You Get What You Pray For by E.N. Joy Page B

vu,” Eleanor said, sucking the meat off of a bone. She looked at Lorain. “Unique yelled, ‘Surprise! ’ and you lost your breath.”
    â€œI’m okay.” Lorain smiled. “I was just . . . well . . . surprised.” She batted her eyes. She turned to Heaven, who was sitting next to her, and started brushing invisible crumbs from Heaven’s dress.
    â€œI didn’t mean to cause all that drama,” Unique said. “I tried to call you once I got into town, but you didn’t answer, so after I finished handling my business, I decided to head over here on my way back out of town.”
    Lorain’s phone had died during her shopping spree. No telling how many calls she’d missed.
    â€œAnd when I saw my oldest grandbaby was in town,” Eleanor said, jumping in, “I wasn’t about to send her on her way without one of my home-cooked meals. No, sir. So I convinced her to stay for dinner.”
    â€œAnd I appreciate it.” Unique smiled.
    â€œWest Virginia is a long drive,” Lorain said to Eleanor. “You shouldn’t have kept her from hitting the road, especially not for a meal. She’s a caterer, or have you forgotten? She’s always cooking and, I’m sure, eating.” Lorain looked over at Unique’s small frame. “Although it looks as though she’s not eating much. Still, I’m sure getting a meal is the least of her worries.”
    â€œYeah, but she has to follow the recipes of that Tamarra girl she works for. Ain’t nothing like her grandmother’s cooking. Ain’t that right, baby?” Eleanor turned to Unique, who sat next to her, for support.
    â€œIndeed,” Unique confirmed. “And it feels good to have somebody else do the cooking for once.” She rested her hand on Eleanor’s and said softly, “Thank you, Great-grandmama Eleanor.” It melted Eleanor’s heart when Unique called her what her three grandsons used to call her before they passed.
    Lorain cleared her throat. “So, uh, what brought you into town, anyway?”
    â€œActually, ‘that Tamarra girl’ needed to talk with me,” Unique said, mimicking Eleanor.
    â€œIs everything good? Is everything okay with the catering contract with that nursing home in West Virginia?” Lorain quizzed.
    â€œYes, everything is good in West Virginia, but it looks like Tamarra might need me back here to run things.”
    â€œThat would be wonderful,” Nicholas said. He turned to his wife. “Wouldn’t it, honey?”
    It took Lorain a moment to reply. “Yes, absolutely.” Lorain’s mouth said one thing, but her brain thought the total opposite. She looked at Unique. “But if you come back here to run things, then who will handle things in West Virginia?”
    â€œYou know that was only supposed to be a three-month contract, until the nursing home found a local company and signed a permanent local contract,” Unique reminded Lorain.
    â€œIt was a blessing that they found Tamarra’s company on the Internet and reached out to her, even though she wasn’t local,” Nicholas said.
    â€œYeah. Didn’t the nursing home have to get rid of the other company that was handling the kitchen because they found that the company was purchasing items on their dime and using the products for other gigs?” Lorain asked.
    â€œYes,” Unique confirmed.
    Eleanor tsk-tsked. “Just ratchet.”
    Unique and the twins chuckled at Eleanor’s use of slang.
    â€œThey thought that within three months they’d surely have another company, which is why I kept my place in Malvonia,” Unique said.
    â€œSo have they finally found someone?” Lorain asked. “Are they cutting you guys loose just like that? Seems kind of inconsiderate, considering that when they couldn’t find someone permanent after the initial three months, you guys didn’t pull out and