10

Amy slipped a pink tailored jacket over her black pantsuit and scrutinized her reflection in the bank of full-length mirrors situated in a corner of the room. The lightweight jacket rested effortlessly on her hips, and the pant legs fitted around her ankles in a sleek version of harem pants. She placed a pink high-heeled shoe on one foot and a silver high-heeled sandal on the other. Which pair to wear?

“Knock knock,” Shelby said from the front room.

“Come on in. I’m back here.” Amy opted for the pink heels, then noticed Shelby’s partial reflection in the mirror. She turned and consciously held in her stomach.

Both Shelby and Dani, dressed in shorts, tank tops, and sneakers, stood at the threshold leading into Amy’s dressing room/closet combo. Dani’s brunette hair was braided loosely across the top of her head. Wispy strands framed her face and crawled out of the loose bun at the nape of her neck.

Amy looked beyond them. “Where are the kids? Outside?”

“They went with the guys,” Shelby said. “I’m so glad you called. Surprised but glad.”

“Beats staying home alone.” Amy rummaged beneath a pile of clothes sprawled across a bureau for her black clutch. “Ready to go?”

“You look lovely,” Shelby said with a smile meant to be gracious but that didn’t quite make it.

Amy eyed her skeptically. “You mean I look overdressed.”

“It really is a beautiful outfit,” Shelby said. “But it’s a softball game. The ground is dusty and the guys get all sweaty.”

“Well, I hadn’t quite made up my mind.” Amy gestured at the tops, pants, and skirts thrown helter-skelter while she’d tried to find the perfect look of easy sophistication she wanted. “As you can see.”

Dani looked at her own attire and giggled. “Maybe we’re underdressed.” She stepped into the room and picked up a violet tunic lying on a chair. Though the top was sleeveless, a swath of fabric formed an angled collar that flowed down one side. “This is so beautiful.”

“You can try it on if you want,” Amy said.

Dani’s eyes rounded. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“Go ahead.” Amy examined her reflection again. She touched the smooth fabric of her jumpsuit with regret. The deep lace-covered V neck actually made her look voluptuous, and the small belt accentuated her waist. To be honest, she had wanted Gabe to see her in something dressier than hiking and painting clothes.

Dani held the tunic to her shoulders and sighed. “Times like this I wish I had your height.”

Amy appraised her, then flipped through one of the wheeled wardrobe racks for something that wouldn’t fall to Dani’s knees. She found a sleeveless designer top in a coral geometric pattern and handed it to her sister-in-law. “Try this. The color complements your complexion. And I have the perfect necklace.”

She rummaged through her jewelry chest and pulled out a multi-strand gold chain. “Ta-da.”

“This is so much fun,” Dani said as she peeled off her tank top.

“What about you, Shelby?” Amy asked.

“I don’t know,” she said doubtfully but with a wistful look on her face.

“But your eyes say yes,” Amy teased. “Besides, if I have to change, we all have to change.”

Before Shelby could protest, Amy gathered several tops, including a Vera Wang in navy blue with cutout shoulders, and piled them into her arms.

“If you insist,” Shelby said gleefully.

Dani fastened the necklace over the coral top and struck a pose. She’d also managed to squeeze into a pair of Amy’s capris. The hem practically reached her ankles and the pockets were squeezing out at the sides. “What do you think?”

Amy and Shelby appraised Dani, then exchanged glances with each other.

“I knew you’d look great in that color,” Amy said. “The top looks beautiful.”

“But maybe you should stick with your shorts,” Shelby added.

Dani swiveled and twisted in the mirror to get a better look at the rear view. “I suppose you’re right.”

“You also need other shoes.” Amy ran her eyes over her rows of heels, sandals, casual shoes, and boots. Dani probably wore a size six, six-and-a-half. Shelby maybe an eight. While she needed a massive size nine. The curse bestowed on the tall. “But none of mine unless you want to look like Big Foot.”

“Not a prob,” Shelby said. “We can stop by Dani’s house on the way to the game. We’re driving right past it. Speaking of, we better get moving or we’ll miss the opening pitch.”

Amy changed into a pale yellow shirt with a draped hemline over a matching camisole, beige shorts, and matching shoes. A simple gold pendant encircled her throat.

Despite her own prodding to get moving, Shelby was the last one to pull together an outfit. While she wavered between the Vera Wang top and a tailored taupe blouse with turquoise shorts and clunky accessories, Amy brushed Dani’s hair and fastened it with a coral clip adorned with tiny diamond chips.

“I can’t decide,” Shelby moaned as she turned and twisted in front of the mirrors.

“The turquoise,” Amy and Dani said together.

Finally, the three posed together and admired their reflections. Shelby had even managed to find a pair of taupe sandals with butterfly clips on the straps that she could tighten enough to almost fit.

“This is so much fun,” Dani said. “And don’t we look fabulous?”

“We’ll be the best-dressed spectators there,” Shelby said.

“Nothing wrong with that.” Amy searched through her shelves of bags and pulled out three. “One last touch.”

“Lovin’ it.” Dani practically bubbled with excitement as she examined the leather tote Amy handed her. “Look, my purse fits right inside it.”

“I guess that works,” Amy said while she transferred the items in her clutch to a brown leather bag. “Okay, I have to ask. You both are married to guys with exceedingly deep pockets. Haven’t you ever gone on a blow-out shopping spree?”

“Not me,” Shelby said. “We live on AJ’s teaching salary. It’s more than enough since we don’t have a mortgage or car payments.”

“Says the missionary kid,” Amy said dismissively, then immediately regretted her retort. If she’d been better at budgeting, she wouldn’t be in the financial mess she was in now. “I’m sorry, Shelby. That was mean, and I’m trying to not be mean. Sometimes things just pop out.”

“I’m sorry too. I didn’t mean to sound so pompous,” Shelby said. “And you’re not a mean girl. If you were, Dani and I wouldn’t look like we just stepped out of a Glamour photo shoot.”

Amy acknowledged the apology with a smile. She had to admit, the more time she spent around Shelby, the more she genuinely liked her. And the more she wanted them to be true friends. Dani too.

“We really need to go.” Shelby herded them toward the doors.

“I’ll drive,” Amy said. “Sorry, Shelby, but we’re dressed in style and we’re going to arrive in style.”

“Fine by me. I know my Camry’s a bit on the blah side.”

Once they were on their way, after a quick stop for Dani to change from her sneakers into a pair of gold flats, Amy glanced at her sister-in-law in the rearview mirror.

“What about you, Dani? No shopping sprees for you either?”

She shrugged uncomfortably. “Brett has tried to get me to go wild, but it doesn’t feel right somehow. I never want him to think that—because it’s so not true.”

“Think what?” Amy asked.

When Dani didn’t respond, Shelby answered for her. “That she’s like some of the women he dated.”

That only wanted his money. Amy nodded understanding.

Shelby turned around in her seat and smiled at Dani. “But he knows that isn’t true. You should let him spoil you sometimes.”

“You’re probably right,” Dani said. “But to never have to worry about money ever again? That takes some getting used to.”

It goes the other way too. To never worry about money and then needing to watch every dollar. So not easy.

“Tell you what,” Amy said. “The next time Brett suggests you go shopping, give me a call.”

“Me too,” Shelby chimed in.

“We should go to New York,” Amy said. “A girls’ weekend. Though more than a weekend because we’d have to drive.” The fear of losing Dani might have gotten Brett onto a plane, but Amy planned to keep her feet safely on the ground. No matter what.

“We should do that,” Shelby agreed. “I’ve never been there. Have you?”

“Not me,” Dani said from the backseat.

“I went with Mom and Gran once,” Amy said. “We went shopping, to the theater, way too many museums. But we had a good time.”

“Tell us about it,” Shelby urged.

At first Amy wasn’t sure she could. Her images of the New York trip were tucked beneath her canopy world. But Shelby’s gentle prodding and Dani’s enthusiastic wonder coaxed the happy memories from that safe place, and Amy found herself talking about them without choking on unshed tears or feeling the need to vomit.

When they arrived at the softball fields, Shelby directed Amy where to park. As they got out of the car, a woman carrying a small box approached.

“Hi, Shelby,” she said. “This is great timing. So glad I caught you. And look at you ladies all spiffied up. Aren’t you a sight?”

“Hi, Louise,” Shelby answered. “You probably know Dani, and this is Amy. She’s AJ’s cousin.”

After the greetings, Louise held out the box. “Thank you so much for the casserole. Here’s your dish and a little something special. Fudge nut brownies.”

“Yummy,” Shelby said. “How is Arnold?”

“Good enough to warm the bench, but he won’t be playing for a while.” She laughed merrily. “Not that he’s needed much with all these young good-looking men we’ve rounded up for the team.”

“I guess it’s one way to evangelize,” Shelby teased.

“Well, I’ll let you all get to your seats. It’s quite the game. Our new first baseman clears the bases every time he gets to bat. And it’s only the fourth inning.”

“The fourth inning?” Shelby exclaimed with a laugh. “AJ will think I got lost.”

Louise laughed too, then left them, and Shelby placed the box in Amy’s car.

“What was that all about?” Amy asked.

“Her husband had an operation last week, so I took over a casserole. She was returning the dish.”

“With brownies?”

“Oh, you know, the whole ‘never return a full dish empty’ thing.”

“The what?”

“It just means that when someone makes something for you, it’s nice to return their dish along with something you’ve made.”

“I didn’t know that.” Amy had simply returned the container of snickerdoodles Gabe brought over for Jonah. It never occurred to her to send anything back with it. “Dani, did you know that?”

“One of my foster mothers said it all the time. The one who taught me to play pool.”

“Your foster mother taught you to play pool?” Amy turned to Shelby. “Did you know that?”

“Um, yeah. Dani almost always wins when we play. Unless Brett cheats.”

“How come I didn’t know that?”

“You know it now.” Shelby laughed and grabbed Amy’s arm. “Come on. We’re already late.”

Amy followed Shelby and Dani up the bleacher steps, her thoughts in a bit of a whirl. So many things she didn’t know. The unwritten rules of neighborly living. Details about Dani’s past. It made sense that Shelby and Dani were close. After all, they worked together at Misty Willow, and the two couples often socialized. But Amy couldn’t help but feel like the odd one out once again.

Before taking her seat, she gazed at the field. AJ was on the pitcher’s mound and Brett hovered near third base. The batter grounded the ball, the shortstop scooped it up and tossed it to first, where Gabe caught it and tagged the base. An easy out. As the team jogged in to the bench, he glanced her way and stopped in his tracks. Their gazes held, and his lazy smile tugged at his lips.

I hope he thinks I’m beautiful.

Gabe stared at the bleachers, unable to take his eyes off the gorgeous blonde looking his way. And his chest swelled with pride as Amy only had eyes for him.

AJ clapped him on the shoulder, pushing him toward the bench. “We’re all going out after the game. Want to join us?”

“Do you think she’ll mind?”

AJ glanced at Amy, then gave Gabe another push and laughed.

The rest of the game seemed to play out in slow motion. Gabe struck out every time he batted. Team hero the first four innings. Team goat the last five.

Somehow it didn’t matter.