The Secret

Chapter 16

Sitting outside the Huntzberger mansion in a party dress, worried about whether she was dressed properly when she's the guest of honor isn't how she wanted to spend a Saturday. Yet, here she was, by herself, building the courage to actually go inside. She sighed as she realized she had wasted too much time and Shira would probably come looking for her soon. She gathered her purse and did a quick mirror check.

Stepping from the car, she prepared herself for the coming chaos and walked to the door. She rang the bell and smiled at the maid who answered. The maid took her purse and guided her to the back patio, where Rory's eyes bugged out of her head. Shira told her they were hosting a small luncheon for Rory's shower. She took that at face value. Small to her meant only a select few people, but small to Shira obviously meant something else. She could easily see 15 tables arranged on the patio, each table seating 8 people.

While it was a lot of people, and not what she expected, she had to admit that it was tastefully decorated. There were nice flower arrangements and tasteful music in the background. In fact, if Rory had to plan something like this for herself, she might have done something similar. That in and of itself shocked her.

Before she could continue to gaze at the party, Shira walked up to her. "Rory! I'm so glad to see you!"

Rory didn't know what to do because Shira pulled her into a hug and gave her two air kisses. Rory had a tense smile on her face when they pulled apart. "It's good to see you too, Shira. Thank you for hosting this. It looks amazing!"

Shira waved off her compliment. "It was nothing. My grandchild and his mother deserve the absolute best!"

Rory was taken aback again. Who was this person and what did she do with the Shira Huntzberger she knew? Before Rory could think on it too much, Honor walked up and pulled her into a hug. "You're here! I'm so excited! And look at you!"

Honor stepped back and looked Rory up and down. "This dress! It is amazing! Where did you get it?" Rory was wearing a navy blue empire waist dress with cap sleeves that hit her at about her knees. She had even worn a nude pair of kitten heels.

Honor continued to gush and pulled Rory farther onto the patio, introducing her to the people there. Unfortunately, or thankfully, she didn't know anyone. So, Rory had to repeat her and Logan's story each time and suffer through everyone rubbing her belly. When she thought she couldn't take it anymore, Shira announced that lunch was about to be served. Honor led Rory to a small table set for four. Emily was already sitting there and rose when she saw her.

"Rory! You are glowing! And that dress!"

"Hey Grandma!" Rory said as she hugged her.

Rory took her seat along side her Grandmother and was thankful when Honor took the seat on the other side of her. Before she could try to figure out what to say so that lunch wasn't completely awkward, servers came out with large trays. They placed a flute in front of her, which she was assured was full of sparkling cider, and a plate of pot roast.

"This looks amazing, Shira! Really," Rory told her as she placed her napkin in her lap.

"Well, I have it on good authority that you love pot roast and that you've been craving it recently. So, why not help feed that?" Shira shrugged.

Rory happily dug into her lunch and tried to suppress her moan at the delicious flavor of it. Shira was right. She had been craving pot roast and this had to be some of the best pot roasts she had ever had. She decided to try and figure out later how Shira found out about her craving.

Once the main course was done, the waiters brought out mini chocolate soufflés with raspberries on top. By the time lunch was done, Rory felt stuffed and like a nap, but Honor told her to sit still as workers quickly broke the tables down and lined the chairs up in a semi-circle in front of a lavish armchair that she was led to.