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Sleepover
“This is really weird.” Kendra said.
“I know, but your mom said it was okay. She’s going to drop off an overnight bag for Chelsea at the Woodard’s.”
“So, what are we going to do?”
“Want some dinner?”
“Sure.” Kendra said. “What kind?”
“I don’t know. What are you up for?”
“Whatever. Something hot.”
“Are you chilly? I can turn up the heat.”
“No, I just want hot food for dinner. Not a hoagie or whatever.”
“Oh, okay. There’s a diner.”
“Works for me.”
“What’s the matter Kendra?”
“I don’t see why Chelsea gets to have a sleepover. I don’t get to have sleepovers.”
“Do you have a super-duper best friend like Lynn?”
“Mm, not really. Do you?”
“Not really.”
“How about Lynn’s uncle?”
“Lynn’s uncle? What about him?”
“He doesn’t seem desperate.”
“I guess not. What does that have to do with anything?”
“I thought you said you thought he had to be desperate to have a girlfriend contest. He didn’t seem desperate. He seemed nice.”
“It’s easy to seem nice at a skating rink with everybody around. It’s called keeping up appearances.”
“It is?” Kendra looked around the diner’s parking lot. “You mean he was faking?”
“I guess maybe he was.”
“He didn’t seem fake. I don’t think he’s smart enough to fake it.”
“Kendra, that’s not very nice.”
“Probably not.”
“I don’t think you’re wrong, though.”
“Probably not.”
“That could be a good thing.”
“Not being smart is good?”
“I don’t know if he’s smart or not. I just don’t think he’s smart enough to fake it. I think he probably knows that and it keeps him honest.”
Ivy pulled into an open spot at the diner. “What are you, the Buddha?”
“I’m just saying. You could do worse.” Kendra unbuckled her seatbelt.
“I guess I could, but I’m not looking.”
Holly clutched the bag in her lap. “Frank, are you sure about this? She’s so little.”
“I know, but I want her to have some fun. We didn’t have anything planned. Why not let her spend some time with her little friend?”
“I guess you’re right.” She looked at him a moment and then began scanning house numbers again. “Frank, can I tell you something without you getting upset?”
“Can it wait until after we drop this off?”
“I guess so, but we need to talk.”
“Okay, but first things first. Here’s their place.” Frank pulled up to the curb. He hurried around the front of the van and opened her door. “Here we go.”
She took his hand and slid from her seat. Holly took a deep breath and followed Frank to the house.
“Hi, come on in.” Steve opened the door for them. “I’m Steve Woodard. Nice to meet you.”
Frank shook his hand. “Frank and Holly Hannon. Thanks for letting Chelsea stay over.”
“Lynn is so thrilled. Please, come in.”
“Hello!” Nancy said. “Can I take your coats?”
Holly took hers off. “Thank you. I’m Holly, by the way.”
“Nancy.” She shook Holly’s hand. “Can I get your coat?”
“Frank.” He said as he handed it to her. “Thanks. You have a lovely home.”
“Thank you, won’t you come in and have a seat? Can I offer you some cookies or something to drink?”
“Ah, nothing for me, thanks.” Frank said, following Steve into the living room. “Wow, that is a great tree.”
“My brother has the best connections for greenery. Please, have a seat.”
“Connections, huh?” Frank chuckled.
“Oh my, yes. He’s a landscaper.”
“Nice. Tough time of year for that. Isn’t it?”
“True, but he does Christmas light setups.”
“Really? What happens after Christmas?”
“He goes back and takes them all down again.” Steve laughed. “After that, he helps out a buddy of his with some plowing work until it gets warm enough to get back to the landscaping.”
“Wow. Smart guy. What line of work are you in, Steve?”
“I’m in sales. I don’t have Ian’s green thumb or his tolerance for sunburn and bugs.”
“Haha, same here. What do you sell?”
“Windows and doors. How about you, Frank?”
“Ice melt and water treatment chemicals mostly.”
“Oh, nice business model. Repeat business is key.”
“True, true. Oh, hey, Chelsea. Are you having fun? Mommy and I brought your pajamas.”
She jumped up on his lap. “Thank you. We’re going to play Candy Land and watch Santa shows and have cookies.”
“That’s great, sweetie. You behave and we’ll see you tomorrow at church.”
She kissed him on the cheek and jumped down.
“She’s such a nice girl. I’m glad Lynn made a friend. She was really nervous about starting Kindergarten but she met Chelsea and suddenly she was so excited to go to school every day.”
“We’ve got a special picture frame for Lynn’s drawings. Whenever she brings home a new one, Holly puts it right in for her. We’ve got a special folder for the rest of them. She’s going to save them up and give them to Chelsea when she graduates high school.”
“See? That wasn’t so bad. They’re nice people and Chelsea is safe.” Frank said as he turned the corner.
“Yes. You and Steve seemed to hit it off.”
“He’s a good guy. How was Nancy?”
“She was fine.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing. I just feel weird.”
“Well, don’t go all empty nest on me here. She’ll be back tomorrow.”
“I know. It just seems to be going so quickly.”
“That’s kids, Holly. They grow up in the blink of an eye. Say, what was that thing you said you wanted to tell me?”
“What?”
“You said you didn’t want me to get upset and you had to tell me something. What was it?”
“You should probably pull over.”
“Pull over?”
“Yeah, Frank. Stop the car. Pull over.”
He looked at her suspiciously and found a spot to pull over. “Holly, what’s going on?”
“I got you something for Christmas.”
“Something I had to pull over for? What is it?”
“Well, you helped, actually.”
“Holly, what are you talking about?”
“Remember Labor Day weekend?”
“Sure. What of it?”
She patted her belly. “Say hello to Frank Jr.”