Take a Chance

by Simone Jaine

A further shriek had him taking the stairs two at a time.

  Several minutes later Eben ushered Daisy and Aidan into the kitchen where Jem was working. She looked very competent and motherly wearing Jess’s Kiss the cook apron as she stood there creaming butter and sugar in a large bowl. On the bench a variety of containers were lined up beside an open cook book.

  “What are you doing Aunty Jem?” asked Daisy.

  “I’m making a chocolate mud cake,” Jem answered.

  Eben gestured at the group of men on the back lawn unfolding the marquee in the pouring rain and raised an eyebrow.

  “It’s a coping strategy,” Jem told him pertly. “This way I don’t have to see what they’re doing to the lawn. I’m giving them half an hour until this goes in the oven and I can’t help myself going out there and micromanaging anyway.”

  Eben grinned. The combination of his eyes turning silvery and that dimple caused her to suck in air. She was brought back to earth by the children trying to peer into the bowl.

  “Can I help?” asked Daisy.

  “No! I help!” said Aidan.

  “You can both help me but first you both need to wash your hands... make sure you use soap,” she added as they raced to the downstairs bathroom.

  Eben’s dimpled winked at Jem. She stirred the wooden spoon faster in the bowl. The creamed butter and sugar was getting a lot easier to mix.

  “I can see you’re going to be busy for a while. If you like I’ll collect Jeremy from school and get groceries on the way home if you tell me what we’ll need.”

  Jem put down the bowl, ripped the top page off her notepad and handed it to him in relief. She told herself she would feel normal the moment he left the room.

  It must be that Bulgari I can smell. Perhaps they’ve stuck pheromones in it.

  “Thanks for that,” she said instead. “I was trying to figure out how I would get time for everything.”

  “No problem. We’re a team.”

  She considered the concept and smiled back at him.

  “Seeing as you are “it” do you want to tell me what was going on upstairs?”

  Eben thought for a moment.

  “You probably don’t want to know. I’ll just mention that it involved Aidan jumping off Daisy’s bed, Jess’s nail polish which Daisy wasn’t supposed to have, Daisy’s dress and the carpet.”

  As Jem made a move towards the stairs Eben stopped her by putting his hands on her shoulders.

  “Don’t worry it’s all taken care of.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I told Daisy to wear her dress backwards and moved the rug on her floor over a bit.”

  At the look on Jem’s face Eben laughed and kissed her.

  “Kidding!”

  She still didn’t look like she believed him so he added “I used the nail polish remover from Jess’s room. Luckily it was still wet so it wasn’t too bad to get out of the carpet and it didn’t stain.”

  “How do you know about such things?”

  “I have three older sisters.”

  “I didn’t know that. I bet you were spoilt rotten.”

  “It was hell,” Eben agreed cheerfully.

  Eben took the opportunity to kiss Jem again. It started off as a relatively chaste kiss, one suitable for a puritan bride and groom sealing their vows. Even so, Jem found herself clinging to him and the kiss deepened.

  They were interrupted by Daisy and Aidan returning to the kitchen.

  “He’s allowed to kiss Aunty Jem,” Daisy told her brother upon seeing them. “Daddy said the apron says Kiss the cook and that is what Uncle Eben is doing. Just wait a bit. They’ll get bored soon.”

  Taking Daisy’s comments as being given permission to continue, Eben lingered for a few seconds but had to let go when Aidan pushed the kitchen stool onto his shoe and climbed on it.

  Nothing like the weight of a toddler compressed to an area the size of ten cent piece on your foot to halt amorous intentions.

  Eben nudged the stool off his shoe with his other foot as Jem released him. He took the opportunity to move towards the kitchen door.

  I don’t need the kids asking about the fit of my jeans.

  From the safety of the hallway he waved the list at Jem to show that he still had it.

  “I’ll be back in a couple of hours,” he said and disappeared towards the garage.

  Wow, thought Jem. This is getting to be a habit I could get used to.

  She distractedly moved the bar stool that Daisy was sitting on to the other side of her so that Daisy and Aidan couldn’t hit each other.

  Now what was I doing?

  She looked blankly at the cook book in front of her.

  “Can I beat the eggs?” asked Daisy.

  “Yes! I mean, yes, you can,” said Jem.

  “What I do?” Aidan asked.

  Jem finally recalled what she had been doing before Eben distracted her.

  “I’m going to measure the flour and cocoa. You have to tell me when I get up to the right number on the measuring cup then you can help me sift it.”

  She took three eggs which had been warming in water from the sink and set them up beside the bowl. After Daisy and Aidan independently counted them she took one and cracked it into the bowl.

  “How many do I have left?”

  “Two,” said Daisy.

  “One, two,” said Aidan as he pointed and counted the remaining eggs.

  “Now I take away one egg,” said Jem and cracked another into the bowl. “What do I have left?”

  “One,” said Daisy and Aidan.

  “When I take away this egg,” Jem said and cracked the final egg into the bowl. “What do I have left?”

  “Me!” said Aidan.

  Daisy giggled. Jem grinned. This was going to be fun.

  Close to half an hour later the bench was dusted with flour from Aidan’s sifting and splattered with egg from when Daisy lifted the beater out of the bowl before turning it off. Jem wondered whether it had been a good idea after all to have their help as she surveyed the mess. As far as she could see the biggest benefit was that she knew what they were up to. Beside her, Aidan sneezed into the cake mixture.

  The oven heat will kill any bugs.

  I hope.

  Jem skimmed her eyes over the bench looking for inspiration and found it in a packet of chocolate chips.

  “You have both been such a big help to me and the cake is ready to go into the oven now,” she told Daisy and Jeremy.

  “Can I put it in the oven?” Daisy asked.

  “No. The oven is too hot for children to touch so that will have to be my job.”

  Jem removed two small plastic containers Jess used to store baby food in from a cupboard. She sprinkled the bottom of both with chocolate chips and gave them to the children.

  “This is to thank you for all your help. I’ll even let you take them into the family room to eat as you watch a movie.”

  She could barely hide her relief when both children thanked her and took the small cups of chocolate chips and went into the family room.

  Jess poured the mixture into a lined cake tin and slid it into the oven as the familiar theme to Toy Story came to her ears.

  That will hopefully keep them busy while I try and get as much done as I can here, she thought as she checked her list.

  When Eben returned with Jeremy and the groceries it was to find Jem in the kitchen peering out the rain splattered window at the rapidly rising marquee.

  “They work fast,” he observed. “What happened to the personal supervision?”

  “They were worried I could get injured and it’s wet,” Jem replied.

  “You mean you were in the way and they asked you to go,” Eben interpreted.

  “They didn’t say it like that,” Jem said primly.

  Eben laughed and hugged her to him.

  “Is the circus coming?” Jeremy asked excitedly after seeing the marquee going up on the back lawn through the family room sliding doors.

&nb
sp; “No, it’s for a work presentation,” Jem told him.

  When Jeremy looked blankly at her she added “It’s like a big meeting but there will be too many people to fit in the house.”

  “Awww,” Jeremy began, then a thought occurred to him. “Can we play inside it?”

  “Not while everything is being set up or while things are packed away but afterwards you can.”

  “Yes!” shouted Jeremy and he pumped his arm then ran off to tell Daisy the good news.

  The oven buzzer went just as Aidan marched into the kitchen holding out his little cup for a refill.

  “I get it!” he said and pushed the button to stop the timer buzzing and tried to open the oven door.

  “I’ll do it. You mustn’t touch the oven or anything in it as the cake’s hot and you will burn your fingers,” Eben said as he picked up Aidan and dropped him a safe distance away.

  He folded the tea towel up and used it to lift out the chocolate mud cake. Aidan waited for him to put the tray down on a chopping board on the bench. He pulled the kitchen stool over, climbed it and promptly stuck his tongue on the side of the cake tin. He screamed and Jem looked up from her task to see what the noise was about.

  “I don’t believe it,” said Eben and Jem.

  Eben picked up Aidan, poured a glass of water with his free hand and held it to Aidan’s mouth. Aidan stuck his tongue into it.

  “Swish it around your mouth, like this,” Eben said and took a sip to show him what to do.

  Aidan copied him and swallowed the water so Eben gave him more and set the glass on the bench. He gave Aidan a hug.

  “That was a silly thing to do,” he chided mildly. “When I said don’t touch I meant every part of your body, not just your hands.”

  He gave Aidan another hug. “You won’t do that again in a hurry, will you?”

  Aidan shook his head.

  Jem slid a knife around the edge of the cake tin then inverted the tin over a wire rack. She gave the tin a little shake as she lifted it. The cake plopped cleanly onto the rack and she carefully peeled off the paper stuck to the base. Steam rose from the exposed cake and two pairs of hungry eyes watched her every move. She took the apron off over her head and put it on the bench.

  “If it’s alright with you I’ll visit Jess and ice the cake when I get back.”

  “That’s a good idea. We can’t start setting up until they’ve finished putting up the marquee. While you are gone I can start dinner to have it ready for when you return.”

  “Okay.”

  Eben gave her a brief kiss and put Aidan down.

  “Keep that thought in mind the next time I ask you a question.”

  Bemused, Jem gathered her shoulder bag and trench coat and headed for the car.

  On the return home a couple of hours later, Jem felt pleased by her sister’s progress. Jess had stayed awake for some of her visit and had managed to hold a short conversation. She had stayed until the nurse gave Jess medication for pain relief that would also make her sleepy.

  As she rounded the curve in the driveway Jem saw that the van carrying the marquee had been replaced by an old, battered, blue Toyota Celica parked in front of the house.

  Chapter 10

  The sound of laughter from the kitchen wafted down the hallway as Jem opened the internal door from the garage. Reaching the kitchen doorway she saw an open wine bottle on the kitchen bench which Cherie was leaning against with a half full glass of wine in one hand. In her other hand was a beer can she was tipping to Eben’s mouth.

  Jem wasn’t prepared for the jealousy that surged inside her. Holding back the atavistic urge to slap Cherie away she instead put on a polite smile as Daisy ran through the kitchen squealing, chased by Jeremy.

  “Don’t run inside,” Jem warned, resulting in Jeremy and Daisy slowing to trot as they brushed past her and disappeared into the hallway.

  Upon hearing Jem’s voice, Cherie put down the drinks and looked pleased to see her.

  I’ll let her live, Jem thought.

  “Hi, stranger. Eben said you were at the hospital. How is your sister doing?” Cherie asked as she filled an empty wine glass that had been out of sight behind her.

  “She’s now awake for short periods but is still a bit groggy. The consultant says the signs are good that she won’t have any permanent neurological damage,” Jem told her, accepting the wine.

  “That’s great news,” Cherie said.

  “You bet. Now we don’t have to worry about Jason swimming back from Fiji,” Jem joked.

  She took a sip of the merlot and placed the glass on the bench.

  “Is that your car out front?” she asked.

  “No, it’s my nephew’s,” Cherie said. “He wanted to borrow mine to impress his girlfriend. He’s just turned eighteen and it’s their first date.”

  “What do you drive?” Eben asked with interest.

  “An eight year old Toyota Corolla but it’s obviously more impressive than that old bomb he has. My sister and brother-in-law wouldn’t let him use their BMW,” she added.

  “You’re very trusting to lend your car to a teenager,” Eben said.

  “Not that trusting,” Cherie said as she pulled out a folded up metal coat hanger out of her purse. “This is the key to this car. I threatened to wrap it around his neck if there was even the tiniest scratch on my car when he returned it.”

  “That’s a good incentive,” Jem said, belatedly noticing that Eben’s hands were in a mixing bowl.

  What are you two up to?” she asked.

  Cherie tapped her phone which was sitting on the bench beside her purse. “I’m here to help you set up the marquee. I left you several messages to warn you about the latest hassles but Eben tells me that Mark has already shared the news.”

  Jem extracted her phone from her shoulder bag and winced when she saw the battery was dead. She pulled out the charger and plugged it in the first socket she found.

  “I thought I’d come and help set up as much as possible tonight seeing as I have to go to work tomorrow to finish off those brochures,” Cherie continued. “I would have been here earlier but the motorway traffic was dreadful.”

  “As for me, you’ve caught me out, red handed as it were,” Eben said and wiped his fingers on a cloth, turning it pink. “I had hoped to have the rhubarb and apple crumble in the oven before you all got home.”

  They both watched as he scraped pink crumble onto the fruit mixture in a pyrex dish already partly covered by a wedge of bright yellow crumble and another of green crumble.

  “Why is the crumble bit different colours?” Jem asked.

  “Food colouring,” Eben told her and held up the palm of one hand to show a red streak probably caused by getting the lid off the food dye. “I thought the kids would be more willing to eat it if it looked unnatural.”

  “That reminds me,” said Jem. “What happened to that cake I made before I left?”

  “I put it in the serving container,” Eben said and pointed to a large inverted square, plastic container pushed to one side of the bench.

  Jem reached forward to lift the base off the lid.

  “Some crumbs fell off it,” Eben warned.

  She pulled the base away and was unsurprised to see that close to quarter of the cake was missing.

  “That’s more than some crumbs,” she observed.

  “I had to neaten the sides up,” Eben explained.

  “You couldn’t have waited until I had iced it?”

  “It smelled so good and I didn’t know how long you would be,” Eben said.

  Jem sighed and put the lid back on the cake.

  The oven timer started beeping and he reached over to turn it off. With the tea towel folded he removed a roasting dish of spicy wedges and an oven tray covered with small pizzas. Then he put the rhubarb crumble in the oven, adjusted the temperature and reset the oven timer.

  “You have been busy,” Jem remarked. She pulled open the top drawer and removed knives and forks in case the ch
ildren decided to eat in a civilised manner.

  “What can I do to help?” Cherie asked.

  “You can set out the place mats and coasters,” Jem said and handed her the cutlery. “You’ll find them in the second drawer of the sideboard in the dining room.”

  Cherie took the cutlery and disappeared across the hallway to the dining room.

  “You two seemed pretty friendly when we arrived,” Jem remarked as she pulled the plates out of a cupboard. “Not at all like you’d just met.”

  Eben dipped a wedge into a pot of sour cream he’d removed from the fridge.

  “She’s an easy person to get to know. I like her,” he said and popped the wedge in Jem’s mouth.

  The wedge was hot and Jem huffed around the sides of it as it sat between her teeth so she wouldn’t burn her mouth. Because she was holding the plates and couldn’t remove the wedge she tried glaring at Eben but he saw the sparkle in her eyes and knew she was only trying it on.

  “Has anyone ever told you how cute you look when you’re angry?” Eben asked and dropped the pizza cutter on the oven tray.

  He reached over, took the plates from her hands and set them on the bench. Before she could remove the wedge his mouth swooped on hers and nibbled away the part of the wedge poking out of her mouth. When he got to her lips she swallowed and he stopped, leaned back and smiled.

  Jem waved her hands in front of her mouth.

  “That was hot!”

  “You’re telling me,” said Cherie from the doorway. “If I smoked I’d need a cigarette about now.”

  Eben’s smile turned into a smirk and Jem felt her face flushing.

  It’s the wine.

  “I’ll call the kids to the table,” she said weakly and left the kitchen to go looking for them.

  Not surprisingly the children ate everything offered to them, even the brightly coloured rhubarb crumble. Jem was impressed. Even more so by the pleasant light hearted banter over the meal which included Cherie. She had never seen the children so well behaved.

  Please let them behave like this tomorrow night.

  When everyone had finished eating she realised that tonight was the first time she would not have to race off to the hospital straight after dinner leaving Eben to clean up and get the children ready for bed. She felt it was her turn to supervise their baths. When she pointed that out Eben disagreed and said she needed all the time she could get to set things up. He didn’t mind relegating the dishes to her though.