Twenty Wishes (Blossom Street #5)(27)

“It’ll help her self-esteem if she excels in singing.” Anne Marie didn’t say that she used to sing, too. Or that she hadn’t sung in months…

“Oh, I agree, this opportunity is wonderful for Ellen,” Ms. Mayer said. “She’s the only second-grader in the chorus.”

“That’s terrific.” There was no personal reason for Anne Marie to feel proud of Ellen, but she did.

“Her grandmother won’t be able to attend.”

Despite herself, Anne Marie grinned. “Her Grandma Dolores is really old, you know. She’s at least fifty.”

The school counselor smiled, too. “It would mean the world to Ellen if you could come for the program.”

“Me?” She thought about her Tuesday schedule. She had meetings with a publisher’s rep, plus an appointment with her bookkeeper. As much as possible, Anne Marie tried to handle all her paperwork on Tuesdays.

“Ellen won’t have anyone there if you don’t come,” the counselor continued. “If there’s any chance at all…”

Anne Marie swallowed a sigh. “What time is the program?” she asked.

“Tuesday afternoon at two.”

She’d been afraid of that. “I have an important meeting then. I’m sorry, but I can’t make it.”

Ms. Mayer didn’t hide her disappointment. “Are you sure you can’t? It would mean so much to Ellen.”

Anne Marie hesitated as she tried to work out how to rearrange her schedule. Perhaps she could ask Theresa to meet with the sales rep, who was coming in at two.

“I know you’re busy….”

“Everyone’s busy,” Anne Marie said. Her life was no different from anyone else’s. She wondered if Ms. Mayer championed the other children as diligently as she did Ellen. “I’ll see if I can get one of my employees to cover for me. Exactly how long will this take?”

Ms. Mayer smiled broadly. “An hour at the most. And after the program, the children will be serving cookies and juice.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Anne Marie promised.

“That would be wonderful.” She clasped her hands together. “Thank you so much.” Glancing over her shoulder, she said, “I have to get back to the school now, but thank you again.”

Anne Marie opened her car door and placed Baxter inside. This volunteering was demanding more time and commitment than she’d originally assumed. The problem was, she couldn’t say no.

When she returned to Blossom Street, she brought Baxter up to the apartment, then hurried into the bookstore to see Theresa. The part-time position suited Theresa well, since she had three children, one in high school and the youngest two attending junior high.

“How’s it going?” Anne Marie asked.

“Fine.” Theresa smiled. “I wasn’t expecting to see you.”

Anne Marie tried to stay as far away from the business as she could on Wednesdays. The moment she made herself available, she invariably ended up spending half her day in the store. “I’m only here for a few minutes,” she said, vowing that would be the truth.

“Ms. Higgins was looking for you,” Theresa told her. “She forgot this was your day off.”

“Were you able to help her?”

“Oh, she wasn’t interested in buying anything. She wanted to talk to you.”

Anne Marie would give Lillie a call later on. She hoped the situation with her car had been settled.

“There was a phone call for you, too. A man at one of the distributors. He asked if you’d call him back at your convenience. I wrote down all the information.”

“I’ll take care of that in the morning,” Anne Marie said. She lingered, procrastinating because she hated to ask her employees to fill in for her. “Theresa, I was wondering if you could work next Tuesday afternoon.”

“Next Tuesday?” Looking pensive, Theresa bit her bottom lip. “I think so. Can I get back to you to confirm?”

“Of course. The thing is, I’m a Lunch Buddy for this little girl named Ellen and…well, she’s going to be in a school production and the counselor seemed to think it would help if I could be there.” She didn’t know why she was rattling on about this when it really wasn’t Theresa’s problem.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine but I’ll need to check with Jeff first.”

“Thanks, and if it doesn’t work out, don’t worry. I’ll try Cathy or Steve.”

Anne Marie went upstairs to her apartment. Baxter, who was asleep in his small bed, didn’t so much as stir. Apparently the excursion to the school had tired him out. “Some watchdog you are, Mr. Baxter,” she muttered.

Her plan for the afternoon was to work on her list of wishes. Since her dinner with Melissa, Anne Marie hadn’t really given it much thought.

1. Buy red cowboy boots

2. Learn to knit

3. Volunteer—become a Lunch Buddy

4. Take French lessons

Then, because it seemed so unlikely and yet necessary, she added the first wish, the one she’d crossed out earlier.

5. Find one good thing about life

She took out the binder she’d purchased and assembled the scrapbooking supplies and the few pictures she’d already cut out. Red cowboy boots from a catalog. A hand-knit sweater from a magazine. A photo of the Eiffel Tower. She’d need to get a picture of Ellen and…Suddenly it seemed pointless to go on, in light of what she’d discovered about Robert and her own pitiful life.