Free Moms Night Out by Tricia Goyer

Doing that had worked before.
    The large hit worked, and the music blared once again. Allyson resumed her head bob and Izzy shook her balled fisted in the air to the beat. They were young. They were together. Tonight was going to be a great night!
    Amidst drum beat and blaring lyrics, a squeak of a voice came from the backseat. “Kind of loud,” Sondra said.
    Allyson pushed out her lipsticked lips and glanced in the rearview mirror, noticing Sondra wearing a skeptical church lady face.
    “Sorry!” Allyson called back to her. “The volume doesn’t work either.” She glanced to Izzy and they continued their seat dances.
    “Whip out a CD,” Sondra offered. “Oh, do you have any Amy Grant?”
    Izzy paused her bouncing, and she leaned closer to the stereo. “Um, let me check.” She reached her fingers toward the buttons.
    “Oh no, don’t touch that!” Allyson blurted, but her words came late. Too late.
    “A B C D E F G!” Elmo’s voice blared through the radio. The screeching puppet voice startled her. “Ah!” She swerved slightly into the other lane. Headlights moved quickly her direction, and she jerked back into her lane again.
    Izzy tried to press the “stop” button, but it didn’t stop. She pushed more buttons, but the “volume” or “off” button weren’t working either.
    Allyson wrinkled her nose. Dang apple juice.
    “It happened once before. It’s fine!” Allyson called out. She pounded the dashboard over and over again, but it didn’t help. It didn’t stop. Allyson felt invaded . . . by Elmo. Could she ever leave her role as mommy behind, for even one night?
    Finally, they arrived at the restaurant. Even the parking lot looked upscale as she pulled into a space right under the streetlight. It was a little farther from the door than other spaces, but totally worth the protection the light offered.
    “H I J K!” Elmo continued to sing, and with one swift movement Allyson turned off the van and pulled out the key.
    Sondra let out a weak sigh as she unbuckled her seat belt. “Well, now I know my ABCs.” Leave it to Sondra to always try to find the bright spot in things.
    “You always park this far away?” Izzy asked, glancing back at the restaurant.
    “Good news is that I got a good parking spot. Right under the light. Safest spot,” Allyson chirped.
    “Oh yeah, I read that blog,” Izzy said offhandedly.
    Allyson pulled out her cell phone from her purse and noticed there was a text message . . . from Sean. Her heart sunk a little, and she wondered if things had already gone awry. Then she paused and smiled as she read his words.
    Sean / 7:33 PM Unplug. We got this.
    She stared at the word “Unplug,” then looked over to Izzy and Sondra. There was a sense of rightness to the three of them being together. Just them.
    “You know what, ladies?” Allyson tilted up her chin and moved her gaze from one face to the other. “Tonight is our night . . .”
    They both looked up to meet her gaze, and she continued. “. . . And we look good!”
    “Um-hum,” the both said in unison.
    “Let’s do it,” Izzy said.
    Allyson stepped out from the van and closed the door. Stars twinkled in a clear evening sky. The weather was warm. Not too hot. Not too cool. The streetlight cast a warm glow over her washed and waxed van, and together they moved toward the restaurant.
    Allyson hadn’t been on this street in over a year, and the property owners had given it a face-lift. Large flowerpots filled with flowers lined the brick-faced building
    Stepping under the portico outside of the restaurant was like stepping into another world. Small, white twinkling lights had been wrapped around white pillars. It was as if someone had pulled the stars in the sky and had created a tunnel for them to walk under.
    Allyson walked in the middle with Izzy on one side and Sondra on the other. She didn’t know if it was on purpose, but their strides matched hers. A light wind came up, stirring her hair and lifting it