definitely interested.”
“Great! How does Friday at one o’clock sound?”
“Let me check my schedule.” She went quiet for a moment and looked at the calendar on her phone, even though she was fairly certain she didn’t have anything planned for that date. She was free almost every day unless she was scheduled to work at her mom’s catering company, but she didn’t want it to seem like she was desperate for a job. “I’m free on Friday afternoon.”
“Good. I’ll have my assistant send you directions to the school and some other information.”
They exchanged goodbyes and hung up. Sam logged the appointment on her calendar and then opened her car door. As soon as her feet hit the walkway, Libby’s youngest daughter, Kaya, ran out of the house and flung herself at her aunt.
Sam wrapped her arms around Kaya. “Hey, sweetie.”
“She’s been waiting at the window for you to come in,” Libby said from the doorway. Her hands were folded across her waist as she leaned against the doorframe, but she appeared less stressed than the last time Sam had seen her.
Samantha released the little girl and stood up, then reached for her hand. They walked into the house together and Kaya pulled her over to the corner of the living room where she’d placed a few stuffed animals against the wall. Picture books were scattered across the floor in front of them.
“Look, Auntie Sam! My stuffies are going to school!” Kaya beamed.
“I see that.” Sam crouched down and picked up one of the books. “How do they like school?”
Kaya scrunched up her face. “Little Bunny was kind of scared, but I think she’s getting over it now.”
“Ah.” Sam looked over at Libby, wondering why Kaya was suddenly so interested in school.
“Kaya’s going to be starting preschool next week at the same school where the other kids all went,” Libby said brightly. “Gabe is working full-time at a new job and I’m working more at the catering company, so we figured it was time for her to go to preschool.” She turned so Kaya couldn’t see her face and said in a quieter voice, “I’m going to miss her during the day though. I think I’m more upset about it than she is.”
Sam gave her sister a quick hug. “I’m sure she’s going to have a great time playing with other kids her age there.”
“I know.” Libby brightened. “And at least Gabe finally has a job. That’s a big weight off of me.”
“I’m glad you’re feeling better.” Sam smiled at her. “How’s Mom doing?”
Libby cocked her head to the side. “You know, she’s doing surprisingly well. She said she has something exciting to tell us tonight.”
Sam raised her eyebrows. “Maybe Mom and Dad are finally going on that trip to Italy that Mom’s talked about for years.”
Libby shrugged. “I don’t know, but whatever it is, she seems happy.”
“Okay everyone, time for dinner,” Debbie called out. “Kids, go wash your hands.”
Libby’s kids thundered off toward the bathrooms and Sam wandered into the dining room, where Taylor and Meg were chatting with her parents and Gabe.
“Hey.” Sam waved at everyone, then went into the kitchen. Debbie was in the process of removing a giant pan of lasagna from the oven. “Do you need any help, Mom?”
“If you could get the oven door, that would be great.” Debbie carried the unwieldy tray into the dining room and set it on a long hotpad in the center of the table.
Sam shut the oven door and followed her Mom out to the table. The kids were just trickling back in, and she quickly found her assigned seat next to Meg. Her older sister was sitting close to Taylor, and Sam could tell they were holding hands under the table. Sam grinned, but didn’t say anything. After her date with Taylor, she’d suspected he had a thing for Meg, and hadn’t been a bit surprised when he’d suggested a work party at the barn.
Seated at the head of the table, her dad said a prayer as they clasped hands. When he was done and everyone had a plate full of food, Debbie clinked her fork against her water glass to catch everyone’s attention.
Even the kids stilled as Debbie made her announcement. “I’m sure all of you have noticed that I’ve been a little out of sorts lately.”
Tommy, Libby’s youngest son, said, “Yeah, you’ve been a little grouchy.” His mom hissed at him from across the table and his eyes grew wide. “Sorry, Grandma.”
Debbie laughed. “Don’t worry about it.