I knew that smile. I knew I had crossed a line. So I looked at my plate and said, “You have outdone yourself. This looks divine.”

I said a blessing. Then Grace tapped her glass and said, “Everyone, I believe we need to let Charlotte begin our nighttime proceedings.”

Charlotte beamed from the head of the table. “Ladies and gentleman,” she started. Poor Merit. The only gentleman. He was either going to turn out to be the kindest, most empathetic man or a hen-pecked disaster. It was a grand social experiment. “You are looking at Montoya and Sons’ newest sales associate!”

“Mom!” Iris shrieked. The little girls loved her shrieking so much that they joined in.

Julie clapped and Emma whistled, and Grace said, “We’re having homemade ice cream for dessert to celebrate!”

When everyone quieted down, I asked, “So, what exactly does this new job entail?”

Charlotte paused for a moment, then laughed, saying, “Alice, I really don’t have any idea.”

We all laughed.

“A job is a job,” Merit said. “Congratulations, Charlotte.”

He really was mature and sweet. So far, things pointed toward very good man.

“So, what can we help you with, Charlotte?” Emma asked, as was our tradition.

“Well, Emma, I was thinking you looked like you needed an insurance policy.”

She giggled.

“Seriously,” Julie said. “We’re here for anything you need.”

Inside, I smirked. I took Julie’s kids to school and picked them up and watched them all afternoon. How was she going to help Charlotte with whatever she needed? Not that I minded. I looked over at Brenna, Jamie, and Audrey. They were the joy of my life. They were, if I was really being honest, a huge contributing factor to why I hadn’t moved forward with Elliott when we broke up a year ago. I couldn’t, wouldn’t leave them. And, beyond that, life at the mommune worked. I was good at it. I had failed miserably at marriage. But the thought of Elliott’s beautiful, work-worn fingers on my neck…

“Well,” Charlotte said tentatively, breaking me out of my thoughts, “I hate to ask. But, depending on what my new schedule is like, I might not be able to pick Iris up from school or practices.”

“We’ve got that covered,” I said. My afternoons were spent driving around to ballet, tennis, swimming, and gymnastics anyway.

“I can help too,” Merit said. “Iris’s tennis practice and my football practice are usually at the same time.”

“Well, we will take it day by day and work out something that makes sense for everyone.” I raised my wineglass. “For now, cheers to Charlotte!”

“Cheers to Charlotte!” everyone chimed in, the little girls raising their milk glasses, the teens and tweens raising their wineglasses of sparkling water.