Page 86
So cheerful, so bubbly, so sweet. First impressions only said so much, but I had the feeling that description wouldn’t change by any large margin.
“Yeah, thank you for having me,” I said, clutching the bottle of wine I’d brought as a gift.
“Oh my god, your shirt is adorable,” Mallory said, coming close to Simone for another hug. Simone thanked her too, and just as Mallory pulled away, a little squeal of excitement escaped her. She crouched to kid height, saying, “And you must be Junie! Your mom has told me so much about you.”
Junie hung close to Simone’s side but gave Mallory a smile in greeting.
“She’s shy,” Simone said.
“That’s okay. I love your dress, though.” Mallory gestured to it, then passed her affection onto Lizzie. They embraced tightly as Mallory pressed a kiss to her forehead. “And you gotta stop getting so damn old, girly.”
“Still younger than you,” Lizzie said, giving a sly smirk.
“Yeah, yeah.” Mallory shoved her shoulder. She gave Sebastian a quick side hug. “The guys are all outside getting the fire going. Go help them. Please. I heard Chris say he was gonna get a gas can out of the shed. I will murder that man if he blows up the new patio, and I’ll blame you for it.”
Sebastian looked my way, as if to say, Are you okay? Do you wanna come with me?
“What’re we drinking, ladies?” Mallory asked us, gesturing for us to follow her into the living room. “Red? White? I’ve got mixers too if you want something stronger!”
Sebastian’s mouth opened and shut a few times.
Chuckling, I trailed behind Mallory. “You heard her. Go get that fire started.”
He scratched his head and headed down the hall. “Good luck.”
“Uh, red, if you’ve got any,” Simone said. “I think Gwen brought a bottle too.”
Mallory looked over her shoulder. Her jaw fell open and a laugh followed. “Oh, god. I’m all over the place tonight. Thank you so much.”
“No, I completely get it.” I handed it over. “And whatever’s already open. I’m not picky.”
“We’ve got it all. Seriously, which—”
“Mommy, Mommy!”
One of the kids who’d run through the hallway earlier barreled through the cased opening between the living room and kitchen with a plastic bag in hand. She was a spitting image of Mallory, just half her size, with a pair of pigtails instead of bouncy curls.
She pummeled into her mom, jumping up and down. “Can we put these in the fire?”
Mallory squinted at the bag. “If Daddy’ll help, you can roast marshmallows on the fire.”
On another jump, she spun around.
Mallory caught her shoulder. “Can you say hello to our guests before you run off again, Gabby?”
Gabby scanned the crowd, waved at Lizzie, and stopped on Junie. Her eyes widened and a smile stretched across her lips. “Oh, hi, Junie!”
Practically tucked behind Simone now, Junie waved back.
“Junie’s mommy does my hair,” Mallory said. “You guys are in the same class, right?”
“Just art class,” Junie said, almost inaudible.
“Yeah, we have recess together sometimes too.” Still grinning, Gabby held up the plastic bag. “Do you like marshmallows on the fire?”
Junie nodded.
“Do you wanna come outside and make some with me?” Gabby asked.
