What's a Girl to Do? (Season 3)

Chapter Eleven: Back To You

I graciously accepted Nicholas's offer to question all the other witnesses in the Farris case; it wasn't a sign of weakness that I accepted, rather, Josh had informed me that I could stand to lose my voice if I over-exerted myself. Of course, I didn't tell Nicholas that particular tidbit of information, and instead informed him that I read it online. He seemed to believe me, and for the next month, we continued questioning witnesses. In the second week of May, the jury withdrew to debate on Paul Farris's guilt.

Normally, Nicholas and I would be considering what next case we could take on—if the jury didn't deadlock or a mistrial was declared—but I had something much bigger to plan. With Fiona and Debbie's help, we were planning Iana's first birthday, and that, I decided, too precedence over any and every case that came my way. As we worked our way through potential themes, and as Iana attempted to put in a few words—she could now say 'Mama', 'Ian', 'Ana' (for herself), 'Fi-Fi', 'Deb-Deb', 'Li-Li', 'Trev', 'Yes', 'No', 'Now', and 'Peach'—as to which things she wanted and not.

"How about a swimming party, Iana?" Debbie asked.

Iana immediately made a face. "No," she said stoutly.

Fiona grinned. "Do you want Auntie Fi-Fi to bring pies to the party?"

Iana looked enchanted at the idea. "Yes!" she said.

Fiona laughed, turning to look at Debbie's annoyed expression. "Hey, don't get mad. Murphy has been bringing her into the diner since day one. I really can't help it if she likes me better than you, Debs."

Debbie promptly hit Fiona with the party magazine. "That's not fair!"

"Hey, no hitting," I said, taking the magazine away from Debbie, and found myself smirking as Debbie crossed her arms. "Now, Debbie, what do you say to Fiona?"

Debbie sighed. "I'm sorry for hitting you."

"Good," I said, turning to Fiona. "And Fiona, what do you say to Debbie?"

Fiona did her best not to laugh. "I'm sorry I instigated," she replied.

"Better," I said, turning back to Debbie. "Now, do you promise not to hit anyone again if I give this back to you?"

Debbie nodded. "Yes."

"Great," I said, and handed it back, picking up Iana and pulling her into my lap. "Now, my sweet love, do you want Mama to buy you a pretty dress for your party?"

Iana looked excited, and clapped her hands. "Mama, yes!" she cried.

"Should it have a floofy skirt?" I asked her, spreading my arms to show her what I meant. "Like a princess?"

Iana nodded. "Yes! Pwincess!" she said, and I raised my eyebrows.

"She's never said that before," I whispered to Fiona and Debbie. "Well, now that we mailed the invitations—"

"Yesterday," Debbie cut in, tossing her hair. "No thanks to you. Franny!" she barked, not even looking up. "I told you, stay away from the gate on the stairs."

Franny dejectedly returned to the circle, and Iana immediately crawled towards her. The two of them looked immediately happier at being so close, and began speaking animatedly to one another. I didn't quite make out what was being said, but the two of them seemed happy, and that was the most important thing.

"You said that you wanted to handle the invitations this year, Debbie," I said diplomatically as I picked up another party magazine. "I gave you the list, and you designed and sent out the invites on time."

"Yeah, I know," Debbie said, smiling to herself.

"Should we have a pink theme?" Fiona asked.

I sighed. "Iana loves pink, but Trevor's going to be there with Ian, and I don't want to make waves, if you know what I mean."