“Oh, no!” Lettie shook her head. “You’re the one who’s lookin’ a hundred smack in the eyeball. You blow them out, and you better hurry because the ones in the middle are about to burn to the bottom. They’ll ruin the icing and that’s your favorite part so don’t take another second to make your wish.”
“I’ll remember this when you need saving from the aliens.” Nadine took a deep breath, started at one end, and blew out every one of those candles.
A tall man with just a rim of gray hair around his head started the “Happy Birthday” song in a deep baritone, and everyone else joined in. Bryce paid particular attention to Cricket, who had an alto voice and carried a tune very well. Was there nothing this woman couldn’t do?
When the song had ended, Amos and the tall guy helped Lettie remove all the candles and then Nadine cut the first piece.
“I like a corner because it’s got the most icing,” she said with a smile. “I believe in having dessert first because life can be short. Not that I know anything about that business of it being short, but I do like chocolate cake. The rest of you feel free to enjoy all those finger foods that Lettie has worked on for a week, and please eat it all or she’ll make me have it for breakfast, dinner, and supper until it’s gone.”
“Tables are set up in the backyard,” Lettie announced. “Thank goodness it’s a decent night and not too hot.”
Cricket wasn’t a bit shy about loading her plate with finger foods, so Bryce did the same.
“This is some spread,” Bryce said. “I was expecting cake and punch.”
“Not at this house. Lettie and Nadine love to entertain,” Cricket said. “And they’re offended if you don’t eat hearty.”
“Well, I sure wouldn’t want to offend anyone, especially my landladies.” He liked these people. They were like the country folks he had grown up around.
The tall guy who’d led the “Happy Birthday” song fell into line behind Bryce and introduced himself. “I’m Frank Bartell, the pastor at the church that most of the folks here attend. I’ve been meaning to get down to the drugstore and welcome you to Bloom, but this has been a busy week. We’ve already had a funeral, and two members of my congregation are in the hospital in Sweetwater. But welcome, and I’d love to have you join us on Sunday.”
“Thank you, sir,” Bryce said and then turned to face Cricket. “Is that where you go?”
“Yep, been going there my whole life. Lettie took care of me in the nursery,” Cricket answered.
“Can I drive out and pick you up for church on Sunday, and then maybe take you out to dinner?” Bryce asked.
“That sounds great. I’ll be ready at ten thirty. Church starts at eleven,” she said. “Come on outside and sit by me. I need to tell you about today.”
“Lettie said she saw Anna Grace go into the bookstore. Is everything all right?” Bryce asked as they made their way outside, where multicolored balloons were tied to the ends of two eight-foot tables. Framed pictures of Nadine in every stage of her life were strewn down the middles. “Now, this is a party,” he said as put his plate on the table and sat down beside Cricket.
“Everything is fine, or at least I hope it is,” Cricket answered. “I figured someone would have seen her in the bookstore and spread the gossip.” She told him the short version of what had happened that day.
“That’s pretty sweet of you after the way she’s treated you, but I’ve got to admit, it sure takes a load off my shoulders. I was dreading even filling prescriptions for her and her family,” he said in a low tone.
Cricket shrugged. “I treated Jennie Sue like crap, and she gave me a second chance, so I should do the same for Anna Grace. Besides”—she leaned over and whispered—“if she was just playing a mean trick, I turned it around on her and took the power away from her.”
“If she’s not, you have to live with her for three months,” Bryce said.
“If she’s not serious, she won’t last a week in the garden or the kitchen and she’ll leave for sure on Saturday afternoon when I tell her it’s her turn to scrub the bathroom.” Cricket picked up a stuffed mushroom and popped it in her mouth. “I love food but then that’s evident from the way I look.”
“I think you are gorgeous,” Bryce said with all sincerity.
* * *
Cricket was glad she had food in her mouth and could use that for an excuse not to say a single word. She was even happier that she didn’t have a mouthful of sweet tea or she would have spewed it all over a picture of Nadine when the elderly lady was probably about sixteen.
“Well, at least you don’t have to worry about breaking me with a big hug,” she finally said, “and the way I like to cook and eat, I never will. But I’ve got to admit, I’m probably the clumsiest woman in the whole state.”
“I’ll catch you if you fall,” Bryce said.
Was he flirting with her? Sweet Lord! She had never learned how to bat her eyelashes and flirt like the Belles. While they’d been learning all about fashion and how to make a man fall all over himself to get to kiss their pretty sweet sixteen rings, she had been learning how to cook and plant a garden.
“If you do, I’ll probably just drag you down with me,” Cricket said.
“Sounds like fun if it’s in a muddy garden. We could take mud baths together, and then wash up with the garden hose,” Bryce teased, and stole a small tomato off her plate.
A shiver chased down her spine when his hand brushed against her bare arm. Cricket had started to think that she would grow up to be like Nadine in more ways than just age. She would probably be an old maid who knew all the gossip in town and who took care of her two precious nieces. But that little spark she felt gave her hope that Bryce was serious and that there just might be a better future ahead for her.
Nadine sat down beside her, and Lettie claimed a chair across the table. Cricket loved both of them, but tonight, she wished they had sat at the other table with Amos, Ilene, Tandy, and the other guests.
“Bryce, has someone introduced you to our preacher?” Nadine asked.
“Yes, ma’am.” Bryce nodded. “We met when we started around the food table. By the way, this is an awesome party.”
“I do my best, even though living with her is like sharing a house with an old bear one day and a teenager the next.” Lettie nodded at Nadine.
“Hey, if I got up in the same mood every single day, you’d get bored.” Nadine winked. “Don’t worry, sister, when you get to be ninety-five, I won’t smother you with a pillow even if you act like a teenager. Unless I catch you making out on the sofa with some old bald, toothless man.”
“I could still catch a young guy.” Lettie fluffed up her dyed black hair with the palm of her hand. “I betcha I could even get one who has hair and teeth and doesn’t use a walker.”
“I’ve got ten bucks that says you can’t,” Nadine said.
“You’re on, but you can’t fuss at me for getting protection down at the drugstore. I don’t want to be catchin’ one of the STFs at my age, and besides, if the aliens ever do choose me to go up in the sky with them, I wouldn’t want to spread it around to them.” Lettie grinned. “And it could take a while, so let’s say you have to pay up on my ninety-fifth birthday.”