Chapter Four
TALLY
I totally blew it.” I hung my head as I bounced a tea bag up and down in my cup at Jimmy’s, the cafe where my three best friends—Penny, Ellie, and Jessa—and I had been hanging out since we were teenagers. The restaurant was filled with the noises of the bustling kitchen and customers chatting over their dinners. And though it was busy most of the time, this was one of the only places in town where I felt at home.
“You’re being too hard on yourself, Tal.” Penny flipped her copper hair over her shoulder and took a sip of her Diet Coke. “It sounds like you were a hit with the girls.”
I briefly smiled at the thought of those sweet little girls snuggling up to me while I read to them. “Except for the oldest, Nora. ”
“Any girl that age would be skeptical of a strange new woman coming in and taking care of her,” Penny said.
“I know. The divorce has to be so hard on those girls. I can’t imagine.” My parents were still very much in love after fifty years of marriage. They had an amazing friendship and worked as a team to raise us kids, and I hoped I would someday have the same sort of relationship. They were the measure of success I aspired to.
“What’s the dad like?” Penny asked.
“He’s … nice.” I tried to appear nonchalant, but Penny eyed me. She knew me too well.
“What aren’t you saying?”
“Nothing,” I replied, pressing my lips together to hold back a smile.
“What’s she not saying?” Ellie’s voice came from Penny’s phone, which was propped up in the middle of the table on a FaceTime call. “I can’t see her face, so I can’t tell what’s going on.”
Ellie had recently moved to Nashville, Tennessee to be closer to her boyfriend, Cooper Mason—one of country music’s hottest stars—and we were trying our best to keep up the tradition of monthly video calls we’d started back when Penny and Ellie went away to college.
“Nothing’s going on.” I leaned over until I was in the view of the screen and gave her a fake smile.
Jessa took a swig of her coffee. “You might as well tell us. They’re going to get it out of you anyway.”
I sighed. She was right. I could never keep anything from them.
“Fine.” I told them about Thanksgiving day, how we fought over the pumpkin can, and then finding out he was the dad at the nanny job .
“What are the odds?” Penny said.
“Sounds like a perfect meet-cute moment to me.” Ellie was the romantic of our group, so her comment was not surprising.
“It’s just a coincidence.” Jessa was the exact opposite of Ellie when it came to guys and romance.
“Is he good-looking?” Penny had a twinkle in her eye.
I didn’t reply, and my cheeks heated up.
“Why is that relevant?” Jessa asked.
Penny eyed me again, and it was as if she could read my thoughts. “You’re blushing.”
I covered my cheeks with my hands. “No.”
“You totally are.”
“Oh my gosh. It’s happening!” Ellie’s swoon could be heard all the way from Nashville. “Tally’s crushing on the hot dad.”
“I never said he was hot,” I replied.
“I’ve seen Jake at church,” Ellie said. “He’s Hal’s son, remember? And he’s definitely easy on the eyes.”
“Your grandma and Hal are so cute.” I attempted to change the subject. “It’s nice she’s found someone to spend time with at her age.”
“I know. I love them together, even though she says they’re only friends.” She gasped suddenly. “Wouldn’t it be so romantic if it was because of Gram that you found true love?”
Jessa snorted. “She can’t date her boss.”
“I disagree.” Penny held her left hand with its gigantic diamond engagement ring in Jessa’s face, and we all started laughing.
“Well, you shouldn’t have dated your boss either, but—”
“Jessa.” Penny let out an irritated huff .
“You cut me off before I could finish. What I was going to say was I’m happy that worked out for you. But you were the exception to the rule.”
“I don’t even have the job … and probably won’t,” I said, “and I would never date my boss.”
“Think positive,” Ellie declared. Whether she was referring to the job or the guy, I wasn’t sure.
“How old is he anyway?” Penny asked.
“I’m not sure.” I shrugged. “Late thirties, maybe older. He has some grey.”
“Grey is sexy. And you’ve always had a thing for Patrick Dempsey, and he’s got all that grey going on now.”
“That’s right!” Ellie practically sang through the phone. “You do like older men.”
“Okay, you guys are getting carried away now.” I shook my head and sipped my tea, hoping they would let it go.
I loved my girls. We’d been friends since childhood, and these three women were the only ones besides my family who really knew me, the ones I could be my true self with. We’d been through a lot together, the good and the bad, and we were always there for each other no matter what.
But things were changing. It was just me and Jessa left in the Solo Sisters, as Jessa had nicknamed our group when we made a “no marriage until thirty” pact after college. The pact was meant to allow us to figure out who we were and what we wanted out of life before committing to someone, but Penny insisted it had jinxed us since her and Ellie’s dates after that were total disasters. I’d never dated, so I had no way of knowing if it was true or not, but it sure was entertaining to hear their stories .
Our pact might have lasted if Penny hadn’t fallen in love with Lucas, which led us to dissolve the whole thing. Then Ellie and Cooper finally got together after years of being just friends. I was happy for them and over the moon that Penny was getting married, but I wondered how much the dynamics of our little group would change.
“How’s life in Nashville?” I leaned over and looked at Ellie on the phone screen, trying to veer the subject away from myself again.
“It’s amazing.” Her voice turned all sweet and swoony. “Cooper’s working on his new album, and I’m learning all about the music business and what goes into planning for a tour. There’s so much more than I ever knew during the last one. And I love it.”
“That’s wonderful, Ell.” Her happiness was palpable.
“You guys should come down and visit soon.”
“Sounds fun,” I said.
“Maybe Lucas and I can visit after the wedding,” Penny said.
“You picked a date?” Ellie shrieked, startling people at nearby tables.
Penny beamed. “March Fourth.”
“Congratulations, Pen.” The thought of a wedding so soon filled me with excitement.
“Oh, my word! That’s only a little more than three months!” Ellie’s voice squeaked. “We have so much to do.”
“I hired a wedding planner last month, and we already booked all the vendors.” Penny leaned over so Ellie could see her better. “If it works with his schedule, do you think Cooper would sing a song for our first dance? ”
“Yeah, he will!” Ellie’s volume continued to increase.
“Don’t you think you should ask him first?”
“He’ll do it. For me. Or else.”
We all chuckled.
Penny cleared her throat. “So, I should’ve officially asked you guys sooner, but now that we set a date and we’re all together, I have a very important question—”
“Wait!” Ellie cried. “You know I want to be there in person when you ask us what I think you’re about to ask us.”
“It’s okay, Ell.”
“No, it’s not. I hate that I’m not there. I need to get in the car and come home right now. I hate that I can’t see you all.”
I grabbed Penny’s phone and held it out farther, and we all leaned closer together so Ellie could get a better view of the three of us.
“Better?” I asked.
She sighed. “I guess it will have to do. Go ahead.”
Penny chuckled. “Thanks for the permission.”
We all exchanged glances and laughed.
“The three of you are the closest thing I’ve ever had to sisters,” Penny said. “You know me better than I know myself sometimes, and I can’t imagine marrying Lucas without you all by my side. Will you be my maids of honor?”
Ellie sniffled. “Yes!”
“Sure,” Jessa said.
“Of course,” I replied, leaning over to hug Penny.
“The phone, Tally!” Ellie cried.
I laughed and righted the phone so she could see.
“So, when are we going dress shopping?” Ellie asked. “What style of dress are you going to get? Julia Roberts’ bell dress in Runaway Bride ? Or maybe Reese Witherspoon’s Sweet Home Alabama dress!” Of course, she would reference dresses from romance movies.
“I’ll know it when I see it,” Penny replied with a wink.
“Right. And what about bridesmaids’ dresses?”
“Deep breaths, Ell,” I told her as I set the phone in the center of the table again.
The bells on the door jingled as it opened, and I glanced over as Nora, Ava, and Piper Mills entered the restaurant with an older couple.
Nora’s eyes caught mine, and I knew she recognized me because she turned her head and lifted her chin.
“Tally!” Ava’s face lit up, and she ran from the couple to our table.
“Ava.” The woman came after her with Piper on her tail.
“Tally! Tally!” Piper raced around to my chair and raised her arms so I would pick her up.
“Hi, girls. How are you?” I asked as I pulled Piper up onto my lap.
“Do you want to come to the park with us?” Ava asked.
“Come play with us,” Piper begged.
“I’m so sorry.” The woman reached us and laid a hand on Ava’s shoulder as her husband and Nora came up behind her.
“It’s all right,” I told her.
“How do you know our granddaughters?”
“I interviewed to be their nanny.”
“How wonderful. I’m Marjorie, and this is my husband, George. ”
“Hello,” I replied.
“I knew Jake was going to be hiring someone soon. When do you start?”
“Uh … I don’t know if I got the job yet,” I stuttered.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I assumed based on the girls’ excitement.”
“That’s okay.”
“Come on, girls. Let’s leave this nice young woman alone to eat her dinner.” She held out a hand to Piper, who took it and hopped down, then took Ava’s hand and led them away.
“Bye,” they both said as they waved back at me with adorable smiles.
“See you later, girls.” Though I wasn’t so sure I would.
Marjorie looked back over her shoulder. “I’ll put in a good word for you.”
The second they were out of earshot, Penny said, “Oh my gosh, they are so cute. And look how much they love you already.”
I frowned. “They’re going to be so disappointed when I don’t get the job.”
“Stop that. You’ll get it,” Penny said. “He owes you for the pumpkin.”
I laughed, and Jessa snorted.
“Somebody turn the phone. I want to see the cute girls,” Ellie said.
I leaned close to the phone and looked at Ellie. “I’m not pointing the phone at the girls for you. That’s weird and embarrassing. And haven’t you seen them at church before?”
She stuck her lower lip out. “Not for a long time. I’m sure they’ve grown since I saw them. ”
I glanced across the room and watched the girls take a seat with their grandparents and caught Nora giving me a dirty look again. If I did get this job, I wondered what it would take to break through that tough exterior.
I laid on my bed for a couple of hours after I got home, thinking about Penny’s upcoming wedding and reading Anne of Green Gables for the hundredth time. I knew it so well I could practically recite the entire thing. It was my go-to comfort read when I was feeling nervous. Anne’s mouth may have gotten her into awkward situations time and again—so had my inability to open mine—but I wished I was half as spunky and sociable as her.
“Well, that is another hope gone,” I read. “‘My life is a perfect graveyard of buried hopes.’ That’s a sentence I read in a book once, and I say it over to comfort myself whenever I’m disappointed in anything.”
Oh, Anne. I so related to the feeling of disappointment. Three days had passed, and Jake still hadn’t called about the job.
My phone buzzed on the nightstand, and I placed a bookmark in my spot and leaned over to see who it was.
I heard you met my mother-in-law today .
My heart raced at the sight of Jake’s name on the screen. I stared at it and took deep, calming breaths, letting a couple minutes pass before responding. Maybe my disappointment was premature after all.
Me: I did. She was nice.
Jake: She said the girls practically attacked you and demanded you come play with them.
Me: Something like that.
Jake: They clearly like you.
Me: They’re very sweet.
Jake: Ha! Spend a little more time with them then say that again.
Me: I’d like to.
Jake: In that case, if you want the job, it’s yours.
I felt like screaming for joy and texting, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” but I remained calm.
Me: Thank you. When do I start?
Jake: Is tomorrow too soon?