11
“Whoa,” Samantha said as they walked into the community center.
“Whoa is right,” Erin said, rooted in her spot as she took in the scene.
The fundraiser was that night, and the inside of the building had been transformed for that evening’s event. The large multi-purpose room had tables lining the walls, and each one was covered in delicious-looking desserts. In the center were more tables covered in red and white checkered tablecloths for the spaghetti dinner. Several people were sitting and eating while others walked around the room.
Erin saw many people she recognized and waved at someone from church as they walked by. This was a great turnout and Erin was happy that so many people had come to show their support for families who had gone through what she and her children had. Shemight not have had this support when she lost Jake, but it was great that something like this existed now.
“Are we going to buy a dessert?” Parker asked, his eyes were wide as saucers as he took it all in.
Erin laughed gently. “We’ll see. After we eat dinner, we’ll have to walk around the room and see what looks good.”
“It all looks good,” Logan said from behind her. “But nothing looks as delicious as your strawberry shortcake cheesecake.”
As promised, Logan had been the perfect kitchen assistant. He’d helped Erin with dishes and other mundane tasks as she made Jake’s favorite dessert. It was a three-layer cake. The top and bottom layers were lemon sponge cake, and the middle layer was strawberry cheesecake. Then it was covered in whipped cream frosting. It was the perfect dessert for summer, filled with all the flavors of the season.
Erin had poured all of her love into the dessert and had even debated keeping it—especially when Logan had jokingly suggested eating it as soon as she’d put the finishing touches on it. Seeing it on display next to the tables made her happy she hadn’t actually cut into it at home.
She turned to face him. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He smiled at her. “Jake would be really proud.”
Erin’s heart warmed at the thought of her late husband, and the feeling caught her off guard. Shewas used to the ache that came when someone mentioned Jake’s name. His death had been a painful loss, and rightfully so. They’d been married for almost ten years and had two children together. Before that, they were friends. Jake was a big part of her life for a long time, and it was right for her to grieve his loss.
The fondness she felt now was a welcome change from the weepiness she was used to experiencing with the mention of his name. She hoped that with time, she’d be able to dwell on the happy memories they’d shared, instead of the hole he left when he died. Embracing the way she felt now, she said, “Yeah, I think you’re right. Jake would be proud, but he’d probably also be jealous that someone else gets to eat it instead of him.”
Logan chuckled as they pushed through the crowd toward the ticket line for dinner. “I can’t imagine he has any complaints, now that he’s in the presence of Jesus. Your cake might be good, but it’s not that good.” He gave her a playful wink.
She liked how casually Logan mentioned Jake’s name, the way he reminded her that her husband was where he didn’t feel pain or sorrow anymore. She decided it would be okay for someone else to get to enjoy the cake after all.
When they reached the front of the line, they were greeted by a middle-aged woman from church. “How many tickets?”
“Two adults, two children, please,” Logan said. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet.
“No, you don’t have to get it,” Erin said, reaching for her purse.
He shook his head. “You already made the cake. This is the least I can do.”
“You helped with the cake.” She raised her brows.
Logan laughed as he fished his wallet out of his back pocket and pulled out a few bills. “Hardly. You did all the hard stuff.”
Erin dropped her wallet back into her bag. “Fine, but if we get any desserts, I’m buying them.”
He looked like he wanted to argue, but he eventually nodded. “Deal.”
Erin reached down for Parker’s hand after they got their tickets and moved toward the tables in the center of the room. She craned her head to get a better view of the tables. “Do you see Aunt Betty?”
No sooner had she asked than she spotted the older woman. Aunt Betty had insisted on leaving early to beat the crowds. She waved her arms wildly in the air as they approached. “Hurry up. I’ve been saving this table while I waited for you to show up.”
This woman and her punctuality for saving seats. There were plenty of seats, but Aunt Betty insisted on saving this table, and even put a few fundraiser handouts on the table to hold their spots while they went and got their food.
They moved down the line of food together asvolunteers loaded Styrofoam plates with pasta, tomato sauce, meatballs, and garlic bread. Logan helped hold Parker’s plate, so that there weren’t any spills. When they’d successfully loaded up, they went back to the table Aunt Betty had staked a claim to.
They enjoyed their meal, though it took a little longer than usual since people kept stopping by their table to greet them or tell Erin how delicious her cake looked. The compliments gave her the confidence boost she needed after the disaster with the wedding cake. Logan was right, one bad experience wasn’t a good reason to give up. She’d been putting one foot in front of the other for the past year, and she was finally beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Things were changing for the better, and she was thankful that she hadn’t given up.
Erin had just taken a huge bite when Ellis walked up to the table. He gave Logan’s back a hearty pat. “Everyone having a good time?”
