“Hey, do you want to get dressed? I was thinking about going to the diner for breakfast. They have a special menu for Sundays. Wendy always goes up there and eats on Sunday mornings, and she invited us,” she said.
“That sounds cool,” I said. “What time?”
“Eleven.”
“Dee.” I stared at her. “That’s like ten minutes from now.”
“Huh?” She pulled out her phone and stared at it. “Oh, shit! Get dressed!”
“Lord,” I said, struggling to get up again. “Let me get makeup on.”
I struggled to my room while Dee flew into a frenzy. I figured the likelihood of seeing anyone I would need my full face for was low, so I went with a pretty basic palette of makeup and slipped into yoga pants that I modified for the lack of leg by pinning it shut just under the stump. It wasn’t a look designed to stop someone in their tracks, but at least I would be comfortable.
We made our way out to the car a few minutes later, Dee bringing her bag of makeup with her to do bits of it in the mirror when we got to stoplights. By the time we got to the diner, she had most of it on and only took another couple of minutes to finish up while we sat in the parking lot. Thankfully, Wendy was also running a little late, sending Dee a text as we were driving to let us know to grab us all a table.
When we got out of the car, Wendy was just pulling in, and we met her at her car. Dee helped Olly out and held his hand while Wendy got Hope, and we all made our way to the ramp.
“You sure don’t want to try the steps again?” Dee asked cheekily.
“I’m sure,” I said, wheeling around to the ramp. “Don’t make me hit you with the crutch.”
Wendy held the door open for me, and we went inside. Finn came around the corner of the bar and headed toward us as soon as we were in. He embraced Wendy and kissed her and the baby on the top of the head.
“Glad to see you guys,” he said to Dee and me.
“Of course, couldn’t miss it,” Dee said.
Before I could open my mouth to mention how we almost did, she elbowed me in the arm.
“How are you, baby?” Finn asked Wendy, who grinned wide.
“I’m fine. I missed you,” she said.
I couldn’t help but be charmed by those two. They were so in love, and it was adorable. Finn took Hope and held her close, kissing her head as he guided us to our booth. When we sat down, he handed her back to Wendy, who put her back in her car seat beside her.
“Oh no,” Dee said. “There’s no menus. I’ll go get one.”
“That’s on purpose,” Wendy said, stopping her. “Finn’s making something special.”
“Really now?” I asked.
“Yup. He’s been talking about it all week. He’s so excited you guys came because he says I don’t give him honest feedback anymore.”
I laughed.
“I’m sure I can give him honest feedback,” I said. “But the chances are it’s going to be delicious if it’s anything like what he made before.”
Janet came by and got our drink orders before disappearing and coming back with them moments later. Then, the food began coming out soon after that. I laughed at the massive stack of pancakes that was sat in front of Olly and the way his eyes lit up when he saw them. The butter was melting into the center of the stack, and syrup was dripping down onto the plate.
Our dishes came out on a rotating plate so we could try all the different aspects. It was kind of like a buffet of different breakfast dishes from around the world, and even though I didn’t know the name of some of them, they were all delicious. I made a promise to myself that if my vlog ever got super famous, I would have to profile Finn’s food.
Olly continued to try to stuff himself silly, and Wendy had a stack of napkins and a glass of water to dip them in to clean him up periodically. She had the foresight to set that up before the food even came, which was a level of Mom-ing that I couldn’t even imagine being able to do. Dee and I were stuffed, and Wendy was finishing up her food when the door opened behind her, and a familiar face came in.
It was Gerry, flanked by a polished, dignified older-looking couple. At first, he looked for a hostess, then started scanning the booths. It dawned on me that we were in the same booth that I had lunch with him in, and I smiled sheepishly when he looked over to it and saw me. Wendy turned to look when she noticed me staring that way, and Gerry smiled.