Total pages in book: 296
Estimated words: 284055 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1420(@200wpm)___ 1136(@250wpm)___ 947(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 284055 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1420(@200wpm)___ 1136(@250wpm)___ 947(@300wpm)
As I lie in bed, the only thing on my mind is River and how even after three months of being apart, she consumes my mind as if no time had passed at all. Even after everything we’ve been through, she still has no idea what she continues to do to me. That’s going to have to change, but after I get rid of these boundaries.
CHAPTER TWENTY
RIVER
“River!” Benita calls, waving me over. “I wanna introduce you to the ladies.”
I set down the bags and walk over, smiling wide. Between having breakfast at the diner and shopping at Dollar General, I’d already met handfuls of people from this small town. I’m actually surprised there are some I haven’t met at this point.
“River, this is Mrs. Hattie and Mrs. Savanna. They’re Aunt Rose’s choir friends.”
“It’s great to meet you both,” I say, reaching out to shake their hands.
They ignore my hand and wrap their arms around me instead. “Oh, River. It’s such a pleasure to meet you.”
“You’re just so darling. Look how big you are already.” Their eyes dart down to my belly, making me feel self-conscious. I’m only in my fourth month, but at my last doctor appointment, I measured just right.
“Oh, um, thank you.” I find myself a little taken aback by their sudden affection. I’m starting to learn people hug down here a lot. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“We heard the rumors, and to be honest, we weren’t sure what to believe. That Alex isn’t exactly known to settle down.”
“I don’t think any of those Bishop boys are actually.” Mrs. Hattie snickers.
“Okay, well we better start setting up, or we’ll be here all night,” Benita interrupts, saving me from this awkward conversation. “My mama’s in the kitchen prepping some of the food if you two wanna go help.” She directs them away, and I mouth a, “Thank you,” to her.
“Sure, no problem. See you girls later.” They smile sweetly, and I force another smile out, grinding my teeth.
“Don’t put too much stock into small town gossip. You can’t escape it, but most of the time it’s hogwash anyway,” she says, trying to comfort me. I have a lot to learn living here—their mannerisms being one. You hug someone you just met in Milwaukee, you risk getting mugged or shot.
“Well, where should we start?” I ask, walking back to the bags we brought in.
This morning, Benita picked me up and took me to the Main Street Diner where I officially met the infamous Mrs. Betty. Once we were full of eggs and pancakes, we went shopping. Something new I learned today: Dollar General is the only store in town. At first, I cringed when she told me that’s where we were headed but quickly realized it’s nothing like the one back home. We stocked up on plates, plasticware, cups, and napkins—all color coordinating to Rose’s favorite colors, red and blue.
We just about cleared out the decorations aisle. Balloons, streamers, confetti, table centerpieces with “50” on them, and tablecloths.
“What do you think?” Benita had asked me when the cart was piling over.
“It looks like Uncle Sam threw up in here.” I chuckled.
“Perfect then. Aunt Rose loves the Fourth of July!”
I hadn’t realized just how much stuff we got until we unpacked all the bags and everything is sprawled out on the table. “Geez.” I laugh.
“Yeah, I go a little extra on parties. Something you’ll have to get used to.” She winks.
I narrow my eyes, curious to what that means. “Don’t think you’re having that baby without a proper baby shower.” She points a finger at my belly with determination.
A baby shower? I hadn’t even thought about that.
“I-I don’t know.” I wrinkle my nose. Honestly, I’d feel guilty taking anything from Alex’s family. I just met them, and I don’t want it to seem like I’m taking advantage.
“Oh, it’s not optional.” She grins.
I can’t help but laugh. Shrugging, I change the conversation. “Okay, so tablecloths and centerpieces, I can figure out, but where do you want the balloons and streamers to go?”
For the next hour, we work together on decorating the tables and setting up the buffet line with the plates and plasticware. Centerpieces and confetti are sprinkled down the middle of the tables. Next, we work on the streamers. Benita stands on a ladder and attaches them to the middle of the ceiling until three blue and three red pieces are hanging down to the floor.
“Aaron will be here soon, so he can help us twist these and stretch them across the room. It’ll look awesome once all six are spread along the ceiling,” she explains, stepping down. I can envision it already and know it’ll look great.
“I love it.” I smile. “What about the balloons?”
“Hmm…” She thinks for a moment before her eyes light up. “What if we blew them all up and found a way to attach them to the ceiling, like with a net or something? Then when she walks in, we pull a string that releases them at the same time!” The excitement in her tone is short-lived when Aaron comes strolling in with their twin boys.