decision to come here,” Jen said before taking a sip of her mimosa.
“My wild ideas turn out good, admit it.”
“Oh, you won’t hear any complaints from me.”
Morgan smiled and leaned back in her chair, taking in the giant live oak shadowing the patio. Oakview wasn’t a small town, but it wasn’t exactly a big city either. It had a few nice restaurants, but this was the only place in a twenty-mile radius that served brunch.
“We still going back to my place after this?” Morgan asked. “Or do you have stuff to do?”
“I just have to swing by to get groceries on the way home, but other than that, I’m good for the afternoon.” Jen furrowed her brow. “How’s Reginald so far?”
Morgan had taken him to the emergency vet the evening before after he suddenly started limping.
The good news was that nothing was broken, and he didn’t have any hidden puncture wounds.
The bad news, other than the hefty bill for X-rays, was that he needed to be kept still for at least a few days, then monitored after that.
And since you couldn’t explain to a cat that they weren’t allowed to jump on counters and dressers, he needed to be confined to a large wire crate temporarily.
Needless to say, he was not pleased with that care plan.
“About as well as you can imagine. Still limping around in the crate but no worse. I, on the other hand, might suffer some damage from all the glaring.”
“Can he come out of there at all? Auntie Jen wants to give him some love.”
“Probably not yet. Another day or two, and he can have supervised outings just in my bedroom.”
“Poor guy,” Jen said. “I’ll swing by to visit early in the week sometime.”
“He’ll appreciate that, I’m sure.”
“Next up on the brunch agenda… how’s the wedding prep going? Got any more bridesmaid or sisterly obligations that have popped up?”
Morgan took a sip of her mimosa and thought back to what she’d already told Jen about. She’d been so busy with that and Reginald and just life stuff that she couldn’t remember what they’d already talked about.
Except for the one glaring event she’d left out so far.
“I have to pick up my dress tomorrow morning,” she said. “And yes, I forgot and am late. And no, Felicia is not happy about that.”
Jen shrugged. “It’ll fit perfectly, I’m sure.”
Jen’s eternal optimism was a massive selling point in their friendship. She soothed Morgan’s skeptical edges, shaped by a lifetime of bumbling through things—like forgetting to pick up her dress—and screwing them up.
“But other than that, I’m free of duties until the rehearsal and dinner Friday. Not looking forward to that.”
“Is that somehow worse than the wedding itself?”
Morgan thought for a second and took another sip of her mimosa, savoring the cold orange juice while she pondered that question. Or at least pretended to ponder. She knew the answer already.
“They’re both equally insufferable.”
Jen grinned. “But you’ll have company for the wedding.”
“Sure,” she said. “We haven’t talked much since last weekend.”
It wasn’t entirely a lie. They hadn’t talked much at the park. Morgan had made sure she’d made a quick entrance and exit.
What she hadn’t made sure of was telling Jen about it.
“You mean since the sort-of-kiss.”
“Yes, since that,” Morgan said, trying to squash the butterflies bouncing around at just the mention of it. “She texted me mid-week to thank me for the dress. Again.”
“And…?”
“And I told her it was my pleasure.”
Jen wrinkled her nose. “That’s it?”
“What do you mean?”
Now Jen rolled her eyes. “We both know you aren’t telling me something. I’ve known you too long not to know your tell.”
“I have a tell?”
“Yes, and don’t ask. I’m not revealing it.”
“Fine,” Morgan said. “I met her at the park yesterday to give her some earrings I made to match the dress.”
“So you had a park date?”
“It wasn’t a date,” Morgan insisted. “It was just a quick meetup. No big deal.”
“But you want it to be a bigger deal.”
Morgan thought about her answer longer than she probably should. But her gut knew the truth right away.
“It doesn’t matter. Our stances on relationships haven’t changed.”
“But you like hanging out with her.”
“I do,” Morgan admitted. “And I’ll get to hang out with her Saturday at the wedding.”
“What if you could hang out with her even more?”
“I’m afraid to ask…”
“Ask her to go with you on Friday.”
The wedding was one thing. A party. The rehearsal would basically be dinner with her family. Way more intimate. Way too exposed. For both of them.
“Can’t,” she said with a shake of her head. “Nope. Can’t do it.”
“Why not? You like her, right?”
She did. There was no denying that to herself anymore. And all of her objections—the money, her family pain, her own fear—seemed to evaporate when Morgan was with her. But they were still so different. She couldn’t see herself fitting into Danielle’s life with its routines and responsibilities.
“I do like her,” she said. “But she made it clear by shutting down that kiss that she isn’t interested in anything else, so it doesn’t even matter what I like or don’t like.”
“But it’s just one more event. Another hangout between friends.”
“Maybe.” Morgan thought for a second. “Just another hangout, right?”
“That’s the spirit!”
The server returned with their meals, placing a plate in front of each of them. The rich bacon and salty sweet-hash made Morgan’s mouth water.
But first, she had to send a text.
So… if you liked the idea of free wedding food, I can offer you free rehearsal dinner food on Friday lol
Morgan put her phone face down and stabbed at a piece of sweet potato. She chewed on it in a frenzy, stuffing a piece of egg in her mouth next, followed by a piece of bacon she tore off like an animal attacking its prey.
“It’ll be fine,” Jen said. “The worst that can happen is she says no. Then you’re no worse off than you are now. You only have something to gain here.”
“If you say so.”
She washed down her food and feelings with a sip of mimosa as her phone buzzed near her plate. When she flipped it over, she saw a message from Danielle.
That’s a tempting offer, but I don’t even want to think about food right now.
Oh, no. Something was wrong.
Are you okay? Stomach bug? Food poisoning??
Just a nasty cold. I’ll live.
“Everything okay?”
When Morgan looked up from her phone, she found Jen watching her with concern.
“Yeah. I think. She’s just sick.” Morgan looked down at the phone, then back up at Jen. “You okay if we skip today’s episode?”
Jen waved her hands toward the phone. “Yes, yes. Go wherever you need to. I fully support any coming-to-the-rescue plans you have.”
Morgan smiled, then texted Danielle again.
Give me your address. I want to drop something off. A surefire cold cure. I won’t stay or bother you. Promise.
There was a long pause before Morgan saw those three little dots.
I’m fine. Really.
I know you are. Just let me drop this off, then you can be fine by yourself. I can even drop it off outside your door.
You don’t have to do that.
I want to. Address. Please.
After another long pause, an address appeared on the screen.
She looked up and smiled at Jen. “Done.”
“So you’re going over there?” Jen said with a hopeful tilt in her voice.
Morgan nodded. “After we eat, I’ll swing by. I told her I wouldn’t stay. Don’t want to bother her if she isn’t feeling well.”
“I’m sure you won’t be bothering her,” Jen said. “I’ll handle the bill if you want to go now.”
Every cell in her body demanded that Morgan go immediately to see Danielle. But her brain had another plan.
“That’s okay. We can finish eating,” she said. “I have something to do first.”