Becky giggled behind her hands. When she saw my glare, she turned away. The laughter didn’t stop.
Malinda’s hand fluttered through the air, as if she were drawing a picture. “I’ve been so curious to see the inside of this home. An artist owned it before your father bought it, and I heard he renovated some of the rooms. I’ve been bursting at the seams for any little excuse to come over, and when David told me you’d be my neighbor, I was just tickled pink.”
The Kades lived two houses down. “I’ve been your neighbor for a while.”
“Oh.” She flapped her hand at me. “That doesn’t count. James Kade may have kept the house, but Helen was the one who owned it. That woman’s never been a neighbor, if you know what I mean. I had hoped for a little bit when Mark mentioned that he met Logan Kade at a football camp, but I knew not to get my hopes up too high. The Kades don’t let anyone in that home, and I mean anyone. I’m no dummy. Then when your mother moved in, pfft! I knew those gates will forever be locked up now, certainly now that David and I hope to get married.” She stopped suddenly and pierced me with her gaze. “You do know that, don’t you, darling? I wanted Mark to whisper that bit in your ears. David wants to wait, but heavens to pieces, I have no intention of waiting. I’ve been eyeing your daddy for a long time. When Mark told me the coach was splitting from his wife, I celebrated that night with my girlfriends and a little Mr. Merlot. If you know what I mean?” She giggled and her cheeks got pinker.
I’d never spoken to David’s girlfriend, but this wasn’t what I expected. She remained in the background the few times I saw them together. Since the settlement agreed that I could spend time with him, it’d only been the two of us at the old house. When Mark told me that he thought his mother and my father were going to get hitched, I hadn’t known what to say so I’d never spoken of it to David. Now that I heard confirmation that they hadn’t, I relaxed a bit. But from the determination in Malinda’s eyes, I knew the man who raised me was already spoken for. I wasn’t sure if David knew it was for the rest of his life.
“But enough with my chitter chatter. I’m so excited to finally be speaking to you. I’ve heard such great things from David and Mark. Even Adam’s spoken highly of you when he comes for dinner, and that’s quite a bit now. He practically lives with us now that his father’s got himself a new little missy—” Her eyes popped out and she gasped. Then she patted her cheeks. “Let’s let that be between us girls, hmmm? Adam never asked for me to be quiet, but I know he wouldn’t want that out. I feel so bad now.” But her voice perked up. “So, Samantha, would you like to come for dinner this Friday evening? We finally have those evenings free again and I love to entertain Friday evenings. Let’s say at six? Rebecca, would you like to come as well? Hell, I’ll invite Adam too.” She winked at us. “Let’s hope the two boys don’t bring their female friends. Those girls can be quite nasty.”
My mouth had fallen open at some point. It stayed there now.
“Okay.” She wiggled her fingers at us as she started for the door. “Toodles, wiggles, and all forms of positive energy I’m sending your way. I’ll see both of you this Friday at six? Oh, and maybe this can be a secret as well? I’d just love to surprise your father, Samantha. He’s been so worried about adding more stress, but I kept telling him it was all nonsense. It’d tickle his goat if he saw you for dinner that night.”
When she opened the door, a pizza delivery girl was on the other side. Her hand had been raised for the buzzer, but she stepped back when Malinda appeared.
“Oooh, pizza!” she cooed and reached into her purse. “Let me pay for that. How much was it, sweetie?”
The girl never blinked an eye as she told her the amount. When she got a ten dollar tip, she gave her a closed mouth grin and stuffed the money in her pocket. The pizza was handed over the next second, and we watched as she hurried to her car and drove away.
Malinda winked at us again. “They’re always scared I made a mistake with the tip and they need to speed off before I realize my mistake. They tend to think I’m a bit ditzy at times. Okay, have fun darlings. See you on Friday! I’m so excited. I’m going to hurry home and start choosing recipes!”
When I took the pizza to the kitchen and Becky had closed the door, we were quiet for a moment before both of us doubled over in laughter. As I wiped a tear from my eye, I shook my head. “David doesn’t know what he got himself into. That woman is anything but ditzy.”
Becky hopped on a barstool and tried to contain her giggles. “Mark’s been so embarrassed of her at the Club. Now I know why.”
“That woman’s a happy tornado.” I grabbed two plates and handed one to Becky before I pulled out some cheese and saw a bottle of wine in the refrigerator. It wasn’t long before we traipsed downstairs to the theatre with our plates full and our glasses just as full. When we settled in, with blankets draped over, and the movie starting, Becky sighed.
“What’s wrong?” I glanced over.
She gave me a pained look. “I’m real sorry for avoiding you these last three months. I was stupid.”
My chest tightened and I gripped harder on my plate. “That’s okay.” My throat had swollen.
She picked at her blanket. “It’s not. I wasn’t the friend to you that I said I’d be. I abandoned you too.”