“Me too,” Mari added.
“How about you, Coach and Mrs. Johnson?” Tripp asked politely. “Can I convince you to join us?”
“No, no,” Grampy said. “We’re supposed to be meeting Doc Robertson for lunch in a few minutes.”
“But thank you for asking,” Gram added. “It’s nice to see the four of you out enjoying the day.”
Jillian felt her cheeks heating, but she smiled, knowing she had nothing to be ashamed of. She was a grown woman, and it was okay to spend time with the man she was getting to know again.
“Off you go,” Gram said, winking at her. “You’ve got two hungry little girls here.”
“Do you want breakfast for lunch?” Tripp asked the girls.
Predictably, they were very excited. Posey grabbed his hand and started listing off breakfast foods as they headed for the corner.
But Mari hung back with Jillian.
“Are you feeling okay about all this?” Jillian asked her quietly.
Marigold had always been more thoughtful and sensitive than her sister. It occurred to Jillian that she might not like seeing her mother laughing and holding hands with someone who wasn’t her father.
“This is a nice day,” Mari said. “But I’m tired.”
“Worn out from being out in the cold all day?” Jillian asked.
“Yes,” Mari agreed.
“Is it okay to go have lunch with Tripp?” Jillian asked her. “Or would you rather go home for grilled cheese and tomato soup?”
“Lunch with Tripp,” Mari said, perking up enough to look at her mother like she couldn’t believe she could ask such a question.
“Okay,” Jillian said. “I was just checking.”
They reached the diner and the hostess escorted them to a nice booth by the window. Posey stayed with Tripp, and Jillian slid into the bench across from them with Mari beside her.
Both girls were visibly sleepy, but clearly happy. Mari leaned against Jillian’s shoulder, one hand finding a lock of Jillian’s hair and playing with it like she had when she was very small.
Across the table, Posey studied the pictures on the menu, stifling a yawn.
“This was so much fun,” Jillian told Tripp. “I’m so glad you invited us.”
“Me too,” he said, his eyes so serious.
“What can I bring you folks?” the waitress asked brightly as she hurried up to the table.
The girls perked up, and everyone got excited about all the choices and the specials. After a lengthy discussion that put the waitress’s patience on full display, she headed off with their long list of orders.
“I think our eyes might be bigger than our stomachs,”Jillian said, shaking her head. “There’s no way we could eat all that.”
“We’re going to prove you wrong, aren’t we, girls?” Tripp teased.
They talked quietly while the girls played another guessing game, and before long two waitresses were back with trays covered in pancakes, sausage links, eggs both scrambled and fried, toast, biscuits, bowls of cut fruit, little dishes of butter and jam, and even a warm pitcher of maple syrup from Hayes Farm.
They ate and talked and enjoyed themselves, and much to her surprise, Tripp and the girls did prove Jillian wrong.
“Wedestroyedthat,” Tripp said in a pleased way, leaning back to pat his stomach as he surveyed the carnage.
There was hardly a morsel left on the table. Even Jillian, who normally tried to watch her figure, had eaten so much that she was surprised at herself.
