CHAPTER TWELVE

Sitting on the opposite side of the church closer to the front made Sherry a bit uncomfortable, but she had to admit, the different view widened her perspective. She’d never seen that the carved design went all the way to the bottom of the pulpit. The lighting was different from this angle too. Not only were the choir robes bluer than she realized, the detail in the banners matched. Even the music sounded different over here.

As the preacher spoke, she watched his face and realized she’d never even noticed his expressiveness before. Sitting this close to the front felt downright invigorating. And it made her wonder what else she’d been missing.

Naomi draped her arm around Sherry during the closing hymn, creating a cocoon filled with peace and warmth. Afterward they placed their hymnals into the pew pocket and faced each other.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Naomi smiled.

“No, in fact it was pretty wonderful.”

“I thought you might enjoy a different view.”

Sherry crinkled her nose. “Another example of how I’ve fallen into a rut.”

“No kidding. Have you ever thought about how deep your rut has gotten?”

“No, but I’m sure you’ll tell me all about it.”

Naomi chuckled. “You got that right. Let’s go to my place and talk.”

“Don’t you want to have lunch at the Main Street Café first?”

Naomi tilted her head and raised her eyebrows as she studied Sherry’s face. “What do you normally do for lunch on Sunday?”

“You know I always go to the Main Street Café.”

“Right. And that’s precisely why we’re not going there. It might take a while, but I aim to pull you out of that rut, and then I plan to give you a taste of life outside your very small world. How’s that sound?”

The thought of it created an unsettling feeling in the pit of Sherry’s stomach, but she couldn’t deny that her life needed freshening up. “I don’t know how I’ll deal with it, but I’ll do my best.”

“Good. Now let’s go. I put together a platter of cold cuts, fruits, and veggies, and that’s all I could think about the last fifteen minutes of church.”

“Naomi!”

The older woman waved her off. “Don’t go gettin’ all saintly on me, girl. I heard your stomach growling.”

“Busted.” Sherry gestured toward her car. “I’ll follow you to the Village.”

“Okay, but wait here just a minute. Gina, Jeremy, and Lacy are coming, too, so I need to make sure they remember how to get there.”

Sherry should have known it would turn into a small party. Naomi never liked to leave anyone out. Half an hour later Sherry and Gina were on their way from the Village visitor parking lot, with Jeremy and Lacy right behind them.

“Are you okay?” Gina asked as they approached the sidewalk leading to Naomi’s apartment.

“Yeah, why?”

Gina shrugged. “You seem different . . . sort of tentative about things.”

No point in pretending with anyone now. Even if Gina didn’t already know about her, Bloomfield was a small town, and someone would tell her. That might as well be Sherry.

She looked at Gina. “In case you didn’t know, Naomi’s trying to rock my world with changes.”

“Oh, I’ve seen that.” Gina nodded her understanding. “And I can totally relate.” She lowered her voice. “After Jeremy lost his job, I felt like my world had totally fallen off its axis.” They reached Naomi’s door. “Even though it hurt, it brought some things to light, and Jeremy finally admitted he was miserable in his job and wanted to leave. I think this might have been God’s way of—”

Gina stopped talking when they heard Lacy skipping toward them. Jeremy followed right behind, a grin on his face, shaking his head. “Our daughter sure is a handful.”

THE DOOR FLUNG OPEN, and Naomi pulled Sherry and Gina’s family inside. “It took you long enough to get here. I’m starvin’.” She leaned over to greet Lacy with a hug. “And how’s the little princess doing?”

Jeremy winked at Gina, and he turned to Sherry. “She got that right. The princess is doing great, but her minions could use a break.”

“Then why don’t the two of you go find something to do this afternoon after lunch so Lacy and I can hang out?”

Lacy’s eyes lit up. “Daddy, I wanna hang out with Miss Nomi.”

Jeremy looked at Gina, and she nodded. He turned back to Naomi. “Sounds like a plan.”

Gina touched Sherry’s arm. “Would you like to join us?”

“No, of course, not.” Naomi vehemently shook her head. “She’s going to be busy.”

The table had already been set, with a place of honor for Lacy. The brand new booster seat still had the sticky label on the back. “I wanted to make sure you liked this one before I removed it,” Naomi said. “I can exchange it for the other one they had at the store.”

“I love this one!” Lacy climbed up the chair and into the seat. “Purple is my favorite color!”

Jeremy tilted his head and comically looked down at his daughter. “I thought pink was your favorite color.”

“Pink is my other favorite color. And yellow and green and blue . . . but not dark blue.” She shook her head and frowned. “It’s too . . .” She made a face. “. . . dark.”

Everyone laughed. “I’m glad you like so many colors, Lacy. That makes it easier to buy presents for the bir—” Naomi stopped herself when Gina cut a warning look her way. “Want me to help make your sandwich, Lacy, or do you want to do it all by yourself?”

Gina stepped forward and reached for Lacy’s plate, but Lacy pushed her away. “I can do it all by myself. I’m a big girl. I’ll be four soon.”

Naomi smiled. “Yes, you are a big girl, and I’m very proud of you.”

Everyone else agreed that they were all proud of Lacy before sitting down at the table. Once they were all settled, Sherry noticed one extra place setting. A sinking feeling came over her as she realized what was happening, but she didn’t have a chance to say a word before a knock sounded at the door.

Naomi hopped up from her chair and made a beeline for the door. “I’m so glad you could make it, Brad.”