Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch
Mollie Wilson:I say this lovingly, but if any of you break my rules at Grace’s baby shower, you WILL meet God.
Comments:
Jade Clark:Oh, I’m stealing that.
Kerry Winsor:Threats are against the group rules!!!
Mollie Wilson:I have immunity when it comes to planning a baby shower.
Hu Gh:How do I get that immunity??? MY posts keep getting taken down!
Two weeks later,I was trying to find a recipe for punch when I was faced with a very stern Mollie.
“Grace,sit.” Mollie pointed me to the couch. “If you get up, Iwillkick you out of this house.”
“It’s my house,” I said with a laugh. “You can’t kick me out.”
“When I’m planning a party, it’s our house. And I say you aren’t doing a damn thing.”
Dean laughed. “Good luck with that.”
“You too, cowboy hat. Sit the fuck down or so help me God.”
His eyes went wide. “You’re not playing.”
“Iwillwrap you up like I wrap up the chickens.”
“Maybe we should listen,” Dean said as he sat. I shook my head and followed suit.
The town had been hounding Dean on whether or not I would have a baby shower. I had been on the fence about planning yet another thing, and I didn’t know if Mollie had the capacity to do it.
Then she offered, and I realized how she wrangled kids and handled a farm. She was a fucking force of nature.
“You’re so bossy,” I said. “But thank you.”
“I’m dedicated, and my mom planned an amazing shower for me. I consider this me returning the favor.”
“And I get to get pictures!” Virginia said as she came around the corner. She immediately snapped a photo. “Oh, I’m so happy to be here.”
Now that I was nearing full-term, all three of us had finished the nursery. I’d gone with a light yellow and found a crib, plus some small furniture. Virginia and Dean had put it all together.
Once there wasn’t room for the guest bed any longer, Virginia had increased her efforts to find an apartment, but both of us could tell she wasn’t happy.
That was when I offered to have her stay in Brooke’s room.
After what she’d done in Nashville, I didn’t want to talk to my sister. She’d made her life there, and I was making mine here.
She wouldn’t be happy when she found out, but I wasn’tsure that I cared. I doubted she would come home anytime soon, at the very least.
This was the first time my house was guest ready. All of the mess Brooke had left had been put in the basement by Virginia and Dean. We’d slowly gotten to most of the things that needed to be fixed or cleaned, and now it felt like a home again.
Jade and Wren arrived as Mollie finished the punch. She directed them on last-minute decorations while I watched from the couch.
“All right, that’s all settled.” Mollie put her hands on her hips. “Just in time for the first guest that wasn’t called early.”
“And who’s that?” I asked.