somewhere there is hope

                                                    sweet muse brownies
How could she be so calm. Really? Well, Amanda wasn't. She hoped the brownies didn't make Lon or Ellie sick. She'd came over as soon as she found out Ellie was on bed rest.

"I'm not making you nervous, now am I?" Amanda looked at Ellie, blankly, there in bed with all the books and magazine around  her. Her netbook near by. See, it was like a vacation. Ellie looked calm as a cucumber. Amanda winced. Why was she thinking of a cucumber? She wasn't really thinking of cucumbers, was she?

"No. No, of course not." Ellie looked pleased to see her. "You know, we're just doing this for a couple of days. Its not a big deal."

"Right." Amanda smiled and edged her way near Ellie.

"So how is everything?" Ellie asked.

"You know." She wasn't here to get into her on going bickering with Eric over Evan. She still only saw him on Sundays when she came to pick up Rosie. "I don't even want to think about the holidays." She sat down then and looked at a REAL SIMPLE magazine that looked like the Thanksgiving edition. She sighed then.

"You having company?" Ellie was propped on the pillows and she didn't seem sick at all.

"Maybe." She shrugged. She sort of hoped not. The thought of spending Thanksgiving with her in-laws wasn't something she was giddy about. She knew they didn't really like her, but they would go, all dressed up. But then she had her brother, Derrick to worry about this year. "Elliot has this cousin coming in." She almost rolled her eyes. She'd probably hate him. "He's been a missionary in the rain forest."

"Oh." Ellie offered Amanda some cranberry juice in the thermos on the night stand then. "Have you met him before?"

"I don't think so. I might have. They kind of all look alike, after while." She let slip.

Ellie smiled then.

"Well, maybe it won't be so bad." Ellie shrugged then.

Amanda wasn't really looking forward to Elliot's cousin. But then again, she knew her problems were nothing compared to Ellie's.

"I'm-I'm selling Avon now." Except she hadn't really sold anything yet. She was always going to, but life got in the way. And she knew they were barely making ends meet as it was on Elliot's salary. She knew she had to do something. She wanted to. She really wanted to help out. But it felt like it defeating the purpose. Being a Mom to Rosie came first. Or was that being Elliot's wife?

"I'll buy some from you." Ellie wanted a brochure. "I haven't done any Christmas shopping at all."

Amanda reached for some material in her bag then. She really hadn't planned on making a sale today.