“I have an appointment first.” He rocked on his heels. “Could I borrow your car?”
“Sure. We’re taking Mom’s shopping. Where are you going?”
“Jessa told me Mrs. Addy is in need of a maintenance man at her boardinghouse.” Hope flickered in his tight smile. “She put in a good word for me, and I want to go before the position is filled.”
“I’ll say a prayer. Mrs. Addy is great and very understanding.”
“That’s what I need.” He patted his wallet in his rear pockets. “I’m thankful my license only got suspended and not revoked. That would have made finding a job even more difficult.”
“That’s the way to look at it.” She gave him a quick hug. “The keys are hanging by the front door. Call me when it’s over and let me know how it went.”
“I will.” He left the deck, his usual swagger gone.
Be with him Lord and provide a job for him. He made a big lapse in judgment, but so did I and You provided for me. I know his faith is strong, and he truly is sorry. If You could give him a fresh start, that would be great, but especially don’t let him get discouraged if it takes time.
She collected their empty glasses and took them into the kitchen, dropped them off in the sink. On an afterthought, she went ahead and washed them, put them away in the cabinet. The microwave flashed2:33. She better change before her sisters arrived—she didn’t think yoga pants and a t-shirt from the diner counted as appropriate attire for wedding dress shopping.Too bad.
Tiptoeing into the room, she stole a glimpse of Alice who didn’t stir at the intrusion. Trixie quietly went to the closet and sorted through her clothes. She settled on a mauve sundress and a pair of sandals with metallic bronze straps.
By the time she changed, Alice showed signs of waking up. She rolled around then fluttered her eyes. Trixie took her from the crib, changed her, then helped her down the steps for a snack before they left.
Mom came downstairs and shortly after, Jessa and Phoebe arrived.
Phoebe looped an arm through hers. “Have you thought about what kind of dress you want?”
“We should try the store where I got mine. They had a huge selection.” Jessa’s enthusiasm bounced around them all.
Trixie held up her hands. “I don’t want anything overboard. We want a simple wedding and that includes the dress.”
Phoebe harrumphed. “You can have simple but we’re not letting you have a boring, ugly dress.”
“Girls, this is Trixie’s wedding and she’ll have what she wants.” Mom gave them her infamous stare-down. “I don’t care if she wants the ugliest dress there, you’ll support her and tell her it’s beautiful on her.”
“I’m not sure if that’s an insult or compliment.” She looked at her mother with horror. “If it’s hideous, I want to know.”
Mom kissed her cheek. “I only said that because you would never choose an ugly dress.”
Jessa clapped her hands loudly, sending an echo through the kitchen. “Are we going or standing around all day?”
“We’re going. Everyone ready?” Mom grabbed her purse and keys then shuffled everyone out the door.
“Where go?” Alice asked while Trixie buckled her.
“We’re finding Mommy a new dress to wear when I marry Mr. Elijah.”
“Dada.”
The women froze and stared at each other.
“You all heard that, right?” She looked at her sisters, then her mom. “She called him Dada.”
“Dada,” Alice said again.
“She definitely said it.” Jessa slid in the rear passenger seat. “I call dibs on sitting next to her.”
Phoebe sat on the other side. “Me too.”
“I guess I’m sitting up front with Mom.” Trixie opened the front passenger door, still in awe that Alice called Elijah dad. Was it because they’d told her he’d be her new daddy or was it a child’s instinct? Either way, it made her day better than it already was.
