"For you and me, both." I nudged Dave with my elbow playfully.

"Kent ended up with his Master’s in that computer stuff and a minor in Language Arts. I told him he should have been a teacher… I think he would have liked that better."

Kent turned to Jen and smiled coldly. They had this argument before too. Kent saw the dollar signs in Jen’s eyes and made every effort to give them to her. Jen ate it up and kept asking for more.” Maybe I should have. I don’t know. Some days are better than others, right?" He looked at us for support.

I smiled. "I'm not sure anyone loves their job every minute of it." Dave's fingers captured my right ear and gently starting moving his fingers over it.

"Except you, right, Els?“ Dave asked.

I looked at Dave after putting my shoulder to my ear to stop him from stroking it. “Even I have bad days at work.”

Kent sipped his tea and then spoke up, “How is the singing treating you, Elly? We've…well, I've been so busy with the new store that we haven’t had much of a chance to talk."

That much was true. Their wedding spurred a huge jump in my wedding singing career. I had thought, at the time, that it would be a great way to earn some extra money. Almost a decade later and I was still doing large events along with open mic nights when I wasn’t waiting tables, which was my day job. Between the two I had enough to pay the bills and very little time for a social life.

"It’s going well. I wish more people would have weddings during the week, but,” I shrugged, chuckling softly. "I'll take what I can get. Excuse me, I have to use the ladies room."

Chapter 2

Once alone, I stared at myself in the mirror and pulled out my phone. I groaned as I noted that we’d only been seated for twenty minutes. It felt more like eighty. I freshened up my face, checked my email, and shot Stacy a text.

Me: Omg. These birthday dinners are the worst!

Stacy: Are u texting at the table? Rude!

Me: I’m in the ladies. Haha. Had to take a breather. Jen is already on her second cocktail.

Stacy: It’s her birthday. Give her a break.

Me: *rolls eyes* Whatevs. Do I have 2 go back?

Stacy: Yes! Call me later! :-*

When I came back, there was an odd tension at the table. I sat down and was about to ask what I’d missed when the food arrived. We all ate dinner and made small talk.