But he would.
And I couldn’t blame him.
All I could do was enjoy it while it lasted. I’d have to figure out my sunshine later when he took the warmth from my soul when he left. Because if he wouldn’t leave, I’d have to make him once he knew. I couldn’t look in his eyes and see the pity or the resentment that would undoubtedly be there.
With a frown, I picked up my ringing phone. “Hey, Jada,” I said with more enthusiasm than I felt.
“Hey, sister! How are you?”
“I’m just pulling into my house, actually. Going to get a few things from here.”
She snickered. “How are things going now that you are officially living with Max?”
“Good. I mean, it’s really no different.”
“So I don’t need to plan a wedding soon?”
“Hardy har har,” I mocked. “Did you call for something besides to annoy me?”
She laughed. “Yes, actually. I think we picked out the baby’s name.”
“And?” I asked, pulling into my driveway and turning off the car.
“Maybe I shouldn’t tell you for being mean.”
“Maybe I’ll call Cane because you know how forthcoming he is about all things baby,” I said, taunting her. Cane had called to tell me that Jada was pregnant before Jada had a chance to, much to her chagrin. It was the best New Year’s Eve news I’d ever gotten. He went on and on, ignoring Jada’s protests in the background. It was pretty adorable.
“Don’t even,” she warned, making me laugh. “If it’s a boy, it’s going to be Benjamin Thomas. Benjamin is after his grandfather and Thomas after Dad. We’re still a little unsure about a girl’s name. I like Anna Marie, Anna after Mom and Marie after Cane’s grandmother. Cane likes Carmin Elizabeth. I have no idea why.”
“Oh, Jada! I love them!” I squealed, giggling at Cane’s randomness. “Why won’t you just find out if it is a boy or a girl? I want to buy blue or pink, not green and yellow.”
“Cane wants to be surprised, so we’re going to be surprised. But I think it’s a boy.”
“That’s funny because I think it’s a girl,” I said.
“So does Cane,” she laughed. “He’s sure it’s going to be a girl. He said it’s his payback for being a hellion.”
I saw my neighbor, Gladys, come out of her house and look strangely towards my car. “Look, Jada. I need to go. Gladys is giving me the stare down and I feel weird sitting here ignoring her.”
“Go. Love you.”
“Love you,” I replied, getting out of the car. Gladys gave me a little wave.
I made my way across the lawn towards the grey-haired old lady that lived next door. Gladys was a sweet woman. She made me chicken noodle soup when I came down with a bad case of bronchitis one fall. Last winter, she fell and hurt her hip. I visited her a lot, bringing her the crossword puzzles she liked and her mail in the afternoons.
Gladys had lived in the neighborhood for years, maybe even decades. She knew who lived where and how many kids they had. For a woman that didn’t get around a lot, she didn’t miss much.
“Hi, Gladys,” I called out. “How are you?”
She ambled down the few steps on her porch and made her way towards me. “I’m good, dear. How are you?”
“Great.”
“Have you moved? I haven’t seen you around much lately.”
I smiled, tossing my car keys in my purse. “I am in the process of moving, actually.”
“I hate that. You’re such a nice neighbor.” She smiled sadly.
“I don’t know what I’m doing with the house, so I’ll be around off and on for a while. Most of my stuff is still here right now.”
She cocked her head to the side. “Have you had someone checking on it for you?”
“No,” I said. “Just the pool guys every-other-week as usual.”
“Huh,” she huffed. “I know I saw someone in the backyard last week. I let Molly out,” she said, referring to her dog that was as old as her, “and she started barking like crazy.” She shook her head, trying to remember. “I wish I could remember what day it was. It was probably your pool guys. Yes, I bet that’s what it was.”
I suddenly felt very uneasy. “Could it have been Max? Or maybe my sister’s husband? You’ve met Cane before, right?”
Gladys was watching my face closely and touched my shoulder. “Honey, I’m sorry to frighten you. I’ve been a little nervous lately. I watched one of those shows the other night about these home invasions the young hoodlums are doing now. I hate to say that it really scared me; my mind’s been running around like crazy.”
“I have the security system set, so if anyone had gotten in, it would’ve gone off.”
“That’s good. It was probably just my imagination, come to think of it. Hey, I have a kettle of soup on. You have time to come and grab a bite to eat?” she asked hopefully.
“I wish I did, but I need to grab a load of my things and get them home before it gets too late. And I need to go check on my sister if I can find time today.”
She patted my shoulder again and turned towards her house. “You take care, Kari. And good luck with your boyfriend.”
I smiled as I thought of Max. “I will, Gladys. You have my number if you need anything.”
I headed to my front door with a heavy sense of unease. Although she said not to worry about it, I did.
What if someone was lurking around outside? Who could it be? Why would they bother?
With a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, I hesitantly unlocked the front door. The system beeped, letting me know it was still armed. I typed in the code and turned around.
The house was exactly as I left it. Nothing had been touched or moved. I walked cautiously into the kitchen and it appeared fine as well. The back door was shut tight. It hadn’t blown open since Max fixed the loose lock that had plagued me off and on for a few months. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Gladys had thought someone was milling around.
I grabbed my phone and dialed Max’s number.
MAX
“Just a second, Sam.” I held up a finger. “Hey, sweetheart,” I said into my cell phone.
“Hey.” Her voice made me smile. “I’m at my house and was just talking to my neighbor. You remember Gladys, right? Anyway, she said something that got me on edge a little, so I’m changing the security system code.”
“What did she say?”
“Just that she thought she saw someone in the backyard the other day. But the system is still armed and nothing has been messed with, so I’m sure she just imagined it. But I’m changing the code anyway.”
“Good thinkin.’ Just write down what you change the new code to or text it to yourself so you don’t forget,” I laughed.
She snorted. “I’ll send you a text with it, too. Are you busy?”
I leaned back in my chair and looked up at Sam. She was standing in the doorway, her arms wrapped around a couple of spec books. She smiled as our eyes met and I looked by her, out the window. “Yeah. There are a couple of items on this job I’m working on that I can save a lot of money on if I can outsource them right. So I’m looking up suppliers.”
“I won’t keep you. I just wanted to hear your voice more than anything, I think. You calm my nerves.”
I smiled. “I’m glad. I’ll be home as early as I can. Be careful and don’t wear yourself out too much today. You’re gonna need some energy later.”
She giggled, the sound music to my ears.
“Love ya, sweetheart.”
“Love you, Max,” she whispered. Those words out of her mouth could turn any day right around. She didn’t say it a lot, but when she did, it made my day. It meant more to me to hear it from her lips than anyone I’d ever heard it from before.
Maybe because she’s the only one that I’ve ever really loved.
I shut the phone off and turned back to Samantha. She had just gotten back from her lunch break and stopped by my office on her way to the front. I ha
d asked her to look up a few suppliers for me if she had time.
“So just those three,” I said, getting back to our earlier conversation. “If you can email me the contact name and phone numbers, that’d be great.”
“No problem, Max.” She didn’t seem to be in a hurry to move. “Thank you again for giving me this job. I appreciate it.”
She threw me one of her killer smiles and I nodded. “It was just good timing,” I said, looking down at the papers in front of me.
“I would like to thank you somehow.”
“You don’t owe me anything, Sam. Just do a good job until Lucy gets back. Stay away from Cane and everything will be fine,” I laughed, looking back to her again.
“Will do. Oh my God, he’s like a whirlwind.” Her eyes were wide as she said it and I couldn’t help but be amused. Sam normally got attention from whomever she wanted, but she never got it from Cane.
“He’s a bull in a china shop, that’s what he is.”
“I can see that,” she laughed. “But really, I do appreciate it. Let me make it up to you somehow. We could go to that place in Cave Creek. The one your dad took us to when he was trying to ‘straighten up’ Bri and me,” she said, using air quotes. “We could have a picnic and take a couple of horses out for the day. It’ll be fun.”
I sat my pen down on the papers. “Look, Sam. I appreciate you wanting to do somethin’ nice for me. I really do. But it’s not necessary.”
She pouted her lips and tossed her hair off her shoulder. “It is to me. I feel like I owe you. It’ll be good for both of us because you seem pretty stressed.”
I rolled my eyes. “You owe me? Right.” Our eyes locked and her face fell, knowing what I meant.
“Don’t go there.” She batted her eyelashes. “Go horseback riding with me with instead.”
“I just want to be real clear about something, okay?”
She nodded hesitantly.
“We had a job opening here when you asked for one. It was good timing, like I said, and I’m glad it worked out. But that’s all it is—employment. We might see each other at family stuff like always, but we won’t be seeing each other outside of that. And I know you didn’t mean anything by calling me last night, but that type of thing bothers Kari, so I’d rather you didn’t anymore.”
She stood straight, her eyes darkening. She painted a smile across her lips that I knew wasn’t genuine. “I get it. I didn’t mean it like that,” she said, softening her features. “Kari seems adorable and I would never want to cause any problems between you two. Forget I said anything but thank you.”
“I know you didn’t. I just wanted to be clear. If things go right, I’m gonna ask Kari to marry me soon.” My heart skipped a beat in my chest at the thought. I had been asking her informally for a long time and she always turned me down. But we’d been together for a long time and the more time I was with her, the longer I wanted to be. I couldn’t imagine doing anything without her by my side and I didn’t want to. Kari was my girl. I just had to figure out a foolproof way to get her to say yes. I had already called Thomas, her father, and secured his blessing. It was just on me to figure out how to make it happen.
It would happen.
It had to happen.
“Really?” She seemed surprised.
“Yeah. I’d already have asked the question if I thought she’d say yes. I’m just making sure it’s the right time before I do.”
“Why wouldn’t she say yes?”
I shrugged, wishing I knew the answer to that question myself. “I haven’t quite figured her out yet, but I’m working on it.”
Her eyes gazed into the distance, her thoughts obviously someplace other than my office. A few seconds passed before she looked at me again. “Why Kari?”
“What do you mean?”
“What makes Kari the girl you want to marry? Are you sure she’s the one you want to spend the rest of your life with?”
I laughed and sat back up in my chair, resting my forearms on the desk. This was one question I knew the answer to. “Yeah, I’m absolutely sure she’s the one.”
“How do you know? You haven’t even known her that long. She hasn’t spent much time with the family, so how do you know it’ll work out?”
I thought about her questions, all legitimate concerns.
How do I boil it all down? How do I explain everything that Kari is to me without rambling on like a damn fool?
I thought about it for a long minute before replying, “Because when I think of my future, I can’t see it without her in it.”
She tossed me another smile and headed to the front desk.
KARI
Fern Quinn’s kitchen was large, decorated in roosters, and always smelled of something cooking.
I wonder if this is the way mom’s kitchens are supposed to smell?
I took in a deep breath, the scents of spices, warmth, and grease wrapping around my senses and making me feel relaxed. It was just comforting, inviting, and I loved it . . . even if coming to Max’s parents’ house made me a nervous wreck.
I’d been to the Quinn’s home a few times. They were always welcoming and kind and considerate, but it wasn’t something I was used to. Everything there was amplified—louder, happier, hungrier, warmer. Just more.
“Max, can you help your daddy out in the garage? He’s trying to bring in some extra chairs for my Bible Study tomorrow night,” Fern asked as soon as we walked in the door. She had a warm voice, her drawl much heavier than Max’s. Her tone was very motherly, soothing, but there was an undercurrent to it. No one in the house argued with Mama Fern.
“Sure, Mama.” Max walked out of the room, leaving me alone with his mother. She was a pretty lady, late 50’s, maybe. She had dark black hair like Max and the same kind, green eyes. I’d never seen Fern sit down, even to eat. She was always darting around, refilling drinks, wiping counters, or sweeping the floor. She was the ultimate caretaker, the proverbial mother.
“You wanna help me make noodles?” she asked, wiping her hands on the front of her rooster apron once we were alone.
“I have no idea how to do that, Mrs. Quinn,” I said nervously.
“It’s Fern. Mrs. Quinn was my mother-in-law, God rest her soul. Now get over here and I’ll show you. Any woman gonna marry Max needs to be able to make noodles.”
My heart skipped a beat.
Marry Max? What?
I walked to the table where Fern had a bowl, a dozen eggs, a bag of flour, and a rolling pin set up. She took a handful of flour and tossed it on the table. “Wash your hands first,” she said, nodding to the sink while she arranged the ingredients.
I washed and dried my hands, my gaze falling on an elementary school picture of Max on the window ledge above the sink. I’d seen it a few times and it never failed to make me smile. He had on a yellow button-up shirt, his hair needing a trim. His smile was wide and toothless and he looked to be laughing. He was adorable. I wanted to tickle him, tousle his hair, hear his little laugh.
My stomach cramped, my heart sinking.
I returned to the table with Fern, my mood tempered by my wayward thoughts.
“All you have to do is break some eggs in the bowl. Beat them a bit and then throw in some flour. Mix it ’til you can pick it up and it sticks together but not to your hands,” she instructed me. “Sit down here.”
I took a seat. “You make it sound so easy,” I said, my voice shaking a bit. Food was serious business to the Quinn’s and noodles were sort of the Holy Grail. A quick way to the bad side of Max’s parents would be messing up their noodles. “Are you sure you don’t wanna do this?”
“Kari,” she said with a warm smile. “You can do this. I know you don’t cook a lot, but I’m gonna teach you everything you need to know. Now crack some eggs. Start with three.”
I cracked three eggs in the bowl and beat them with the fork. I added some flour and mixed it up. “Like this?”
“Mm hmm,” she said. “Add a bit more. Ya don’t want it s
ticky.”
I tossed in some more and looked up. She was watching me closely. “You’re doin’ great, hon.”
I stuck the fork in to mix it up and a spray of flour dusted everything around me. “I’m sorry,” I said, waving my hand in front of my face. “I’m just a little nervous.”
Fern chuckled and sat in a chair, crossing her arms in front of her. “There’s nothing to be nervous about.” She watched me blend the flour in. “Now pick that up and sit it in the middle of the flour I have on the table.” After I did that, she said, “Add some flour to the top of it and then roll it out.”
I did as I was told.
“Max said that you moved in with him.” It was more of a statement than a question. Fern was quiet for a moment, the look in her eyes telling me she was thinking of something else. She started to get up. “You make him happy. That makes me happy.”
I blushed, looking away. “He makes me happy, Mrs. Quinn.”
“It’s Fern, Kari.” She stood up. “Roll that up, jelly-roll style. Then slice it into 1/8” strips or so.”
She walked towards the stove. “When do you think y’all will get married?”
I paused, my hands in mid-roll. “Um, I’m not sure, Mrs.—I mean, Fern,” I stuttered. “We aren’t engaged or anything.” Suddenly, I realized what she probably thought of me. Mrs. Quinn was a traditional southern woman.
I must look like a hussy!
“I know that probably looks bad,” I gushed, “but—”
“Oh, Kari,” she laughed, stirring a pot on the stove. “I might be old but I understand how things work nowadays. I might not be happy about the order of things,” she said, casting a quick glance at me over her shoulder, “but there could be worse things happening to my children than living with someone they’re crazy about. This family has experienced some of those things and it puts things in perspective for ya.”
The Perception Page 10