Grabbing her phone, Ella hoped she might find a message from her family.She was moved to see that all six of her sisters and brothers had responded, and she had two messages from Julia.But, sadly, neither of her parents had sent anything.Ella decided not to let that get her down.Small steps forward.Sending back a quick heart emoji to all her siblings and cousin, she quickly dressed and headed downstairs.
When Ella walked into the kitchen a little after 9:00, she was shocked at the flurry of activity.The air was literally buzzing with electricity.Seeing Ella, Ben got up from the counter where he was drinking coffee and gave her a kiss.
“Good morning,” called Poppy who was busy unloading the dishwasher.“Did you sleep well?I told the girls not to wake you, but they have been chomping at the bit to spend some more time with you.You have those two completely under your spell.”
Smiling and wrapping Ella in a loose hug around her middle, Ben added, “They aren’t the only ones.I am a goner for her myself.”
Embarrassed to be the center of attention, Ella flushed and said, “I am very fond of them as well.”Nodding her head back toward Ben, she added, “And I think this one is pretty terrific also.So what is on the agenda for today?”
Before anyone could answer, Lola, Lizzy, and Rosie all raced down the back stairs from the playroom.“Great!Ella is up!We can go now,” Lola squealed.
“Take it down a notch.You are too loud,” snapped Ben.It had been a while since he had been around his little sisters, and he had forgotten how loud they could be.
Immediately, Lola gave Ben a mad look.“I am not too loud.Mom!Ben yelled at me.”
Rolling her eyes, Poppy responded, “Yes, you are too loud.Ben, be nice to your sister.She’s just excited.”Taking a breath, Poppy said, “Everyone just chill out.Now to your first question, yes, we can go now if Ella is ready.Go wash your hands and get your coats and shoes.We will leave shortly.”At that, the three girls ran upstairs to get their things.
Turning toward Ben, Ella asked, “Go?Where are we going?”
“Well,” said Ben hesitatingly.“There have been a few developments since you went to bed last night.Taylor called, and she is onboard with doing the interview to support Dad.”
Ella was stunned.From the reaction Taylor’s husband had at dinner the night before, she was shocked at such a turnaround.
Continuing, Ben added, “Somehow Taylor talked Greer into letting her tell her story.I know it is the best thing for Dad.I just hope it did not cause an issue for her and Greer.”
Without missing a beat, Poppy responded, “Taylor has that man wrapped around her little finger.I am not surprised that she got him to change his mind.I just hope we have all made the right decision to do this.”
Poppy did not elaborate on what “this” was, but Ella assumed she meant sharing the story of exactly what derailed Bennett’s once star-studded career.
Before Ella could ask any more questions about the plan for the day, Ben jumped in and outlined it for her.“Right now, we are all going back to the 4C for breakfast.Then Greer and I are going to take the girls to a movie at the Rialto, so you and Mom can do some Black Friday shopping.While we are out, a reporter is coming here to interview Taylor for her story.”
Nodding understanding, Ella said, “Okay, sounds good.I will grab my coat and purse and be right back.”
At that moment, the little girls came running back into the room, bundled up and ready to go.Ella quickly grabbed her coat and purse.Then they headed downtown.
Breakfast was much the same as it had been the day before just with fewer people stopping by to visit because Bennett was not with them.As before, the food was on point.Ella loved the guy who waited on them.They sat in Doc’s section again by the front door.As he had the day before, he greeted the girls and brought Poppy a cup of coffee before they were even seated.
Looking around the diner, thoughts of her parents brought pain rippling through her heart.She had spent her whole life being the perfect daughter.When she needed them most, they had not been there for her.She knew she had let them down, but she wasn’t perfect.And now she realized, they weren’t either.
It was a hard pill to swallow.Kids spend their whole life believing their parents are always right and know what is best.Then one day, it all blows apart, and you have to accept that they were just people too, doing the best they could.It is a scary thing because that is the moment you grow up.You realize you have to figure out life on your own—no matter how your parents feel about it.They don’t have all the answers.Nobody does.Life is the journey to figure them out.And no matter what, you are going to get it wrong sometimes.It is how you deal with the mistakes that will determine your life.Ella was dealing with this baby the best she knew how.Her parents weren’t—not today, but hopefully they would someday soon.
Ella knew she would have to forgive them for getting it wrong.Otherwise she would harbor a deep hurt in her heart that would only eat at her.She needed all her energy to move forward with her life with or without them.She could not afford to waste it being angry.She would never have believed she could build a life without them.But the past few weeks had proven she was stronger than she knew.Thank heaven for Ben.She had no idea what she would have done without him.
All of these thoughts were buzzing through Ella’s head as the girls chatted away while eating their pancakes.Just as Ben had said, Greer joined them.Back was the friendly, kind man of yesterday, before he threw his fit and left.Ella realized that Poppy had been right.Taylor really did have that man on a string to bring about such a quick turnaround.It must mean Greer loved Taylor very much.Ella wondered if Ben loved her that much.She hoped he did, but she hoped she never had to put it to the test.
After breakfast, Greer and Ben took the girls down the block to the movie.Ella fell in love with the 1920s Rialto theater that was still in use.It was really beautiful with all the lights on the marquee.She secretly wanted to go with them to the movie, but she could tell how excited Poppy was to take her shopping.
Ella was dreading it.She hated shopping.It was not something she had grown up doing.With seven kids, shopping was reduced to a few trips a year to a large discount store.Between school and the diner, Ella never had the time or money to see shopping as anything other than a chore.The thought of spending several hours going around town hitting all the local shops almost gave her a headache.But seeing how excited her future mother-in-law was about it, Ella pasted a smile on her face and followed Poppy for a day of what Poppy called, “bargain hunting.”Somehow Ella was pretty sure that what Poppy called a bargain and what Ella called a bargain were worlds apart.
Several hours and too many stores later, Ella was about to drop.They had hit Stott’s, a local pharmacy and gift shop, where Poppy picked up several holiday gifts.From there, they had moved on to a cool decorating store called Twig and Plume.Ella really liked that store.She actually bought a cool Christmas T-shirt.Next, they hit several home decor stores.At every store, Poppy pointed out pillows, decorative signs, and various items with Searcy and 72143, Searcy’s postal code, on them.Poppy tried repeatedly to interest Ella in the various items and offered to buy them for her.Ella kept refusing, saying she was not sure where she would put them.
Truthfully, Ella had never even been in stores like these.She had never had a home to decorate or even thought about it.She had always lived with her family, and there the decor had been minimal and remained the same for as long as she could remember.It seemed foreign to her that people spent so much time and money on such things.After several failed attempts to capture Ella’s interest, Poppy gave up and settled for buying a tea towel that saidSearcy Has My Heart.Ella accepted the gift graciously.
From there, Poppy insisted they drop into Bliss, a clothing boutique a few doors down.Having grown up wearing clothes from discount stores, the cute store was a little disconcerting.The prices weren’t anywhere near what Ella had seen in Aspen, but they certainly weren’t discount prices she was used to either.Ella had been right.Their idea of a bargain was vastly different.Ella was still struggling with the reality of having access to money to spend at will.She wondered if Ben and his family realized how lucky they were.Poppy encouraged Ella to try on several cute dresses, pants, and sweaters and a great jean jacket she insisted on buying for her.Poppy said she wanted Ella to have some early Christmas gifts, but Ella wondered how Poppy knew that she would still be around at Christmas.Ignoring the feeling that she really shouldn’t let Ben’s mom buy her anything, Ella was persuaded to try on a few things.After all, she was going to be needing some bigger clothes very soon.Having left most of her things in Napa, she had a very limited wardrobe.Whether she liked it or not, she was going to need some new things.
It was while she was in the dressing room that Ella became very hot and faint.Grabbing onto the chair in the dressing room, Ella let out a squeal before collapsing in the chair.It made quite a racket, and Poppy raced over to the door.
“Ella?Are you okay?”asked Poppy, quite concerned.“Do you need help?Should I come in?”
