Three Wishes (A Mulberry Lane Novel, #2)

1 month earlier-2

Louise DelaneyAFTER ALL EVIDENCE of Kate’s impending seven years of bad luck had been put aside, Louise stood over the birthday boy with a pair of scissors in her hand. “Tell me again, darling,”—she looked at Kate—“why are we cutting Adam’s hair?”

Kate stood holding her ex-husband’s hair clippers and beamed, “Because he’s now two-years-old, and I was supposed to have cut it when he turned one.”

“Yes, but why do we need to cut his hair?” Sarah asked, holding yet another pair of scissors. She ran her fingers through Adam’s brown, wavy hair and glanced at Louise. “He’s got such beautiful hair,” she said wistfully, and pretended to pout.

“Well, ’cuz that’s what Filipinos do. When you shave a baby’s hair on their first birthday, it promotes healthy regrowth. Then they have beautiful hair when they’re older,” Kate said, without missing a beat. “But before that, you and Sarah are going to cut off the first locks and then I’m going to keep them between the pages of this book.” Kate picked up a book that she had set aside: The Happiness Project. “The belief is that if the first cut is given by someone intelligent, then the child grows up to be intelligent, too. You and Sarah are both intelligent women—intellectually and emotionally—so you’re the perfect people to give Adam his first cut,” she said, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

“But if he’s two now, then doesn’t that defeat the purpose?” Sarah asked.

“I still need to do it, so might as well do it now,” Kate said.

Louise shook her head and sighed, “Okay—the mama bear has spoken.” It was hard to keep up with Kate’s beliefs and superstitions, some of which were rather unconventional, even bordering on ridiculous; but Louise loved her friend dearly and respected her culture. Holding up a lock of Adam’s hair, Louise brought the scissors close, ready to take the first snip.

“Wait!” Kate blurted. She turned to Evan. “Are you ready?”

Evan held his phone up, poised to take the action photo. “You’re sure you wanna do this, right?”

Louise had to give it to Evan. After everything that the couple—now exes—had been through, Evan had pulled his head in and was doing everything he could to be a good father. Looking at the doting dad, no one outside of their circle would ever guess that there was a time when he did not want his son; even going as far as raising his hand and threatening Kate against having him. No one, except the town sheriff, who had arrested him for domestic violence and public intoxication. Despite her meek and nervous nature, Kate firmly stood her ground and vowed to have—and raise—her unexpected blessing; later teaching Evan that nothing could whip a mother’s love down. She had to admit; at first, Louise was doubtful that Evan could change. He was an alcoholic and a violent drunk. But he had changed. Every day. One step at a time.

“Evan, yes! We talked about this.” Kate stood with a hand on her hip, no longer the shy girl she once was.

“Okay, okay,”—Evan laughed and rubbed his beard—“let’s get on with it then.”

Louise was pleased for both her friends. Just a couple of years before, life had dealt them each a difficult hand. And just when it seemed they had hit rock bottom, they—Kate, Sarah, and Louise—had found each other. Together, their strength was doubled, even tripled, lifting each other up even when it felt they no longer had the energy or spirit.

When Sarah’s husband Adam died unexpectedly, Louise and Kate picked her up and walked every step with her. They did not judge her—not when depression had invaded her life, or when she couldn’t care for her children, who were all under the age of five at the time. Not even when she’d fallen for Caleb so soon after Adam’s death.

And when Evan kicked Kate out of the house over an unwanted pregnancy, threatening her with violence and deportation, Louise took her into her own home, providing food, shelter, safety, and friendship. Both she and Sarah stayed with her in the delivery room and encouraged her through the pain and triumph of birth. Louise had even endured sleepless nights when the baby was born.

For Louise, it was Kate and Sarah, who had stood by her and lent her their wings when she first found out (sixteen years later) that her very own late husband Warren had fathered another daughter, after they had lost their youngest one to SIDS. There was also that time her first love, Philip, had returned home forty years after serving—first, as a Deacon, then a Priest, and later, a Reverend—telling her that he had always loved her.

Louise smiled at the women around her and marveled at the significant parts they played in each other’s lives. Some men came along, and some went; but her friendship with these women—that was there to stay. It was real and tangible, and it would keep growing, keep them whole; and keep them strong.

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