Red Velvet Cupcake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #16)(92)

“I see.” Hannah exchanged amused glances with Lisa. “And will they make sure that Mrs. Mayor gets home safely?”

“Yes, but not right away,” Lisa told her. “Claire’s opening Beau Monde Fashions at seven, just for her. And after Mrs. Bascomb selects a few things she desperately needs, Herb’s boys will bring her out here to meet the mayor for dinner.”

“Your staff has nice duty tonight,” Hannah said, nodding at Herb.

“The guys think so,” he said. “They get to eat an expensive dinner on the mayor’s tab.”

Andrea and Bill walked in and when everyone had greeted them, Hannah turned to Bill. “Mother said that Barbara was back at work. How is she doing?”

“Great. She works mornings and spends the afternoons with her real father at the hospital. She told us they’re making up for lost time.”

“That’s wonderful,” Lisa said. “I’m so glad to hear she’s doing all right.”

“Barbara’s a lot better than all right,” Mike told her. “She’s already found everything the temporary secretary misfiled.”

“That’s right,” Andrea said. “Best of all, she even found Bill’s umbrella and that’s been missing since last fall.”

As they chatted and found their places, the rest of their party arrived. Soon everyone was seated, including Hannah, who was the bologna just as she’d expected. Sally had opened champagne and sparkling white grape juice for the table and everyone was in a celebratory mood.

“I’ve got a question for you,” Andrea said, turning to Hannah. “How did you ever have the courage to get into that window-washing cage?”

“Remember when you said you’d rather die than step into something that hung outside the dome above the third floor?”

“I remember.”

“Well, that was my choice. So I got in.”

Delores shivered a little. “You were very brave, dear.” Then she raised her glass. “Let’s have a toast to Hannah and everyone here who helped to catch another killer.”

Their glasses were filled and presented to them by Sally and two of her best waitresses. Everyone raised their glasses and took a sip.

“Hear, hear!” Doc Knight said, smiling at Delores. “And now I think that Lori has an announcement to make.” He gave her a little nudge. “Come on, Lori. It’s time for your speech.”

Delores stood up, rather reluctantly Hannah thought, and cleared her throat. “There’s a second reason I asked all of you to join us here tonight. I need to announce . . . I mean, I want to announce that . . . well . . .” She stopped speaking and cleared her throat again.

“Just tell them, Lori,” Doc encouraged her. “Everyone here loves you. They’ll understand.”

“I hope so. Anyway . . . the second reason we asked all of you to join us here is because . . .” She faltered again and turned to Doc. “I just can’t do it. The girls loved their father.”

“So did you, Lori, but time has passed, and you don’t look all that good in black.”

Delores turned to look at him. “Thank you . . . I think.” Then she turned to address them all again. “Doc and I are getting married.”

Doc got up to put his arm around her. “Well done!” Then he turned to them. “The thing is, Lori and I need your help. We don’t want a lot of hoopla or anything like that, but my patients and Lori’s friends are going to feel cheated if they don’t get to come to the wedding. And that’s where you come in, if you approve, that is.”

“Of course we approve,” Bill said.

Mike nodded. “You bet we do.”

“Tell them what we need, Lori.” Doc gave her another hug.

Delores took a deep breath. “If you girls don’t mind, I really need you to plan the wedding for us. We’ll help you with the guest list, but whatever else you decide is fine with us. Will you help us?”

“I will,” Lisa said quickly, “and I’m not even your daughter.”

“Thank you, Lisa.” Delores beamed at her.

“I’ll help you, Mother,” Michelle said. “I’m really glad you’re marrying Doc. He’s perfect for you.”

“And I’ll help,” Andrea offered. “I think it’s just wonderful!”

Delores turned to the only daughter who hadn’t spoken, the one who had been old enough to grow up with her father and love him the most. “Hannah?”

Hannah winked at her mother to show she was kidding and then she gave a shrug. “I don’t know, Mother. On one hand, I like the idea of getting our flu shots for free.”

There was a burst of laughter around the table and the tension dissipated. Hannah waited until everyone was silent again, and then she continued. “On the other hand, Doc’s going to be our stepfather and we don’t even know his first name. You call him Doc. Everybody calls him Doc. That’s like calling the president of a company Prez. I don’t know if I can help you with the wedding plans if I don’t know the groom’s first name.”

Delores exchanged an amused glance with Doc. “I told you before, dear. His name is Doc.”

“I know that’s what everybody calls him, but what’s his real first name?”