Fools Rush In by Janice Thompson Page B

needs of others above their own. Who could argue with that?
    Rosa smiled and patted his hand. “We will start on the ravioli after you eat breakfast,” she explained. “So get busy.”
    I put Precious down, then reached for my cell phone to call Jenna. She answered on the third ring. “Thank you for calling Parma John’s.”
    “Hey girl, I have a favor to—”
    “You’ve got your heart set on Mexican food? He’s in the mood for pizza?” she interjected. “Why not try our South of the Border special—a taco pizza for two. It’s spicy and delectable with just that right kick. Hot meets cold in this amazing new dish from Parma John’s, Galveston Island’s premiere pizzeria. And speaking of hot, why not add two espressos to your order for an additional four dollars.”
    Wow. For a minute I didn’t know what to say. Somewhere between the ravioli, the scrambled eggs, and the South of the Border special, the world had gone crazy.
    “Hello?” I heard Jenna say. She sounded agitated. “Is anyone there?”
    “Look at the caller ID, Jenna,” I managed.
    “Bella!” She giggled. “What do you think of the new pitch? Laz came up with it this morning.”
    “I think it’s . . .” Deep breath, Bella. “I think it’s great. You guys are really fast. But I’m calling for a different reason.” I filled her in on the news du jour, and she gasped.
    “Bubba’s at your house right now?”
    “Yeah. I’m about to call D.J. to see if he can meet us here for half an hour during his lunch break. Do you think you and Laz can slip away? We really need to talk about the food for the wedding. It’s coming sooner than you know, and I’m getting nervous.”
    “Yes, but do we have to do this today? I can’t imagine leaving during our busiest time of day, especially with our new South of the Border special selling like hot tortillas.”
    “Jenna. Just half an hour. Marcella’s there, right? I promise, you can go right back to work after.”
    She sighed. “I guess she can take care of things for a few minutes, if you think it’s that important. And Nick and Joey are both here too.”
    “It is. I’ve got to get this wedding under control.”
    Even as I spoke the words, my heart plummeted to my toes. Reality set in. I’d forgotten to order the cowboy boots for the centerpieces! I’d have to take care of that after handling one more very important matter.
    After ending my call with Jenna, I telephoned D.J. I felt pretty sure my opening line would deliver a punch. “I know you’re going to think this is crazy,” I explained, “but Rosa has put Bubba to work in our kitchen making ravioli.”
    “Well, he’s in his element then,” D.J. said with a hint of laughter in his voice. “My brother’s a mighty fine cook. He took a blue ribbon at last year’s Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo for his brisket, and his ribs are the best in south Texas.”
    “Mmm. You’re making me hungry for barbecue.”
    “Well then, I’ll have to take you up to meet my folks when this wedding shindig is over. Maybe for the Fourth of July. We always have a ton of people over.”
    “Oh?”
    “Yeah, we spend the day eating brisket and watermelon and playing chickenfoot.”
    Chickenfoot? I didn’t have a clue what that meant but decided not to show my ignorance. If the boy wanted me to play chickenfoot, I’d play chickenfoot. And I’d eat a truckload of barbecue, as long as I could do it with D.J. sitting at my side.
    Snapping to attention, I remembered the reason for my call. “Can you meet at my house at noon?” I asked. “You guys can have lunch here. We really need to talk about this wedding. Hopefully it won’t take long, and that way we can kill two birds with one stone.”
    D.J. readily agreed, and I hung up, feeling my first glimmer of hope all day.
    Then I remembered the cowboy boots.
    Excusing myself from the kitchen, I grabbed my laptop. Finding eBay was the easy part. Locating twenty used boots was a bit harder.
    Crazy