Chapter 51
With the morning’s first cup of coffee in her, Frankie went back upstairs to shower and get ready for the day. And a big day it was. Today, she and Harper would meet Shar.
Last night, after everyone had left and dinner had been cleaned up, Frankie had laid out a pair of khaki capris and a short-sleeved white eyelet shirt. The outfit had seemed cute and summery when she’d packed it at home. Now it just looked…frumpy. She didn’t want to meet her birth mother looking frumpy.
She went out and stood at the top of the stairs to shout down. “Harper, what are you wearing?”
A few seconds passed before Harper stood at the bottom of the stairs and looked up. She was in her bathrobe. “Probably those ankle-length white denim jeans and a striped tank top. You’re not getting ready now, are you?”
“Sort of.”
“Why?”
“Because I suddenly hate everything I own, so I’m trying to figure out what I’m wearing now. Don’t you think you’ll be hot in those jeans?”
Harper made a face. “Not with the way every business in Florida keeps their air conditioning set to arctic tundra.”
“Good point.” Frankie nodded down at her sister. “Okay. Thanks.”
“Don’t overthink it. We’re not trying to impress her, right? If anyone’s going to do the impressing, I’d think that was on her.”
“Understood.” Frankie knew Harper was only going because Frankie had basically begged her to.
But Harper was right. They didn’t need to impress Shar. That was her job—to impress them. After all, she was the one who’d given them up. It certainly hadn’t been their decision.
Frankie reassessed what she’d brought. Maybe being a little more casual was fine. It wasn’t like she was trying to show off. She tried on the khaki capris with a black tank top, then put the white eyelet shirt over it like a cardigan. With black sandals, that might be all right. Or was it?
Why was this so hard?
Because she really did care what Shar thought. She wanted the woman who’d given her up to regret it, at least a little. Preferably a lot. Which probably made her a terrible person, but Frankie couldn’t change how she felt.
The outfit was fine. If Shar didn’t like it, that was her business. Frankie changed into leggings and a T-shirt, then went downstairs for another cup of coffee. She planned on making breakfast, too.
They needed to eat. The meeting wasn’t until noon, but she and Harper had decided to get there a little early to scope things out and get a good table. They were meeting at a little place called Rosie’s Café. According to online reviews, they did a great breakfast and had some of the best pies around.
Frankie would get salad, like she usually did. But maybe a slice of pie, too. Depending on how the meeting went, it might be for celebratory reasons or conciliatory ones. Hard to say.
She was unbelievably nervous. She didn’t feel like eating but the last thing she wanted was to meet Shar while starving. Hangry wasn’t a good look on her.
She got out the eggs and a package of turkey sausage she found in the freezer. After the meeting, she and Harper were going grocery shopping. The cupboards and fridge were looking pretty bare, especially after last night.
Thinking about Lucas made her smile. He was the most incredible man. Not just because he could cook. Or was handsome. Or had a sweet dog. He was also kind and wonderful.
Which reminded her that she owed him a logo. She got the sausage started in a pan, then set her laptop up on the counter and sat to do some work.
Willa came down, hair in a bun, yawning.
“You’re up early.”
Willa shot her mother a less than happy look. “Hard to sleep in when you and Aunt Harper are yelling at the top of your lungs.”
“I don’t know if it was quite that loud, but sorry. There’s coffee.”
“You’re forgiven.” Willa grabbed a mug and filled it, then dosed it with creamer and sugar. She stuck the creamer back into the fridge, lingering a moment with the door open. “We’re a little low on supplies.”
“I know. We’re going to the store after our meeting.”
Willa shut the fridge, then turned around and leaned on the counter to drink her coffee. “How are you feeling about that?”
“Like I might throw up.” Frankie smiled. “I’ll be all right.”
“I’d be nervous, too. But listen—if she’s not what you thought she’d be, or she’s an awful person or whatever, that’s on her. Not you. You’re an amazing person and the best mom and nothing is going to change the way I or Jace feel about you. Okay?”
Frankie nodded and laughed to keep from crying. “Thanks, sweetheart. That means a lot.”
“You’re welcome. Can you pick up a few things for me at the store?”
“Sure. Like what?”
“Pop-Tarts. Brown sugar cinnamon if they have them. Big bag of green grapes. And could we have burgers some night? Not veggie or turkey, either, because I have a feeling that’s what Aunt Harper would pick. Beef. Please. And some sliced American cheese to go on them? Buns if we don’t have them.”
“I’ll put those things on the list. Anything else?”
Willa glanced at the cabinets behind her. “Is there any chocolate in the house?”
“I don’t know, but none I’ve seen.”
“Add a family-sized Hershey bar to that list then. And I do mean the big one. Like if you need help getting it into the cart, you’ve got the right size.”
Frankie snorted. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thanks. I’m going to shower. I’ll be back down in time for breakfast. In fact, I can set the table if you wait.”
“Are you going to be all right here by yourself while we’re gone?”
Willa stopped midway to the stairs. “Mom, have you seen this place? I’ll be fine. I figure Archie and I can hang by the pool until you guys get back.”
“That sounds like a nice day.”
“I think so, too.” Willa went up the steps.
Frankie let out a sigh, got up and found a notepad and pen in one of the drawers. She started making up a grocery list with all of Willa’s requests. Then she did a quick inventory of the fridge and cabinets and added more things.
Harper came out, now in yoga pants and a tank top. “Grocery list?”
“Yep. Anything you want to add?”
“Definitely.”
Frankie slid the notepad and pen toward her sister. “I’m starting to wonder if you were right.”
Harper’s brow furrowed. “About what?”
“About Shar. Maybe we shouldn’t be meeting her.”
“Too late to have second thoughts now,” Harper said as she jotted some things down. Then she looked up. “It’s going to be fine. No matter how it goes. If it goes well, great. If not, things haven’t really changed, have they? We still have each other, and we’ve been doing pretty good with just us as family. Haven’t we?”
“We have.” Frankie snagged her coffee and took a sip. It was lukewarm. She stuck the cup in the microwave to reheat. “How are you doing? I mean with what happened yesterday. Any updates?”
Harper’s chest rose and fell with a deep breath. “Other than quick checks to see if any clients have reached out, I’ve been ignoring my phone and laptop on purpose. Kind of nice to pretend nothing happened, but that’s not reality, is it?”
“No, but is there anything you’re particularly worried about? Yesterday might have started out rough but it finished up pretty well. Don’t you think?”
“I do. But there are still some clients I haven’t heard from, and I don’t know what to expect from social media.”
Frankie pushed the sausage links around in the pan. “You can’t let other people’s opinions get to you. The internet is a vicious wasteland of people who like to spout off all kinds of hate and nonsense. Most of them, if faced with you in person, wouldn’t say a thing, but the internet gives people a skewed sense of self-importance and, worse, a kind of bravery that has no grounds. I see it all the time with the students.”
“I know you do. And I don’t know how you deal with it.”
“I tell them the same thing I’m about to tell you. Those people don’t matter. They’ll drop a disgusting comment and go back to guzzling their soda and stuffing their faces with Cheetos and they won’t think about you ever again. Which is exactly how you should treat them.”
Harper smiled. “I’ll take a hard pass on the soda and Cheetos, but you’re right. I need to ignore the stuff that doesn’t matter and focus on what does. Like the clients I still have.” She hooked her thumb toward the bedroom. “Guess I’ll get my phone and laptop. Unless you need help with breakfast?”
Frankie shook her head. “I’ve got this.”
She did, too. Whether it was breakfast, a family crisis, a vicious divorce, or meeting her birth mother, she would handle it. That’s just what she did, no matter the circumstance.