揥hoa, now!?Daisy took a step forward. 揧ou are not going to talk about Mama like that.?
Stella gave her a push, snarled her nose like a skunk had just sprayed her, and marched up the aisle with half a dozen women behind her. Lily caught her sister to keep her from falling, and said in a loud voice, 揇id you just push a child? That was a mistake, Granny Stella. God doesn抰 hear the prayers of mean people. And as a fine Christian woman, you should know that Jesus loves little children.?
Stella didn抰 even turn around, just kept marching forward and out of the church.
揑抦 going to order pizza to take to my house,?Haley said. 揥e can all meet up there and talk about this away from the public ear.?
揧ou ladies go on and hash it all out,?Wade said. 揙scar and I have a regular Sunday afternoon date with a bunch of guys for a domino game. We抮e going to grab a burger and get on out to his house.?
揃esides,?Mary Nell said in a low voice, 搉either of you want to hear all the griping, do you??
揧ou got that right.?Oscar nodded. 揝ee you all tomorrow morning at the bar, if it hasn抰 burned down by then.?
揑 doubt that very much,?Jessica said. 揕ike you said, if God wanted the building to be a church, He wouldn抰 have knocked the steeple off the top of it.?
Chapter Ten
Haley was so glad that the slight morning sickness had passed and she was able to eat pizza and breadsticks for Sunday dinner. During church services she had made up her mind that this afternoon she would tell the others about the pregnancy, but now that the time was there, she wasn抰 sure she was ready to confide in them.
揥e need to practice,?Lily said as she divided the last piece of pizza to share half with her sister. 揋ranny Martha might have been a bossy old girl, but she was right when she told us practice makes perfect.?
揧ep,?Daisy said as she took a bite of her slice. 揃ackyard or my bedroom??
揥e抮e kind of noisy, and these folks probably want to talk about the bar or Granny Stella抯 little hissy fit. I really thought she抎 do something even worse than she did,?Lily answered. 揥e better practice in the backyard. If I drop anything in your spick-and-span room, you抣l gripe for a month.?
揟he whole reason I suggested the backyard was because there wouldn抰 be a place to even sit in your bedroom without moving clothes or shoes,?Daisy shot back.
Haley bit back a giggle. 揑 sure wish I would抳e had a sister to banter with like you girls do.?
Lily waved a hand around the table to take in everyone. 揧ou do. Sisters don抰 have to be blood kin. They can be heart kin.?
揂men,?Haley said.
Jessica and Mary Nell both nodded.
揙ut of the mouths of babes.?Risa blew a kiss toward the twins as they left the room, then waited until they were completely gone. Then she sighed and said, 揟hank God for y抋ll. I got a text from Paul late last night. He wanted an address to send the divorce papers.?
揥ell, he certainly didn抰 let any grass grow beneath his feet on that, did he??Mary Nell finished off her sweet tea and pushed her chair back. 揇id he say what he was asking for? Is he going to fight you for custody??
揘o, he said it抯 just pretty simple. If the girls want to see him, they抮e free to come to Kentucky anytime. Other than that, he owns no property, and the only thing we have together is two vehicles. He gave me the oldest truck when the girls and I left,?Risa answered.
揟hat sounds good to me,?Jessica said. 揑 see we抳e all got empty glasses, so I抣l just bring the pitcher to the table.?
揌ave you told the girls??Haley asked.
Risa shook her head. 揘ot yet, but I will before bedtime. He said that he won抰 fight me for custody, but he intends to call them and give them the choice of where they want to live. They can either go back to Kentucky to live with him or stay here, but he wants to be a part of their lives.?
揌ow抯 he going to do that??Haley was glad to have something to think about other than that positive pregnancy test. 揑s he going to drive down here for every school event this year? Or is he going to send them plane tickets to Kentucky for the holidays??
揚robably neither,?Risa answered, 揵ut maybe they can FaceTime with him and the rest of the family.?
Jessica couldn抰 imagine how it would affect Risa if either or both the twins decided to go back to Kentucky. They weren抰 even her daughters, and yet, just thinking about the hole their leaving would make in her own heart caused Jessica to go all misty eyed. She had served with the same team for years, knew when they had marital problems, when their wives had babies, and yet, she had never felt as close to them as she did Risa and the girls. Maybe Lily was right when she said that sisters could be of the heart.
揧ou don抰 think they抎 go, do you??Jessica抯 voice cracked.