It was her turn to blush. She felt the heat in her cheeks and Adam’s satisfied smile only confirmed it.
“That good, huh?” he asked.
“It’s…” She glanced down, lifted one shoulder. “Yeah. It’s that good. She’s pretty incredible.”
“Aw, look at you.” Adam reached around Shea and gave Cherry’s shoulder a squeeze. “I can’t remember the last time I saw you this happy.”
“It’s been a while,” Shea agreed. There was a beat and then she added, “Also, why aren’t we drinking margaritas? Who was in charge?”
Cherry and Adam both fixed their gazes on her.
“Me? I was? Oh, shit. Sorry, guys.” Shea jumped up and headed for the kitchen. “One pitcher of margs, coming up.”
When she was out of sight, Cherry whispered, “Um, weren’tyouin charge of margaritas?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Adam said, then gave her a wink before his expression grew more serious. “Really, though, I’m happy for you, Cher. It’s nice to see you smiling.”
She scooted closer and dropped her head to his shoulder. “Thanks, Adam.” She was happy. It was true, and her friends could see it. That was huge. She wasn’t a person who was terribly open with her feelings. Her childhood had taught her how dangerous that could be. For the most part, she was a fairly stoic person, so to have her friends actually notice and comment on her happiness…that was new. And it was thanks to Ellis.
Maybe the next Taco Tuesday, she’d join them.
“So,” Shea said a little while later when they’d finished their tacos and were watching Brits make trifles. “She made you dinner.”
“She did.”
“Which means it’s your turn to come up with a date.” Shea nodded in expectation. “Yes?”
Cherry tipped her head from side to side. “Yeah, that makes sense.”
Poking a finger toward the TV, Shea said, “Watching all these sweets reminded me of something I saw online yesterday. I think I’ve got your next date.”
* * *
Our mother was beautiful. Well, by societal standards, I mean. She was beautiful in general, but when I say by societal standards, I mean she was thin and blond and tan and everything Hollywood says points to beautiful. And I think that made it harder on Michaela because she wasn’t built like our mom. She was built more like our dad. Solid. Muscular. Also beautiful, but not in the way she wanted to be. It made me sad for her then and it still makes me sad even now, as I sit near her bed and watch her unmoving face and her unseeing eyes.
Ellis stopped typing and glanced to her left to look out Michaela’s window at the birds gathered on the feeder. Spring had shown up solidly, and the seasonal birds were slowly coming back. The goldfinches and grosbeaks flitted from tree to feeder and back again, and Ellis remembered how much her mother had adored birds. How she’d sit and have her tea on the porch and just watch, a gentle smile on her face.
“Any hummingbirds yet, Mikey?” she asked quietly. She’d recently picked up a hummingbird feeder, filled it with sugar water, and hung it off to the side of the yard, where it was still visible from Michaela’s room. “They’ll find it. Give ’em time. It’s still early in the season.”
Her phone pinged a text notification and she slid it out of her back pocket. Cherry. She felt the smile appear all on its own with no thought or permission from her brain. Cherry had that effect on her.
Hi, sexy. Just thinking about u.
She did that a lot, Cherry. Sent texts just to say hi or that she was thinking about Ellis or that she saw or heard or tasted something that reminded her of Ellis. It was new and it was nice and Ellis had no idea what to do with it, but she’d take it.
Yeah? How come?she typed back.
The dots bounced for what felt like a long time, but then she realized it was because a photo was loading. When it arrived, Ellis blinked at it in surprise.
It was a shot of her from their hike. She’d been looking at a maple tree, trying to figure out if it was in fact a maple tree. She hated getting her picture taken, always thought she looked surprised or alarmed or had crazy eyes. But this one? It was beyond flattering. The lighting was perfect, rays of sunshine filtering through the new leaves on the tree and beaming over her like small spotlights. They made her hair glow, looking much more golden than it was. Even her eyes looked gorgeous, big and blue as she looked toward the top of the tree.
Hello? Still there?popped through next, along with a grimacing emoji.
Still here. Just admiring myself a bit too much.And a sunglasses emoji.You’re quite the photographer.
Dots bounced and then came,All I did was hit the button. The subject was already beautiful.
She stared at the text for a long moment, surprised by the use of the word beautiful, especially since she’d just been using it in her writing. She’d never considered herself beautiful, but the fact that Cherry did made her feel…Well, it did things to her. Sent flutters through her belly. Tightened everything lower than that.
