“I SAY, DO HUSH, ETHEL.” Helga Gunderson rattled the gavel at the podium with all of the authority afforded her station both as the Grand Dame of the Glory Grandmothers and as the chief judge for the first district in Glory County.
Ethel Weinburg, local busybody, knitting genius and general jill-of-all-trades, squirmed in her seat and made a big show of adjusting the folds of her dress.
Helga warmed. “I want to hear all about your petunias, dear, but we have urgent business on Maudine’s behalf.”
The woman in question, one Maudine Townsend, sat in the proverbial hot seat up on the small stage. Her blue hair didn’t put anyone off—after all, it was perfectly coiffed as it had been every day since she was thirteen. The dye job had been to show school spirit for her old alma mater, but the temporary dye had become more of a fixture.
“As you all know, I haven’t been feeling well.” Maudine took a deep breath, deciding what she wanted to say next. She didn’t want anyone other than Helga to know just what she’d been going through, but she needed them to understand the importance of what she was about to ask.
“Have you tried a cleanse?” Regan Marsh asked, pushing up her glasses. “A good colonic can fix everything. I remember this one time when—”
Heavens save her from people who could only talk about their bodily functions. Maudine held up her hand. “Stop right there. I swore that the day I spoke of such things in public would be my cue to lie down and let them bury me. If that’s all I can converse about, it’s a sad day indeed.” She pursed her lips. “No, what I need is more for my granddaughter, Gina. She has absolutely no life trying to raise Amanda Jane. She’s a good parent, but she’s too young to have given up on falling in love.”
“Maybe her priorities are right where they need to be,” Rose Cresswell offered.
Maudine’s eyes narrowed. “Amanda Jane needs a father.” And I need to know she’ll be loved when I’m gone.
“I raised my daughters without a man just fine, thank you very much.” Ethel crossed her arms.
“No one is saying you didn’t. I didn’t say Bitsie Weinburg needs a father. I said Amanda Jane Townsend does. And Gina needs the help. Not because she’s not capable, but because she deserves to have something in her life she didn’t have to fight for. It would just kill me if she missed out on becoming a doctor because I couldn’t take Amanda Jane full-time,” Maudine confessed.
Gina’s story thus far was like a penny dreadful. She’d lost her mother, her sister, and now was trying to take care of her niece and put herself through medical school. She’d found a way to do that with the army, but when she found out Amanda Jane needed her, she’d declined to reenlist. And in doing so, had declined the GI Bill that would’ve paid for her education. No, Gina wasn’t going to end up like everyone else in Maudine’s family. She would survive and thrive, no matter what Maudine had to do to make it happen. She couldn’t help but feel like she could’ve done more, done better.
“Honey, no one would expect you to.” Helga gave her a sympathetic smile. The kind that you save for kittens, daisies and best friends. Especially when you knew how much pain that best friend was in.
Of course Helga knew what she was thinking. Helga always knew. She was like the FBI.
“Anyway—” She shook her head. Maudine didn’t want the conversation centered on her. It was about Gina. Making Gina happy. Seeing her settled.
Maudine knew that Gina could do anything. She believed in her—in her grit, in her spirit, in the fire in her belly that would help her succeed at everything. But her whole life had been a fight. It was time for something good and Maudine was going to make that happen for her.
“As I was saying—” she continued “—I want to see Gina settled.”
“Why do they call it settling? I wouldn’t think you’d want her to settle,” Regan interjected.
“Fine. Happy. I want to see her happy.” Maudine rolled her eyes and wondered how they ever accomplished anything.
“I heard that Reed Hollingsworth is back in town. He bought a big house on Knob Hill,” Rose Cresswell added helpfully.
“We all know that, Rose,” Helga reminded her kindly. “He’s Amanda Jane’s father. We’ve been watching this very closely.”
Rose sighed. “I suppose I mean to say what are we going to do about it? I mean, if we’re trying to matchmake for Gina.”
“Exactly!” Maudine pointed a finger at Rose. “That’s it exactly. What are we going to do about it?”
Ethel’s brow furrowed. “I suppose it depends on what you think we can do about it. What’s your endgame?” Ethel had on her game face, the one she reserved for their poker matches after the meeting. Things were getting serious.
“Gina’s happiness.”
“Duh.” Regan Marsh rolled her eyes behind her thick, bejeweled glasses. “But what—” she stuffed a bite of scone from Sweet Thing into her mouth “—do you think her perfect pitch is? What sort of resonance will make her happy?”
“I really wish you wouldn’t speak like that, Regan. It shatters your credibility.” Helga wrinkled her nose. “And why do you always have to bring everything back to a musical analogy? Wouldn’t it annoy you to no end if I did that? If I made everything about the law?”
Several glances cut to Helga sharply and she narrowed her eyes. “Fine. I’ll work on that. Anyway, Maudine. What do you think will make Gina happiest?”
“To have a whole family. A man who will love her, and Amanda Jane as his own. To go to medical school without worrying about how we’re going to provide Amanda Jane with the things she needs.” Maudine sighed heavily. “I’ve done my best.”
“We know you have, dear. So does she.” Marie Hart nodded from her chair.
“We could set her up with my grandson, Greg. He’s a firefighter. He’s always had an eye for Gina,” Helga offered.
“No.” Ethel shook her head. “It’s too cute. Greg and Gina Gunderson. There are so many g’s there, I choked on them.”
“Ethel, you cannot expect people to marry or not marry because of their names,” Rose admonished.
“The answer is staring us in the face.” Maudine’s expression melted into a sly smile. “She’ll marry Reed,” she proclaimed. That was the perfect solution.
“Have you lost your mind?” Rose asked, her expression one of serious concern.
“No, no. I’m serious as Old Man Zorn’s heart attack.” Maudine nodded emphatically. “She’s always had a crush on Reed. Even when the boy had no prospects. Now, he does. He has several billion of them, he’s Amanda Jane’s father...it solves all of our problems.”
“Have you forgotten the part where he was on the drugs?” Ethel faux-whispered.
It was Helga’s turn to roll her eyes. “The drugs? As if he did them all? That was years ago. He’s cleaned up his act. He’s CEO of a major international company. If there was the slightest chance he was slipping, his board of directors would oust him so fast it would make your head spin.”
“I wouldn’t trust him with a child.” Ethel crossed her arms. “This is all just so seedy.”
“Good thing it’s not up to you, isn’t it?” Maudine looked pointedly at Helga. She’d be hearing the paternity suit Maudine had convinced Gina to file against Reed.
“You’re asking me to break the law. To form an opinion days before