by Grady, D. R.
KC winced and then laughed. “Bad-good idea, Lainy,” she muttered and watched in fascination as Ed picked up the can of whipped cream and aimed it at her. Lainy scooped up another can and returned the favor. He opened fire first, but barely a millisecond before her.
In about ten seconds, brownies, ice-cream, toppings and even the remnants in the bottom of the cherry jar flew through the air. Shrieking and throwing food at random, the kids’ laughter nearly overrode the taunts of Max’s brothers to the women.
Max’s mom picked up one of the trays that hadn’t been cut into and moved it to a safe place, and then she calmly picked up her half eaten dessert and flung the contents at Will, the biggest taunter. Pretending to be shocked, he let his mouth fall open, which proved to be a bad move, since Lainy still held the whipped cream can in her hand. She squirted a huge glob into his mouth and Rachel added some caramel sauce.
Two of Max’s sisters, Laurie and Melly, backed Tom into a corner and dribbled chocolate sauce on him. Their husbands were busy helping some of the kids wing mangled brownies.
Ed had his wife, Zara, locked in his arms. She was wriggling all around until KC realized he attempted to rub the whipped cream on her. Zara got the upper hand when she licked his cheek free of the stuff and his eyes darkened. She stopped wriggling and he wiggled his brows at her. The pair snuck off into the trees. KC grinned and then rolled her eyes. She knew where they were headed. They better hurry or Laurie and Greg would beat them to The Closet.
Max and three teenagers were busy tossing ice-cream at anyone who moved too close. KC giggled as Max landed a really good shot at Will. Head on, right in the face. The teenagers bent over in laughter, and KC recognized the girl as Laurie’s daughter, Destiny. The older boy was Dustin, Will’s son. Granddad and Max’s dad quickly relieved the table of any dish that contained anything inside. Anyone within firing range had brownie sundae contents tossed on them.
Bentley, along with all the dogs had taken to licking anyone and everything. They barked in between when they felt it necessary but their attempts seemed only half hearted. Spuds probably wouldn’t have bothered to bark. He’d simply lick anyone within licking distance.
One of the sisters-in-law, or someone opened fire with a hose and soon several joined in. Rivulets of melted ice-cream, brownies, and toppings trailed from nearly everyone. They mopped up most of the mess, which KC was glad for. Chocolate wasn’t good for dogs, and the dairy wouldn’t be good for the wild-life in the lake. After everyone had been cleaned up, they took a dip in the lake.
The screen blanked.
Chapter 21
Max turned on his computer, and tried to wake up. He rubbed a hand over his face and heard some bristle. Whoops, he forgot to shave. They’d experienced a difficult morning. Neither he nor Ryan had been interested in leaving their beds. He was on his third cup of coffee, and he gave Ryan the most sugared cereal he could find.
Both of them were still dragging.
He clicked on the email icon to download his mail. Yawning, he sat up when he saw a message from KC
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: The lake!
Hello Max,
Mitch and Lainy sent me a video of all of you at the lake. Lainy was cooking. You all had spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread sticks (yum!) and then brownie sundaes for dessert. I was most jealous.
The meal looked fabulous, but then a fast food hamburger would be haute cuisine compared to what we eat here. It’s not like the cooks don’t try, because they do, they have to eat this stuff too. But they don’t have a whole lot to work with. Still, those brownie sundaes alone would be savored to the nth degree here. And you guys threw those treats at each other! I’m appalled. (Not really, but it’s fun to say so.)
Ryan would have been most dismayed to have missed out on that weekend. Although, I’m sure he’s had that much fun with you already. I would have enjoyed cooking with the ladies. And I was quite happy to see you men clear the table and do the dishes. This is a most excellent system! Kudos to whoever thought up that scheme. Ryan does like to help load the dishwasher, though, so I can’t complain. And I know you’re pretty adept at kitchen clean-up. Bless your mother! (Sans water fights with Mitch, of course!)
Oh, there goes the call for all hands on deck, if you will. Sounds like we’ve work to do. I wanted to write more, but alas, that’s not going to happen this time.
I miss you guys terribly! I’m very homesick for you.
Love,
KC
Max stared at the last line for a few moments. I’m very homesick for you. Was that a singular you or a plural you? He knew which option he preferred, but he would take the plural if he had to.
Of course, KC would miss her son. He knew that. But he liked this new trend where she seemed to be missing him, Max too.
Not feeling quite so tired now, he opened a new email screen to tap out a message to her.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject:re: The lake!
Attachment
Hi KC,
Glad you liked the video. I think I remember what you’re talking about. I haven’t seen that DVD myself, but I believe I remember seeing Ed mount a camera during one of the meals. And I think Lainy did the majority of the cooking then. So, it’d make sense that particular video would wind up in Mitch’s hands.
I’m glad he shared it with you. I do recall having a brutally fun food fight, using brownie sundae ingredients. We ended up all sticky. The dogs had a good time. Well, so did we.
Destiny, Dustin, and Kyle helped me sling ice-cream, if that’s the correct time. We got Will right in the face with a huge glop, and Dad and Granddad threw a brownie on him. He’d been spouting off as usual, so that was fun!
We have a leaf-raking day scheduled for this coming Saturday. It’ll be Mitch’s first time, so we’re all excited to initiate him. He’s never had the privilege of raking leaves with us, so we’re hoping he’ll enjoy the family day.
Oh, and a bunch of the rellys have already informed him and Lainy that Bentley is NOT allowed to be outside while we’re raking. Apparently, neither of them planned on allowing the leaf-beast out, anyway, so we’re safe. (Lainy kept him locked up last year, if you recall? The kids whined as much as Bentley did. Rocky’s doing well, by the way. She still hasn’t had the puppies, but they believe it’ll be any day now.)
From what you say, Spuds won’t be a problem? But Ryan will? I suppose I can’t lock Ryan and Bentley up together, so I imagine Ryan will just be a part of the herd and we’ll end up re-raking. This happens. That means I’ll get extra cookies. (Much hand rubbing and gleeful expression) I’m not worried.
I am interested to see how Lainy does. She’s started throwing up. Scares the bajeebies out of Mitch every time she does. All the girls keep assuring him this is normal, but I’m not sure they have him convinced.
I actually feel like he does whenever she runs for the bathroom. I’ve been taking him out onto the porch and we fortify ourselves with the strongest thing in the refrigerator until she’s finished. So far, chocolate milk is the beverage of choice. Ryan assures me that you have to be manly to drink chocolate milk. Mitch likes it. Since a Marine will drink the stuff, I figure I can too.
Although, I have convinced Mitch that iced tea is also good for us, so we trade off. If there’s tea, that’s what we have, but so far, we’re usually stuck with milk. Laurie claims it’s good for us. And, Lainy doesn’t get sick if you talk to her with chocolate milk breath. (She has from the tea, for some reason. It’s strange. But then Melly told us that’s common too. Coffee also makes Lainy sick. And she normally loves coffee.) Even though my family is very good at reproducing, I can’t say I understand this process.
Fortunately, none of the girls have been cranky while pregnant. Mitch says Lainy is more serene. I’m not sure how he can tell this, but that’s
what he claims. Lainy’s the most laid back of all of them. And there are how many girls? Seven, that’s right.
Dory has gotten to the stage where she’s really uncomfortable, and wants to have this kid. She’s due any day now. I’ll probably get Eliza when she goes into labor, since she and John live next door. Well, Lainy could take her too, but with her not feeling well, I imagine Ryan and I will.
Eliza’s eighteen or nineteen months old now. It’s amazing. But she’s sweet and easy to get along with. Even Ryan has remarked on this. He told me in an aside that as girls go, he likes Eliza the best. Okay, then. Guess that little pledge of how he didn’t like girls tanked pretty fast. Give him a smooth talking, cute chick and he’s done. See how easily we fall? It’s disgusting.
Onto business, now, I’m sending you the new needle supplier contract. Take a look at it and let me know if anything should be changed. None of us have your experience with these, so we’d appreciate your input. I marked a few of the places I think need to be changed, but don’t know if they’re legitimate concerns or not.
Ryan and I both had trouble waking up this morning. I’m not sure why, but we’re both dragging. It was a sorry breakfast. We went to bed at a decent enough hour, but I suppose we’ll try a little earlier tonight.
We miss you and want you to come home.
Love,
Max and Ryan
He sent the message and then unwillingly, moved his attention to the business he was supposed to be running. The tiredness crept back as he concentrated on the work at hand. Eventually, Max fetched his fourth cup of coffee.
Chapter 22
KC took a moment to download email before she crawled to the showers. Fatigue didn’t ensue exactly but instead her tiredness stemmed from boredom and a restlessness she couldn’t identify. She watched for a moment to make certain the mail would transmit then turned to gather her shower things.
At least a shower was something to do. It was too early for bed, but too late for supper. Which she ate an hour ago. She wasn’t hungry, just bored.
KC wanted to do something constructive, but who knew what that would be? She whiled away most of the day in the on-site laboratory, and that helped, but she’d finished all the work there. (The first time since she’d come nearly two months ago.) She made her rounds, several times. Grateful no one was getting hurt in battle at the moment, KC could breathe a great sigh of relief. But the inactivity pressed until the place began closing in on her. KC realized she needed something to do, but what was the million dollar question.
She showered, feeling apathetic, not like herself at all. By the time she returned to the sleeping tent, she noticed no one about. Tonight was movie night, so most of the residents would be there. But the movie wasn’t one that would hold her attention and she couldn’t see wasting time watching a movie she had no interest in.
Like she’d found a good substitute. Frustrated, KC rolled her eyes and flopped down on the cot. She bounced up again however, when she noticed the laptop. Maybe her email had downloaded.
She saw a message from Max and plopped into the chair with the first bit of genuine interest she had experienced all day. Reading through his message made her smile, laugh, and feel that familiar weight of homesickness.
Mitch had explained all this to her. But he also had been gone for whole months on end. His work was nearly constant. From what she gathered, he had spent the majority of his time in the field, and the precious few days he lived on base had been passed catching up with email and paperwork and DVDs.
KC never expected to have days with barely anything to do. Yesterday, they couldn’t keep up. Now today – nothing. She clicked on the attachment and soon lost herself in the contract. Grateful to have something productive to do.
Max needed this, and she had some civilian business to pass the time between now and bedtime. And, with the concentration she needed for the terms of the contract, she should be tired enough to actually sleep.
When Janine and the others wandered in from the movie, KC waved a hand, but kept her attention on the laptop screen. Max’s concerns had been correct, as usual. She tapped out instructions on how to change the wording.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: The needles contract
Attachment
Hello Max,
Thanks for sending me this contract. I definitely have the time to look over this type of document, and am quite happy to do so. I’ve been feeling extra bored and restless today, so this work was welcome. Please send whatever you can like such.
My thoughts on this contract are in the body. Your suspicions were not only valid, but excellent, as well. If the potential supplier does not agree to your terms, walk away. There are many other suppliers out there who will comply. And these terms are ridiculous. They’re trying to pull a fast one. I’m already leery of such a company. If they willingly change the terms, then we can stick (no pun intended) with them. Otherwise, look for someone better.
I’m glad you fellows will take part in the Annual Morrison Leaf-Raking Day. I wish I could be there. But am grateful I’ll have a representative or two. Eat some soup and a barbeque sandwich (yum) for me! I’m sure you’ll have lots of fun. (I’m happy Mitch and Lainy are planning to keep Bentley penned in. I remember Rocky not being a problem, but Bentley was awful!)
I’m pleased to hear Ryan is tolerant of at least one girl. And you may remind him that I’m a girl, and he better like me! Or bad things will come that boy’s way! Of course, most boys like their mothers, so I’m thinking he just overlooked the fact I’m a female.
I haven’t had much experience with pregnant women, either. Basically all I’ve learned is from your family and med school. So, you probably know as much as I do. Sounds like Lainy is having a fairly decent time with hers. I also can’t imagine her any more serene, but I wonder if Mitch means she’s at peace? Because she’s probably feeling pretty feminine now. And she’s in that condition because she loves and is loved. I imagine she feels like she’s doing exactly what nature intended for her to do.
I wish I could be there to check her out. I love delivering babies! Helping a mother bring her child into the world is one of the best experiences ever. Very satisfying. I’ll probably still be here, though.
Tell Lainy to go to Dr. Vanessa Bryant. She’s exceptional, and will ease Lainy and Mitch’s minds. And she’s not family! Dr. Bryant has an excellent bedside manner and she’s very calm. I’ve never seen her excited or flustered.
That’s the type of doctor a woman needs. I did my clinical rotations with her, and even before she announced she planned to go into ob/gyn, I knew. She was such a natural. And then she settled in the Hershey area. I can see her and Lainy getting along very well.
Okay, now I’m finally yawning and it’s time for bed, so I’ll call it a night. I thought this day would never end!
Miss you,
Love,
KC
KC read through her corrections one more time before saving and zipping them, before she attached the file. She pressed the send key and watched as the note disappeared. She sincerely hoped Max would send more documents like that one. Keeping her hand in the business was a way to alleviate boredom and kept her active in her “civilian” job at the same time. That way she wouldn’t feel completely lost when she returned home.
Being lost wasn’t how she intended to return. She needed to somehow change Max’s mind, if in fact her feelings were true and not something her mind had created to help lighten her fears and worries. Would he ever view her as a romantic interest? Could he? She didn’t know, but as she turned off the computer, she wondered how to go about figuring out if she was in love with him, then if so, making Max Morrison fall in love with her.
It might be easier wrestling with the Grim Reaper.
Chapter 23
“Hello?” Max said absently into the phone after he downed his fourth cup of coffee and considered a f
ifth. Why couldn’t he wake up this morning?
“Max? It’s Lainy.”
“Hello, Lainy. What can I do for you?” He set aside the papers he’d been reviewing and leaned back in his chair.
“Well, I was wondering if you’d like to have supper with Mitch and me tonight?”
“Me and the kid?”
“Of course you and the kid. You can’t leave him at home.”
“Oh, right,” Max answered, playing with her.
“You’re a pain.” Her sigh was long-suffering.
“I know. While Ryan and I would love to dine with you, we’ve already been invited elsewhere for the evening meal.” He tapped his pen on the blotter. KC had given him the fountain pen for Christmas last year.
“Where are you going?” Lainy sounded confused.
“Contrary to popular belief, Ryan and I are quite popular these days.”
“Wow, you used the word popular twice in the same sentence, imagine that.” Lainy, of course, was excellent at pushing buttons. Except he didn’t care if she succeeded today because all he really wanted was to return to his nice, comfy bed. Instead he switched his attention back to the phone conversation, since she was still speaking. “Who invited you first? Why would someone want to eat with you?”
“Mom.” He took satisfaction in saying that one little name.
“Oh, well she has to like you.”
“I think pregnancy has made you sassy. I’m not sure I like this.”
“My condition is a little too late to change now.” There was an abundance of love and satisfaction in that statement.
“True.” And he wouldn’t change her being pregnant for even twenty minutes alone with KC.