Ellie was thrilled. She could remember very clearly the last time she’d had a girl’s night in, on account of the fact that she’d never had one at all. Dylan’s father had always been opposed to her having friends over – he'd loathed Reid, and he’d had a few choice words to say about Ainsley that still made her sick to her stomach to think about – meaning that by the time she’d freed herself from his clutches, she was in her twenties, raising a child on her own, and had no time for slumber parties or nights at the club.
Admittedly, Ainsley was always trying to make up for lost time in her attempts to help Ellie regain some of her youth, but Elizabeth Smith was far from being a party girl. The bright lights and loud, booming music of the nightlife scene Reid and Ainsley frequented tended to overwhelm her, and she hated boring her friends with her dull nights in with jigsaws and a ball of yarn. She knew they’d never let her call herself boring, of course, but her friends were far more vibrant and exciting than she was. They lived loudly and unapologetically, and Ellie was still trying to find her footing, even at her big age now.
She’d felt a sharp sting of regret when she’d first reached out to Chrissy, guilt building in the pit of her stomach. Ellie had thought it might be nice to invite her over, given the high stakes of her job and the stress she must constantly be under. She knew she did a lot for her sister, and Ozzie was always gushing about how hard she worked. Ellie wanted to offer her an easy, relaxing night away from the stress she always carried. Reality had hit her hard when the other girl had boldly assumed Ellie was asking her if she was free because she was looking for a childminder. She’d very kindly offered her services, and Ellie had – figuratively – tripped over herself to explain that she was asking Chrissy to hang out because she wanted to spend the evening with her! For fun!
Luckily, she’d taken her up on her offer, and Dylan had been carted off to Ozzie’s to terrorise his uncle for the weekend.
Ellie was fretting, though. She’d spent the duration of her day tidying around hers and Reid’s shared apartment – he was at his mom’s for the weekend, the two Macnamara boys treating their mother to a spa treatment and expensive meal while they reminisced and mourned their father on the anniversary of his death. She’d tidied away every last toy of Dylan’s, scoured the place to ensure there were none of his booby traps still laying around, waiting for Chrissy to fall victim to them. And then she’d cooked a vast array of snacks, treats and finger food for Chrissy to help herself to. Dylan got a little stressed about textures sometimes, so she’d tried to make sure there were plenty of options. And she’d baked. She’d baked such an array of sweet treats that she knew she’d be dumping a large portion of it onto Glenn and Aspen for the next time either of them had the munchies – not that she tended to ask a lot about that.
By the time Ellie heard a knock sound on her front door, she’d just finished setting up the crafting station she’d pulled together on hers and Reid’s coffee table. Her hair was pulled into clumsy plaits, and she was wearing her favourite dungarees, coupled with one of Reid’s sweaters that she’d stolen so long ago that it was practically hers now.
“Chrissy! It’s so good to see you!” Ellie cried out as the door swung open, before catching herself and stopping short.
She’d had so much energy bubbling under her skin, that she’d hardly remembered the existence of noise control. Lowering her voice, she stepped aside, a light blush colouring her cheeks as she ushered for the other girl to come in. She figured she probably shouldn’t hug her, just in case it was unwanted.
“Sorry. Indoor voice is ago. Please, come in!”