揂nd we get to decide if the guy is good enough to join our team, right??Lily teased.
Jessica made a motion with her hand. 揂ll of you do. I wouldn抰 make a decision like that without one of our sessions like this.?
She bit back a smile when she thought about Wade saying that they were about to have a hen party. Thank God for us hens, she thought as she finished off her tea, then wondered if she should have suggested naming the bar the Hen House.
Chapter Seventeen
When Risa was nervous, she cooked. When she was happy, she cooked. When she was sad, she cooked. The morning the girls took the truck and drove to the school for cheerleader tryouts, she experienced all three emotions, so she made banana bread, orange-date bread, and zucchini bread to put in the freezer. In between times, while the breads were baking, she helped do whatever she could out in the bar. The plumber and the electrician had both taken care of their jobs, and now Wade and Oscar were putting up the long pieces of oakwood they had salvaged from the pews. The big room was beginning to look less and less like a church and more like it had originally been built for a bar.
揂re you going to survive this morning??Jessica asked as she and Haley held a length of oak for Oscar to put in place with screws.
揑抦 not nervous.?Risa almost crossed her fingers behind her back. 揟hey抳e practiced hard, and敆she plopped down in a chair棑I don抰 want them to be cheerleaders. Not because of anything religious, but because I don抰 have good memories of our senior year.?
揟ruth is, I don抰， either,?Jessica admitted. 揑 liked spending time with you all. I guess that抯 why I didn抰 come back for the homecoming thing.?
揗ama made such a fuss about me being out there in a short skirt and showing my 慼ind end挃桼isa air quoted the last two words棑that I wished I抎 never even tried out, but like you, I wanted to spend time with y抋ll. And yes, I抦 nervous. I抦 happy, and I抦 sad. How a person can be all three of those at the same time is a mystery, but it抯 the truth.?
揟here抯 no mystery, my friend, and it抯 perfectly understandable. You are happy because the girls are getting to do something they抳e wanted for a while, and their Kentucky grandma wouldn抰 hear of it. You抮e nervous because you抮e worried about how they抣l fit in if they do make the squad. And you抮e sad because you are worried that they will be upset if they don抰 get chosen, and also because down deep you don抰 want them to have to deal with all it entails,?Jessica told her.
揌ey, what did we miss??Mary Nell and Haley came into the bar and sat down on the pulpit with Risa and Jessica.
揜isa is cooking,?Jessica answered.
揥e all know that she cooks when she抯 on an emotional roller coaster,?Mary Nell said. 揝o, has this cheerleader thing got you worried??
揧es,?Risa admitted.
揗ama used to say, 慦hat will be, will be, and what won抰 be . . . might be anyway,挃 Haley said. 揑 never understood it until recently, and it applies today. Only I think the new way of saying it is, 慖t is what it is.?We can抰 change whether they make it or not, but we can support them in whatever happens.?
揟hanks,?Risa said.
揥hat抯 that wonderful smell coming from the kitchen??Oscar sniffed the air.
揜isa is making breads,?Jessica answered. 揙range-date, banana, and zucchini.?
揘ellie used to make orange-date bread for me on holidays, and I haven抰 had any in years. Now I抦 looking forward to the morning break. Y抋ll heard from the girls yet??
揘ot yet,?Risa answered.
揗ama made breads like that at Thanksgiving for me and Danny. Dad didn抰 like dates, so she made banana nut for him. We had warm breads for breakfast on that day, so it always reminds me of family and good times.?Wade picked up a long length of oak and set it in place on the framework of the bar.
Risa heard the door to the building open, and her heart skipped a beat. The moment she saw her girls, she knew the news was not good for them, but she put on a brave face and held back the tears.
揥e didn抰 make it,?Lily sighed. 揟here were four spots, and three of the ones trying out had been cheerleaders for the past two years.?
揟hey aren抰 all seniors anymore??Jessica asked.
揘ope,?Daisy answered, 揵ut they only choose four since the school is so small. I never heard of nine-man football before today. That抯 why those boys were so cocky. They抮e big fish in a little pond.?
揃ut we aren抰 disappointed,?Lily said, 揵ecause we made a couple of friends. Two of the other girls who didn抰 make the team said that they would love to have us in choir since we play the fiddle and the banjo. Ginger plays the piano, and Melissa plays guitar.?
揂nd Ginger抯 mama is the choir director at the school.?Daisy headed for the kitchen. 揑抦 starving. I need a midmorning snack, and I smell something with cinnamon in it.?