Chapter 7

Episode 8 - Normal Run of Things

“Okay, which one of you wants to start?” Car draped an arm over the steering wheel in a deceptively nonchalant manner as her gaze swept from Brady in the front seat to Rachelle in the back, but her raised eyebrow was a warning unto itself.

“How much did Brady tell you?” Rachelle sighed as she rested her head back against the seat of the hatchback, and Car scoffed.

“Assume nothing. Start at the beginning.”

“I did so—” Brady’s protest was cut off with a wave of Car’s hand as she pinned him with a silencing glare.

“Assume nothing for all the sense I got out of it. You’re both powered up, but you’re not both going, but you are both going?—and something about Grace and Marcus and balloons. I’m looking for something in the ballpark of a coherent explanation.”

“I’m with Road Rash on this one,” Dash cut in over the earpiece, and Car cocked her head toward her phone as though he could actually see her skeptical expression. “Not that she should get used to it.”

“That’s more like it.” Car chuckled as she turned her look back to Rachelle again. “And since you seem to be at the center of whatever’s gone sideways here, I think it’s your turn to try to explain.”

“It’s—not that complicated.” Rachelle sighed and turned her gaze out the window. “I made the mistake of trying to actually plan a party for Grace—well, half a party. Shavonne and I were supposed to be tag-teaming for her and Rowan, but they’re sick today—not Grace and Rowan, Rowan and Lonnie. So I’m running it myself, only Shavonne still has half the supplies, so I have to make a run for the party store, if you’ll take me before you and Brady get started.”

“Get all that?” Harper giggled, and Car snorted as she turned to the road and put the hatchback in gear with a shake of her head.

“Yeah, never mind, Gamma Ray. Your try wasn’t half bad.” She shot Brady a wink out the corner of her eye. “Fine, forget the complicated backstory. Who needs to be where when, and what disasters should I be ready to avert?”

“And you thought they were confusing,” Marcus muttered, and Brady coughed a little to hide a chuckle.

“I’ll ignore that—for now.” From Car’s skeptical sidelong glance, the comment was directed to Brady as well as Marcus, but Rachelle saved him by leaning forward and drumming her hands on her knees.

“If you can take me to a Wal-Mart—or someplace that’s open—I’m hoping I can get most of what I need there. Might need an actual party store when they open if I can’t.”

“And after that?”

“The party’s supposed to start at eleven. I’ve got an hour before that to get things set up. If Brady’s not in the middle of something and you’re available to get us there, I’ll take it; if not, I’ll figure out another way.”

“You will not.” Brady shot a glare over his shoulder, and Car smirked in his peripheral vision.

“Think I can tell you who won’t be busy then, no matter what’s going on in the city. And I’m sure not letting you moonlight on me with another driver. Long as your party stuff fits in the trunk, I’ll make it happen. You got backup from there?”

“Already worked that out.” A hint of a self-satisfied grin came through in Marcus’s tone, and Brady’s mouth relaxed into a smile. “And unless I take a really bad turn, you’re picking me up when you get Grace.”

“You don’t think this plot’s thick enough as it is?” Car huffed in exaggerated resignation. “And what’s going on with you today, Cyclone Breath? Don’t tell me there’s three of you in play right now.”

“Just taking any excuse to see my baby cousins.” Marcus’s tone was soft, and Car opened her mouth, then closed it again with a little shrug.

“Still not seeing all the connections, but fair. What all you trying to pick up, Mama Bear? Maybe I can simplify things.”

“Balloons, plates and cups and things, and some kind of party favors if they’re not through the roof expensive.” Rachelle winced and stretched her fingers, probably to keep from clenching them, and Car’s eyebrow shot up again.

“And that’s half? What was your part before?”

“Cupcakes, decorations, and crafts. Mostly the stuff I didn’t have to go out and shop for.” Rachelle propped her chin on her hand and turned to look out the window, her discouraged look deepening the crack in Brady’s heart. She was still so quick to see only her shortcomings, especially when it came to taking care of Grace. How much of that was her own conscientious protectiveness as opposed to the echo of her dad in her ears he couldn’t tell, but he couldn’t help wishing there was some way to show her herself in the light that everyone else observed.

“Really pulled out all the stops for this one, huh? She’s how old now—five?”

“Six last June. She’s waited almost six months, both so her friends would be in town and so we could combine it with Rowan’s and maybe have a chance of pulling it off. And yet, here we are.”

Car shot Brady a glance that he could only interpret as a look of concern and waited a moment before she spoke again.

“You’re down a lot worse than usual, Chelle. Anything we can help with?”

Rachelle gave a little moan and thumped her head against Brady’s seat hard enough that the whole car shuddered.

“I’m sorry. You’re right. I’m just—pretty much totally overwhelmed right now. Still trying to figure out how all my fail-safes broke on the same day—what I should have seen coming and done differently—”

“And the answer to that is absolutely nothing.” Marcus’s voice carried a ring of conviction that reached far beyond his years. “You’re still newish to the kid thing aren’t you? They pick up a sniffle or a tummy ache at the drop of a hat—sometimes even before it drops. You can’t stop it, and you can’t even totally plan for it. You have to just roll with the punches. It’s not fun, but it’s probably the most normal thing that’s happened to you in a long time.”

Rachelle made a tiny sound like a sob in her throat, but it quickly morphed into something much closer to a laugh.

“Okay. Thanks, Marcus. Normal catastrophes. I guess I can deal with that. Moving on—can I get someone to help me brainstorm, please? You all know how hard I was trying not to micromanage, but now I’ve got no idea what Shavonne had picked out, or how much I can replicate last minute. What do I even look for?”

“Your theme’s animals, right?” Harper stretched and yawned, her jaw popping on the line loud enough to make Brady wince. “Can’t be that hard, can it?”

“I mean, sort of. It’s super-zoo animals, and I don’t know if Grace even cares about the animals at all. That was really Rowan’s part of it.”

“What’s your color scheme for the rest of the decorations again?” Marcus asked, and Rachelle tipped her head thoughtfully as she considered.

“I didn’t really have one beyond ‘colorful.’ I figured if I put enough different ones in, they’d match whatever Shavonne found.”

“Lots of primary colors, though.” Brady squinted as though he could actually still see the posters she’d worked on so painstakingly for the last months, in between flares and after Grace went to bed. “I say you make that your focal point. Whatever balloons and plates you can find in those colors. Grab a couple animal faces if they’ve got them, and draw those—whatever you call the superhero masks that just go around the eyes. Super easy, super functional, and doesn’t need tons of money or some super specialty store.”

“You don’t think that’s—a little underwhelming?” Rachelle chewed at her lip, and Brady almost reached out to stop her but thought better of it in time.

“Ugh, Midge, I forbid you to become one of those party moms.” The disgust ran thick in Dash’s tone, but Brady couldn’t argue with the sentiment. “Get off Pinterest or whatever and make it work with what you’ve got. Guarantee the mouse will not know the difference as long as she’s having fun, and neither will any of her friends.”

“He’s not wrong, Chelle.” Brady shook his head as his mind trailed back over the years. “I don’t know what parties were like for you growing up, but what you’ve got without Shavonne’s part is already miles beyond anything I ever thought of. Don’t break the bank trying to work without her. Basic balloons, plain colored paper plates—get the white silverware; the kids won’t even notice—and as far as favors, what about the capes they’re decorating?”

“That’s the craft, not the party favor.” Rachelle winced, and Brady sighed.

“And I was way older than Grace when I found out party favors were even a thing, let alone a requirement. The capes are plenty, and they’ll have way more fun with them than whatever toys for a dozen kids you could scrape together without breaking the bank. They don’t need anything else, Rachelle, and they won’t miss it. Trust me.”

“So what I’m hearing is we only really need one stop at the dollar store. That sound right?” Car paused a second, and when Rachelle didn’t answer, she continued. “For what it’s worth, I’m with the majority here. And can I tell you what else I think? I think you’re overcompensating hard. You know you can’t do as much physically, so you’re trying to slather on all the trimmings you can scrape together to make up for it. But there’s nothing to make up for. Little Bit doesn’t want fancy; she just wants to know you care. Period.”

“She’s so totally right about that.” Harper’s voice was a whisper, and Brady’s heart ached and swelled at the implications of that statement coming from her. “And I—I don’t see what else you could possibly do to convince her. That you’re not already, I mean. But—yeah, some silly party favor’s not gonna tip the scales.”

Rachelle was silent for a long beat, and Brady could hear her slow, deliberate inhale and exhale, but he was completely unprepared for the volume when she suddenly slapped her hands on her thighs.

“Okay. No favors. Plain balloons and cheap tableware. It’s not like the cute stuff would last more than today anyway.”

“That’s more like it.” Dash’s tone was still a growl, but Brady could almost have sworn there was a note of relief threaded through it. “Good to have you back, Midget.”

“All these months of superhero training never prepared them for their greatest challenge yet—a kid’s birthday party,” Car intoned dramatically, and Rachelle hummed a chuckle as Harper dissolved into giggles.

“Well, thankfully, I still have the best team in the world watching my back.”