“Hello. I’m so glad to finally meet you,” I told him.
“Likewise,” he said with a nod. “I understand you are coming to church with Scarlett tomorrow evening and then to supper with us. You can meet my whole family then. They all love Scarlett as much as I do.”
“Hey, what’s going on in here?” Ada Lou called out from the dining room. “It looks like a tornado struck this place.”
“Y’all want us to bus these tables?” Nancy yelled.
“You talk to Rosie and then come help me.” Scarlett picked up a bin and backed through the swinging doors with Grady right behind her.
“Hello, Miz Ada Lou and Nancy. You ladies have a nice day,” he said on his way outside.
Rosie washed and dried her hands at the sink. “I know what you are thinking, and I know that Ilene wants to place a new young woman with us. My vote is to try to help her. Scarlett is about to move out, so her room will be empty, if you are worried about logistics.”
“Things happen for a reason,” I muttered as I picked up a bin. “I will tell her yes when she calls back, if you think that’s the wise thing to do. Have you done this before?”
Rosie held up four fingers. “Matilda and I helped four young women before Scarlett came to us. We don’t have room or finances to take in a lot, but Matilda supported the shelters that Ilene takes care of. When the café is stable again, you might think of doing the same for a charity tax write-off.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“Hey, did y’all have a big crowd, or are you slow from having so many days off?” Ada Lou asked when I made it to the kitchen.
“A little of both. Are y’all glad to be out and about today?”
“Definitely,” Nancy answered. “We are going to drive over to El Paso to do some shopping.”
“There’s noweto the driving,” Ada Lou declared. “That pregnant roller skate you call a car shouldn’t be on the roads in weather like this. Besides, if a coyote ran across in front of the car, you would swerve and we’d end up buried in a snowdrift. I’m driving my truck, and you are buying our brunch.”
Nancy chuckled. “She’s in a bitchy mood until she gets fed.”
Scarlett had already cleaned off their table and poured coffee for them. She sat down across the table while they studied the menu. “Grady asked me to move in with him, and he wants to buy the house not far from our church,” she blurted out.
Both menus were a blur when the older women dropped them on the table.
“Are you going to do it?” Nancy asked.
Ada Lou looked Scarlett right in the eyes. “What’s keeping you from saying yes? It’s just a matter of sleeping with him all night orgetting up and leaving in time to get back here before you have to go to work in the morning.”
“I want to do it. I love him so much, but I don’t want to make a mistake,” she answered.
“Move into the house he’s renting now and see if y’all can live together before you sign the final papers on buying that house,” Ada Lou suggested. “It will take a couple of weeks to close on a real estate deal. By then, you’ll either be ready to wring his neck or marry him for better or for worse.”
“Has he proposed?” Nancy asked.
“Too many times to count in the past six months,” Ada Lou answered.
“Good Lord!” Nancy gasped. “Why didn’t you tell me about that, Ada Lou? You aren’t supposed to keep news like this from me.”
“Guess I didn’t remember.” Ada Lou shrugged.
“That’s excellent advice, Ada Lou,” Scarlett said before another argument between the two old gals started. “What are you ladies having this morning?”
“The Supreme Breakfast for me,” Nancy said.
“The same here,” Ada Lou answered, then focused on me. “You look like you are having one of them internal fights with yourself.”
“I am,” I admitted.
Nancy leaned forward, and her perfectly manicured nails clicked on the table when she put her hands down. “Tell us your troubles, darlin’.”
