Once the trees were done, they started on the house. They’d slidthe hooks under the shingles and were halfway done hanging the lights when theyhit a snag. Bill had plugged in the old-style bulb lights he’d given them anddecided they didn’t match the new LEDs on the trees. He wanted to go with thenew lights all around. Dex grinned at her crew of two and then started takingthe old ones down while they went to the SUV and got the LEDs. This wasn’t thefirst time a client had changed their mind midstream. Dex would owe her guys anice dinner out sometime since they were doing this for free as a favor to her.She wouldn’t make any money off Emma’s parents like some other companiesprobably would have. That wasn’t the way she did business with her friends andfamily.
Emma’s brothers showed up between football games, just as Emma hadsaid they would, but Dex and her crew had everything under control, and theyleft soon after. They were impressed by the lights and the design on the treesand mentioned they’d be happy if Emma kept her around, so she could do thisevery year. Emma still hadn’t shown, and Dex was left having dinner, alone,with her parents.
When Dex and Bill came into the house they were met with thedelicious scent of comfort food. She took off her gloves and knit hat andstuffed them both inside the sleeve of her jacket before she hung it on the oakhall tree by the door. An open bottle of red wine and a bowl of rolls sat onthe table, and Dex was surprised at how disappointed she was to see only threeplace settings. She wasn’t going to get the chance to see Emma today.
“Come in and sit down,” Glo said as she filled three bowls withpot roast and vegetables. She slid them across the counter before rounding itand moving them to the table. Dex jumped up to help, but Glo put her hand onher shoulder and pushed her into her seat.
“Are you sure your crew can’t stay for dinner? I have plenty.”
“They said thanks, but they needed to get home to their wives.”
“Must be nice to have someone to go home to, right?” Glo was obviouslyfeeling her out. “Do your parents live around here?”
Dex took a bite and chewed before she answered. “They have a housenearby, but they’re rarely there.” She’d been living in Mary and Craig’s housesince she was a child. As soon as she’d become an adult, she’d become thecaretaker of sorts for the place. She’d renovated, repainted, and made it herown, finally moving into the master bedroom a few years ago when her parentsmade it clear they didn’t call any one particular place home anymore. Now, whenher parents happened to be in town for a day or two, they took the guest roomdownstairs. Her brother Ranny had chosen the same life track, and on the offtimes when he showed up at the same time, he got the basement.
Glo lifted her eyebrows, prompting Dex to continue.
“They do a lot of voluntourism.” She swiped her mouth with thenapkin. “You know, volunteer, see-the-world kind of stuff. My brother as well.”
“Oh. That must be hard on you, especially during the holidays.”
“Not anymore. My sister and I have gotten used to being orphansduring the holidays.” She took a sip of wine. “Sometimes we get together withothers we’ve worked with on charitable events around town, and we make newfriends.”
“So you volunteer here in Chicago?”
She nodded. “The Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity. I keep itlocal.”
“That’s very altruistic.”
“I do what I can.” She pushed a carrot around in her bowl. “Idon’t have a lot of money, but time is sometimes just as valuable.”
Glo smiled softly. “Well, I’m happy Emma has you for a friend.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that. Since she may not be at this moment.”She set down her spoon, her stomach lingering somewhere between shaky andstarved.
“Why do you say that?” She looked across the table at Bill and sawhim glance at Glo and pull his brows together. “You two seemed to be gettingalong famously at Thanksgiving.”
“Oh yeah. We had a great time at Thanksgiving. Thanks again forinviting me.”
Glo picked up a roll, buttered it, handed it to Bill, and then didthe same for Dex as she seemed to wait for Dex to explain more.
“You remember my friend, Grace? The one you helped throughdinner?”
She nodded. “Smart girl. Seemed to get the hang of it prettyquickly.” She took a bite of her dinner.
“Well, she’s been my best friend since we were kids, and she’s notvery self-sufficient.” Dex broke off a piece of the roll. “She can be a littleneedy.” She popped the piece into her mouth and waited to see which way herstomach was going to go. It seemed to settle for now.
“I saw.” Glo picked up her wine and relaxed in her chair. “So whatdoes this have to do with Emma?”
Dex took another bite of roll and then a gulp of wine to wash itdown. This wasn’t the way she’d expected her night to turn out. “We had plansto go ice-skating, which is something Grace and I have always done together inthe past. Anyway, long story short, Grace ended up going with us.” She tookanother sip of wine.
“So, you invited her?” Glo took another bite of her dinner.
“Actually, no.” She hesitated. “I told her we were going and she showedup.”
“And when she did, you included her.” Glo took another drink ofwine and seemed to process the information. It probably wasn’t the first timeshe’d heard this story. “That was nice of you.”
Dex blew out a breath. “I thought so, but Emma wasn’t happy aboutit, and Grace wasn’t very nice to her.” She stared down at her bowl and pushedsome of the vegetables around. “Grace means well, but she can be pretty selfishsometimes.”
“Sounds like you may need to set some boundaries with Grace.”
“I know. It’s just hard with someone who…”
“Who has a special place in your heart?” Glo asked,
