“I was going to add more to thecharcuterie,” Raven says, emphasizing thechar, and I give her an appreciative glance. “Like olives, pickles, and more for the adult palate, but I ran out of time so all you get are some dumped-out Lunchables, Goldfish, and gummies in cartoon shapes.”
“Oh, I love a good pickle!” I shoot Bella a warning look. “But the presentation is so fancy,” she adds.
Summer shrugs. “Tastes good to me.”
“Love you, Mama,” Levi says, giving me a big sticky kiss on the lips as he scampers off.
“Well, I’m definitely getting the flu now,” I tease, winking at Summer.
“Oh my God, no one is getting the flu,” she moans.
“Can we get back to Lucy’s tragically bad date?” Raven gets us on track again.
“What was so bad about it?” Summer asks.
“Everything, but it’s how it ended that was the worst.”
“He gave her a speeding ticket,” Raven says.
The shocked look on Summer’s face is comical. “What?”
Bella leans forward, resting her arms on the table. “Yeah, she was on her way to the hospital because Micah broke his arm.”
“I heard about that part,” Summer says, taking a bite of cheese and crackers.
“But did they tell you about how I ran into a wall when I got there and the same hot firefighter that rescued my son had to rescue me?”
Summer smacks Raven and Bella’s arms in unison. “They did not tell me that! What’s with you two embarrassing yourselves in front of firefighters?”
“You’ve done it too.” I laugh incredulously. “Do we need to talk about that kiss again?”
“That’s different. RJ wasn’t a firefighter then,” Summer says, pouting.
“Well, I, for one, do not plan on embarrassing myself in front of a firefighter. Frankly, I do not see the appeal. But I’m happy for you two.” Raven pops another gummy in her mouth.
“To be fair, I embarrassed myself in front of HardyandMike on Halloween,” Bella says.
“That should make me feel better, but oddly, it does not,” I say, taking a sip of my wine.
“Wait, was your boob out too?” Summer looks at me, horror-stricken.
I laugh and shake my head, thinking about how Bella met her now-boyfriend when she’d accidentally exposed herself to the guys. “No. I saw blood and passed out, and when I came to, I was in a hospital bed and his sexy forearm tattoo was in my face. I was confused and woozy and I think I referred to him as Mr. March before they took me back for scans.”
“Oh my God, that’s so embarrassing!” Summer clasps her hands over her mouth.
“Don’t worry, I’ve embarrassed myself plenty since then.”
Three sets of eyes stare at me expectantly.
“I literally ran into his ass in the grocery store a few days ago. Like turned a corner and bounced off it while I was chasing after Levi, and Micah walked up and handed me ‘my adult diapers.’ But they weren’t for me, they were out of Levi’s size, so we grabbed adult ones. Never did get a chance to explain that to Mr. March, though. Then today, he opened the door for me at Chestnut Mountain Roasters as I was pushing it open with my butt, and I fell and spilled all our coffees all over myself.”
“Is that why you were late?” Raven asks.
Summer leans forward in her chair as if she’s invested. “Is that why you brought wine instead?”
“Yup. There was no way I was going back in there after the scene I made.”
“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad,” Bella says, tossing a cube of cheese into the air and then catching it.
