by Nicole Ellis
16
After the silent auction had closed, the Boathouse event staff and I herded the guests into the main room. As they entered, guests oohed and aahed over the photos of historic flights that we’d placed on the wall. Everyone seemed impressed by the boarding passes with seat assignments and the staff dressed as flight attendants. I puffed up a bit when I overheard one woman say it was the most professionally organized auction she’d ever been to.
At the podium, the auctioneer, a man we’d hired from a local service, cleared his throat and announced that dinner would be served soon. Everyone took their seats. I’d reserved a table on the edge near the front of the room for Desi, Tomàs, Adam, and I. Brenda, Dorinda, and another couple I didn’t recognize joined us as well, rounding out our group. We introduced ourselves. The couple I didn’t know had a daughter in the two-year-old class and a baby.
When our table was called, I approached the buffet table with some trepidation. I knew it was silly because I’d already confirmed that the full amount of filet mignon had been delivered, but part of me worried that there would be a mix-up because of my ordering error earlier in the week.
Adam put his hand on my shoulder, as if sensing my concern. “It all looks great, honey.”
I looked up at him and smiled, before continuing on down the line and filling my plate with beef, mashed potatoes, salad, and a roll. I’d attended many events at the Boathouse before and knew the food would be well received, but I still scanned peoples’ faces to see what they thought. A server caught my eye and gave me the thumbs-up sign. I grinned and returned the gesture.
Back at our table, an envelope had appeared.
Dorinda picked it up. “Dessert Dash.”
Desi groaned. “I’d hoped they wouldn’t do that this year.”
“What is it?” I hadn’t attended the auction last year and hadn’t been involved with this part of the planning this year.
“All of us put money into the envelope. Whichever table donates the most money gets to send their representative to the dessert table first.” She pointed to the back of the room at a table overflowing with sweet offerings. All of the men at the table fixated on it.
“So everyone at the table gets the same thing?” I asked. Nobody answered.
“Look at that,” the man I didn’t know said. “One of the items is orange Jell-O.” He and his wife both wrinkled their noses.
Adam looked at me very seriously. “I have to have that chocolate cake. How much do we have to donate?”
I laughed. He was as much of a chocoholic as I was. “I don’t know. Probably hundreds of dollars to win first place.”
Desi leaned over to her brother and whispered to him loud enough that the rest of the table could hear, “I made that. It’s my special truffle cake. Come to my café, and I’ll give you a piece. It’ll save our table a ton of money.”
Adam’s expression was hilarious. He kept glancing from his sister to the cake and then back to me with a pathetic pout to his lips.
“Oh, fine,” Desi said. “It’s for the kids.” She forked over a fistful of money and stuffed it in the manila envelope.
“Yeah,” said the other man. “I really don’t want the Jell-O.” He nudged his wife until she dipped into her purse and put some money in the pot. The rest of the table followed suit.
“All right, ladies and gentlemen, time’s up.” The auctioneer motioned to one of the auction committee members to gather the envelopes.
“Our first item up for auction is a weekend at a beautiful cabin on Lake Eider.” He went on to describe the attributes of the cabin and how much fun a family would have there. The bidding got up to eight hundred dollars before someone won it.
“Next, we have this wonderful gift basket for a night out on the town. Tickets to the Seattle Theater for June 23rd and a night at the Hightown Hotel, including dinner at Seabeck’s Restaurant in downtown Seattle.”
I glanced at Adam. It had been a while since we’d had a date night. I elbowed him in the side.
“Ouch.” He rubbed his side. “What was that for?”
“Do you want to bid on it?” I asked, a little too eagerly. “Wouldn’t a night out without the kids be great?”
He slid his gaze to the PowerPoint slide with the item’s details. “June 23rd.”
“Yeah. We’re free that night—we should totally go for it.” My spirits rose. Our wedding anniversary was on June 24th and after the events of the last few weeks, I deserved a night out. I knew I wasn’t going to get a Caribbean vacation, but I’d settle for dinner and theater in Seattle.
“I don’t know, honey. I think I’ll be out of town that day.” His eyes met mine. They sparkled with a hint of something, but I wasn’t sure what.
“Oh,” I said in a dejected tone. Of course he’d be out of town. I teared up a little, probably from the stress.
He put his hand on mine. “We’ll do something else, ok?”
“Uh huh.” I nodded but shifted my hand away from his. I wasn’t going to put any money on his promise.
The other auction items passed in a blur. Toward the end, the auctioneer pointed at the toy airplane hanging from the ceiling.
“We’ll start the bidding on this absolutely amazing child-sized airplane at nine hundred dollars.” A slide showing a smiling little boy appeared on the screen. The crowd rustled with interest.
“Are you going to go for it?” I asked Dorinda, who was sitting next to me.
She stared at the airplane. “I don’t know. It’s awfully expensive, but Daniel would love it.”
The auctioneer started the bidding, and Dorinda put her paddle up. Across the room, a woman stood, raising her paddle to bid against her. With a shock, I realized it was Sandy. What was she doing here? And why was she bidding against Dorinda?
Nancy had said her sister-in-law was barely holding it together, so maybe she’d invited her to get her out of the house. However, looking at her now, I wouldn’t have described her as distraught. Sandy glared defiantly at Dorinda. The flush in her cheeks was the only color in her face, made even more pale in contrast with her long-sleeved black dress. Her appearance was that of a mourning widow, but her actions were not. Why did she hate Dorinda so much?
“What’s that all about?” I asked Dorinda.
“I have no idea.” She stared at the other bidder. “I offered to buy out her share of Ericksville Espresso, and she refused. Said she was going to buy me out. I told her ‘good luck with that.’ It didn’t go over well. But to try to win something that I want for my kid? That’s a little crazy.”
Nancy smirked at us from her seat next to Sandy. Apparently our entire table was hated by them. I smiled pleasantly back at her, and she turned around.
Sandy continued to bid Dorinda up, but Dorinda held on and finally won the airplane for an exorbitant sum.
I caught her eye after her win. “I really hope Daniel likes that.”
She laughed. “Me too. But I couldn’t let Sandy win. I don’t know why she hates me so much, but I didn’t want to let her walk all over me.”
“And now, we’ll pause the live auction for the results of our dessert dash,” the auctioneer announced. The crowd murmured in anticipation.
“We’d better not get the Jell-O,” Adam said darkly. I sighed and patted his arm.
We didn’t win the highest bid and lost out on the truffle cake, but a plate of gourmet pecan brownies appeased Adam.
“Who got stuck with the Jell-O?” Desi asked, scanning the crowd. “Oh.” Her eyes danced with mirth.
I twisted in my chair to see who she was looking at. Nancy and Sandy’s table had received the orange gelatin dessert. It sat on their plates, untouched. Nancy’s arms were crossed over her chest, and the discontented expression on her face was priceless. Their table wasn’t full and therefore hadn’t had as much opportunity to raise money toward the dessert bid. I averted my gaze and turned back to the table before a broad smile spread across my lips.
The rest of the auction w
ent off without a hitch. As it was winding down, guests paid for their silent and live auction items.
Adam tapped me on the shoulder. “I need to go pay for our silent auction items.”
“What did you bid on?” I was curious to find out what he’d chosen. With any luck, it wasn’t a year’s worth of truffles.
“You’ll see.” He bopped me on the nose and headed off toward the cashier. One year, he’d given me a kitchen sponge holder in the shape of a frog, and I’m not a big fan of frogs. I wasn’t sure I wanted to see what he’d bought now.
Someone bumped into me, and I turned to see who it was.
Nancy glared at me. “Where did you get those filet mignons from? They tasted like shoe leather.”
I bit my tongue, literally. It was the only thing I could do to not lash into her.
“We source our meat from local butchers. Everything is grass-fed and organic.”
“Well, they tasted horrible.” She shook her head. “I knew I should have handled this. If I want something done right, I’ve got to do it myself.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way.” My hands curled into balls, and I forced them to open, pressing them against the cool fabric of my dress.
“And as if this event could get worse, that woman dared to show up tonight. After what she did to my sister-in-law and everything. Everything was great before Louis met her. I can’t believe she had the nerve to bid against Sandy.” Her vehement words carried with them the scent of too many alcoholic drinks.
Nancy must have been drunker than I’d thought if she believed it had been Brenda bidding against Sandy. I hoped she wasn’t driving.
“Is your husband around?” I scanned the room but didn’t see him.
“He’s busy consoling Sandy. You and your friends need to stay away from her. She told me how you were at her house with lasagna. She doesn’t need your pity.” She huffed at me and spun around, swaying slightly as she walked.
Somehow, Nancy always managed to impress me by bringing me to dislike her even more with every interaction. I’m usually pretty tolerant of other people, but she rubbed me the wrong way, and her hatred of my friends was going too far. However, this was my place of business and, technically, she was a guest. This wasn’t the time or place to tell her off, but I hoped that day wasn’t too far in the future.
As I watched, her husband and Sandy approached her. He took her arm and led her away toward the Boathouse’s lobby. Well, at least she had a designated driver. I turned away, happy that I wouldn’t have to deal with Nancy again that evening.
Adam came towards me, his eyes bright. He held something behind his back. What had he bought this time? I didn’t have room in my kitchen for another sponge frog.
“Ta-da,” he said, revealing the basket he held in his hands.
My eyes bugged out. He’d won the gift basket Brenda had donated, practically a carbon copy of the one from Louis’s desk.
“It’s chocolate,” he said happily. “See, it’s even got that chocolate wine you love.”
I smiled weakly. My eyes stuck on the box of chocolates at the bottom of the basket, and my stomach lurched. He’d meant well, but I never wanted to see another of those baskets ever again.
“Wow, that looks amazing,” I lied. “We’ll have to save that for our anniversary.”
He grinned proudly. “I knew you’d like it. I’ll go put it in the car and then come back to help, ok?”
“Sure, thanks.” With any luck, the basket would mysteriously be stolen out of our car before we got home.
The auction guests were trickling out of the Boathouse. I said goodbye to my friends and checked on the staff, who were already cleaning up. Soon, only Desi and Tomàs remained.
“Nice job, Jill,” Desi said, hugging me.
“This was so much better than last year. I couldn’t even eat that shoe leather they called chicken cordon bleu last year.” Tomàs shifted on his feet, holding a gift basket and envelope that they’d won in the silent auction.
“Thanks.”
He cleared his throat. “That woman that was bidding against your friend Dorinda … that was Louis Mahoney’s widow, wasn’t it?”
Desi fidgeted with her dress and looked down.
“I believe it was,” I said. “Dorinda told me they’d argued, and Sandy seems to have it out for her.”
He looked at me and then at his wife. “You two aren’t asking around about the Mahoney murder, are you?”
I didn’t know what to say.
Desi put her hand on his arm. “Sandy is Nancy Davenport’s sister-in-law, which is why she’s here. Ericksville Espresso donated a gift basket to the auction.”
She’d neatly sidestepped Tomàs’s question, but I didn’t think he’d completely bought it.
“Ok. I know you two are close to this, especially with finding Mahoney’s body, but please remember that the police are handling the investigation.”
Desi and I nodded solemnly. Luckily for us, Lincoln walked up to us, breaking up our conversation.
“Jill, I’ve got it from here. Go home, relax. I’ll stay until everything is cleaned up. Anthony and Lina are both asleep, so Beth said I could come over here.”
“Goodnight, Dad,” Desi said, tugging on her husband’s arm and leading him out the door.
I was torn between wanting to stay and see the event to completion and wanting to relax on my couch with a huge glass of wine. The wine won out, although it wouldn’t be the chocolate wine from the basket. I might be able to drink that again in a few months, but the memories of Louis’s death were still too fresh to enjoy it now.
17
I woke up Sunday morning and lay there for a moment staring up at the ceiling. I rolled over to find Adam next to me, snoring softly. Down the hall, Ella cried out, and I eased out of bed, careful not to wake Adam. I picked up Ella and changed her, then crossed the hall to Mikey’s room. He was quietly playing with action figures on the rug in his room.
“Hey, I didn’t even know you were up.” I sat down next to him, laying Ella on her tummy. She pushed herself up and eyed me with disdain for being forced to do tummy-time. Her brother shrugged.
“Nobody else was up.”
I hugged him. “Remember what today is?”
He sat up straighter as realization flooded into him. “It’s my birthday party!” His eyes sparkled as he jumped up and galloped around the room. “My birthday!”
I held my finger to my lips. “Shh. Daddy’s still sleeping.”
“Ok,” he said, but continued galloping in a circle. “My birthday party, my birthday party!” he whispered loudly. His little sister looked at him like he was crazy.
Smiling, I touched his arm. “Let’s go downstairs. I need to start getting things ready, like making your cake.”
He ran out of the room and down the stairs before I’d even lifted Ella off the floor. Downstairs, I managed to get them both seated at the dining room table and served them Cheerios and milk. Most of Ella’s went on the floor, but I think Mikey ate some while he bounced excitedly.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle decorations sat on the table, staring up at me like a green glowing reminder that I still had to bake him a cake. Desi usually made his cakes, but with a new baby, I hadn’t wanted to impose on her. Mikey had requested a chocolate cake in the shape of a Ninja Turtle. I was no baker, so I hoped it wouldn’t look like a pile of muddy grass when I was done. I pulled out a box of cake mix and was staring at it when the front doorbell rang.
Desi stood on my doorstep holding a domed tray. My eyes widened.
“Is that what I think it is?” I really, really hoped it was a birthday cake.
“Yep.” She removed the dome top to reveal a perfect representation of Michelangelo the Ninja Turtle. I motioned for her to come in.
“You’re a lifesaver. I checked out Pinterest for cake ideas, but they all looked so complicated. This is awesome.”
“You’re welcome.” She smiled then whispered, “Are Nancy and her daught
er coming this afternoon?”
“Nope. Unfortunately, she let me know that they had another commitment and wouldn’t be able to attend.” I wiggled my eyebrows. “Can you tell how sad I am about that?”
Desi laughed.
“Is it chocolate?” Mikey came to the door, bouncing around his aunt.
“It is.” She knelt down to his level. “Double chocolate with chocolate chips.”
“Yay!” He wrapped his arms around her.
“Happy birthday, buddy.” She stood and turned to me. “Anthony’s looking forward to the party. Tomàs has to work, but we’ll be there at one. I’d better get back home before Lina wakes up again.” She waved goodbye and left.
“That cake is so cool,” Mikey said, his eyes as big as mine had been when Desi showed up.
“It is,” I agreed. I re-covered the cake. “Now, go play. Mommy has a lot to get done.”
The cake had been one of the big items on my list, but now that it was no longer an issue, I unfortunately had time to worry about some other things, namely how Daniel would behave around the other kids and what it would be like to hang out with both of my parents together. Neither were something I could control.
By the time Mikey’s guests arrived, our house resembled a sewer—a Ninja Turtle sewer, at least. I’d hung green and black streamers from the walls and strategically placed some round “sewer” entrances in the hallway and living room. Mikey, for one, seemed enchanted by it. About half his preschool class had RSVP’d, along with their parents, and both sets of his grandparents.
Dorinda showed up with Daniel in tow about ten minutes after one o’clock. Our family had arrived, but the other guests weren’t there yet. Ella was being passed around between her adoring grandparents.
“Go ahead and put your gift on the table over there.” I motioned to a table near the fireplace. “Mikey and Anthony are playing upstairs if you’d like to join them,” I said to Daniel.
Daniel ran upstairs, and Dorinda grinned at me. “Thanks, Jill. It means a lot to him to have the other kids accept him.”
“No problem.” I crossed my fingers that Mikey would behave, and it wouldn’t be an issue. “We’re glad to have both of you here. C’mon, I’ll introduce you to my family.”