by Fry,Patricia
Suddenly, they heard someone else laughing. “What is she—a little hula girl?”
“Hi, Son,” Iris greeted.
“Oh Brett, hi,” Savannah said, when she saw the teen standing in the doorway.
He nodded toward the women, then looked back at Lily. “She really thinks she’s playing that thing, doesn’t she? You ought to put her on YouTube. That’s pretty awesome.”
“Yeah, got your phone handy, bub?” Iris asked. When he handed it to her, she began recording Lily just before she stopped patting the instrument, held it out, and dropped it to the floor. “Well, I got a few seconds of her, I think,” she said, handing the phone back to her son.
“Uh, Mom,” Brett said, “Damon doesn’t need us anymore, so Chris and I are going to the park—there’s a pick-up basketball game we want to catch.”
“Okay. You boys come back here to eat, if you want. I’m not cooking tonight, you know.”
“We’ll try to do that.”
Colbi stepped forward and hugged her young brother-in-law. “Thanks for the help. Sure do appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome,” Brett muttered before turning to leave. He raised his hand. “See y’all later.”
“Nice young man,” Savannah said. “He’s tall—is the boys’ father tall?”
“Yeah, about Michael’s height. Their poor-excuse-for-a-mother is tall, too. I saw her once in court when I petitioned for custody of the kids after their father abandoned us. Damon’s the only shorty in our family.” She grimaced. “I wish he’d gotten my height.”
Colbi put her hand on Iris’s arm. “He’s just right…perfect the way he is. He’s taller than I am,” she announced.
Iris laughed. “A mosquito’s taller than you are.”
At that, Colbi ran to Margaret’s side and rested her head on her shoulder. “Maggie, they’re teasing me about my size again.”
Margaret stared sternly at Iris and Savannah. “You two giants leave my kind alone.”
“Hey, I didn’t say a word,” Savannah said, holding her hands up in front of her.
Margaret looked at Iris.
“I just stated the truth. Colbi’s tiny.”
“Are you girls ready for us to put the steaks on?” Michael asked when he appeared in the doorway.
“Sure,” Colbi said. “Gals, let’s take it outside.” She shivered with excitement. “Wait ’til you see our pretty backyard.”
“What’s the punkin got there?” Michael asked when he saw his baby daughter pick up the small instrument and start patting it.
Colbi smiled. “A ukulele from Hawaii. You ought to see her play that thing.”
“And dance,” Savannah added.
“Really?” He lifted the baby into his arms. “Well, come with Daddy. You can perform for us guys.”
****
An hour later, the four couples were seated around the patio in mismatched chairs and on stools and benches with plates full of food. Savannah gazed from Colbi to Damon and asked, “So you loved Hawaii, did you?”
They both nodded. Colbi lowered her fork and rolled her eyes dreamily. “It was…”
When she hesitated, Margaret began laughing. “A writer at a loss for words?”
Colbi looked at Damon, who chuckled before saying, “It’s such an awesome place.”
“Magical,” Colbi managed. She took Damon’s arm and rested her head on his shoulder. “So romantic.” Sitting upright and speaking more excitedly, she added, “And there’s so much interesting history there. I’ve decided to make the islands the backdrop for my first novel.”
Margaret narrowed her eyes. “Another Hawaii, huh?” When Colbi looked confused, she explained, “You know, that humongous novel…the one that’s so big only prisoners with a life sentence have time to finish it.” She glanced around at the others. “I think it has darn near a thousand pages! Wouldn’t you say so, Max?”
“At least,” her husband agreed.
“No, Maggie,” Colbi said sternly. “My story will be completely different—unique.” She brightened. “I’ll bring some of the history into it, though.”
“Like the author did in that other Hawaii story,” Margaret said smugly.
“Yeah, only different,” Colbi insisted.
Savannah smiled. “Well, I’m glad you enjoyed your trip. It was nice of Damon’s grandmother to send you there. What a great unexpected wedding gift.”
Damon nodded. “Yes, just finding out I have a grandmother was enough of a gift.”
“How is Ellen?” Iris asked. “Have you been in touch with her?”
Colbi nodded. “Yes. We called her from Hawaii and again after we got home. We also sent her a lot of pictures we took while we were there. We’re going to visit Grandma Ellen and Aunt Audrey in a few weeks.” She looked at Iris. “To answer your question, she seems to be doing well, don’t you think so, Damon?”
“Uh-huh. She sounds good. Says she’s feeling okay.”
Colbi’s face brightened when she announced, “She has picked out some names for our baby.”
Just then, Savannah stood and dashed toward her daughter. “No-no, Lily. You can’t pick Aunt Colbi’s flowers.”
“Oh, that’s okay, Savannah.”
“No, it’s not, Colbi. We don’t want her tearing up people’s gardens. She needs to learn respect for other people’s things and for nature.” Before Savannah could continue, she jumped back. “Oh,” she said, pulling the baby to her. “She was trying to pick up that bee. Yikes! No-no. That’s a bee. Bees bite, sweet pea.”
“Bite?” Lily repeated, holding her hands against her chest and staring suspiciously at the bee.
“They sting,” Max explained while dipping French bread into his beans.
Savannah nodded and led the toddler by the hand to where she’d been sitting. “Yes; however, she doesn’t understand sting yet and she does know bite.”
Max smiled. “Oh, I see; you have to speak her language when you want to make a point with her.”
“They take a lot of your energy, don’t they?” Damon said, gazing at Lily. “I mean, she needs your constant attention to keep her safe.”
“Oh yes,” Michael said. “Between Lily and Rags, we have to be on our toes every waking moment.”
“And keep one eye open when we’re sleeping,” Savannah added with a chuckle.
“At least one of them is learning,” Margaret huffed. “And it isn’t the cat. He’s beyond…”
“Beyond what, Auntie?” Savannah challenged.
“Well, he’s out of control, that’s what.”
Before Savannah could respond, Iris jumped in, asking, “So Colbi, what does Ellen think you should name my grandchild?”
“Our grandchild,” Craig said. “You’re not the only one entitled to spoil him or her; right, Colbi?”
She smiled. “Right, Grandpa.” Addressing Iris, she said, “Ellen suggested Rosemary for a girl and Levi for a boy. These were the names of her favorite grandmother and grandfather. Actually, Damon and I kind of like both.” She glanced at Iris, then Craig. “What do you think?” Before either of them could respond, Colbi noticed Brett and Chris appear at the gate. “Oh good, you kids made it back.”
“Those guys don’t miss a meal if they can help it,” Craig said, smiling at the teens.
“Grab a plate and help yourself,” Damon invited.
“Thanks,” Brett said. “Sure looks good.”
Max glanced around at the others. “It’s delicious. Accolades to the chefs.”
“And to you, Max,” Iris said. “Your beans are out-of-this-world tasty.”
“Excellent,” Michael agreed.
“Chris, is that all you’re going to eat?” Iris asked, when she saw the small portions her younger son had put on his plate.
The teen avoided eye contact. “Yeah.”
“That’s probably his appetizer,” Craig quipped. “If I know him, he’ll be back for seconds and thirds.” Craig a
nd Iris watched the boy as he pulled a soda from a bucket of ice, sat down in a chair across from his brother, and took a few bites of his meal.
Brett, in the meantime, gazed at the others and said quietly, “Did you know that Mr. Kittleman’s missing?”
“What?” Margaret blurted, dropping her fork onto her plate. “Leo Kittleman?”
Brett nodded. “Everyone at the game today is upset.”
Chris swallowed a swig of soda, then shook his head slowly. “No one can believe it. He was such a…”
“What do you mean, he’s missing?” Margaret insisted. “What happened?”
“He just walked away from his house, I guess,” Brett explained.
“Or was taken away,” Chris offered, sounding a bit defensive.
“When?” Iris asked. She faced her husband. “Craig, did you know about this?”
He took a deep breath. “The report came in last night.” He looked at Iris, then Margaret. “You know him?”
“Yes,” Iris said, her eyes wide. “He was the best teacher ever.”
“You got that right,” Chris said. He turned toward his mother. “How did you know that?”
“He was my eighth-grade science teacher.” She gestured in Margaret’s direction. “Well, our teacher. We had that class together.”
“Yeah, he was a peach, all right.” Margaret said reverently. She squinted toward the boys. “How do you know him?”
“He taught at our middle school, too,” Brett explained. “I got to take his social studies class twice and boy, did he ever make it interesting. I learned more from that guy than any other teacher I ever had.”
“He really cared about his students,” Chris added.
“I remember him,” Savannah said. “He coached our cross-country team when I was in grammar school. You’re right; he was a really nice gentleman. Everyone liked him.” She looked off into the distance. “He had a way of inspiring you to do your best.” She tilted her head. “He was a sort of advocate for kids who were struggling in school and in life.”
“Craig, what do they think happened?” Margaret asked quietly. “I mean, I just saw him with one of his nieces at the farmers’ market last Sunday. He looked good.”
Craig grimaced. “Well, they say he was starting to get confused. His nieces had recently taken his car keys away. They’re considering senior living for him. You didn’t notice he seemed confused, Maggie?”
“No, but mostly I chatted with his niece, Carolyn. He walked off with her little boy to pet someone’s dog. He sure liked animals.”
“You’re talking about him like he’s gone,” Michael said. “Give the man a chance. He’s probably just out adventuring on his own before lock-up in one of those senior facilities.”
Margaret thinned her lips before saying, “Well, anything could have happened. Craig, do they have a lead?”
“Not yet. We’ve checked all the obvious places he likes to go: the pet store, the coffee shop…”
“He does like his coffee,” Brett said, chuckling. “He always has a cup in his hand.”
Iris leaned forward and laughed. “Yes, I remember that. So he’s still a coffee addict?” She frowned. “Gosh, I hope he’s okay. How long’s he been gone?”
“We just heard about it this morning,” Brett said.
Craig nodded. “His nieces called it in last night. One of them went to his place to make sure he’d managed to get his cat inside for the night. The door was wide open and he was gone. After scouring the neighborhood, they called in a missing-persons report.”
“What about the cat?” Colbi asked.
Craig chuckled. “I guess when the niece arrived she found the cat in the kitchen, chowing down on a roast beef sandwich someone had left on the counter.”
“Speaking of cats,” Colbi said, looking at Damon, “we’d better gather up our two and bring them home before they think we’ve abandoned them.”
Savannah glanced around the newlyweds’ backyard. “So will you let them out? Seems to be a quiet neighborhood and they probably wouldn’t be inclined to climb that high wall. Does it go all the way around the backyard?”
“Yes. There are gates on both sides of the house, so it’s pretty secure…for a dog, maybe. But you know cats,” Colbi said. She pointed. “They could probably climb up in that camellia bush and leap to the top of the wall. Damon wants to build an outdoor kitty room off the back bedroom. We can open the window for them to come and go and close it when we want to keep them inside.”
“Wouldn’t they love that?” Savannah rested one hand on Michael’s arm. “We ought to do something like that for our cats.”
Margaret started to laugh.
“Uh-oh,” Savannah said. “What snide remark are you going to make about Rags this time?”
“Well, I was just thinking that would provide another opportunity for him to escape and terrorize the neighborhood.”
“How?” she asked, puckering her brow.
“Well, he could use wire cutters or tunnel out underneath the frame or claw through the…”
“Oh, Auntie, stop,” Savannah insisted. “He doesn’t have super powers.”
Margaret grinned impishly at her niece while acknowledging Lily, who was eating pieces of watermelon off her plate. “Boy, are you in denial, Vannie.”
“Ahem.” Colbi stood abruptly, scowling playfully in Margaret’s direction. “Shall we celebrate Lily’s birthday?”
“Birthday?” Michael questioned.
“Well, her belated sixteen-month birthday,” Savannah explained.
“That’s not a birthday,” he insisted.
“Yeah, we can’t make a habit of celebrating her birthday every month and half month for the rest of her life,” Savannah complained, while picking up a stack of dirty paper plates and a handful of plastic silverware.
“Why not?” Colbi asked flippantly.
“Here Vannie, let me take that stuff,” Margaret said, leading Lily toward her and reaching for the dirty dishes. She scrunched up her face. “Your daughter needs a fresh diaper.”
“Oh, thanks,” Savannah said, handing off the plates and scooping up the toddler. She returned to the patio at about the same time Colbi approached carrying a six-inch-round three-layer cake frosted in white with pink frosting roses trailing down the sides and a miniature tea set sitting on a tiny table on top of the cake. Wide-eyed, Savannah said, “Isn’t that exquisite? Where’d you have it made?”
“Mom made it.” When Colbi saw Savannah’s puzzled look, she pointed toward Iris. “My mother-in-law, silly.”
Savannah swooned. “Iris, your talents never cease to amaze me.”
“Yes,” Margaret said, “it’s beautiful.”
“Flawless,” Max added.
“Now, coming from you, Chef Max, I’m really flattered,” Iris said. “I took a cake- decorating class some years ago so I could make cute cakes for the boys’ birthdays. Haven’t used my skills in a while.”
“I remember that,” Brett said, grinning from ear-to-ear. “You made me a race car cake once.” He squinted in his younger brother’s direction. “And didn’t Mom make you one with a cowboy theme?”
Chris nodded.
Max smiled. “Well, it’s really well done, Iris.”
“Let’s see how it tastes, shall we?” Colbi suggested.
“And cut into it?” Iris groused playfully.
Craig chuckled. “What are you going to do, preserve it for her sixteenth-year birthday?”
Iris tightened her lips, then said, “Well, let me take a picture first.”
“I saved my fork,” Craig announced minutes later when Savannah and Margaret appeared from the kitchen with small paper plates and plastic forks.
“Let’s sing ‘Happy Birthday,’” Colbi invited.
Lily sat on her daddy’s lap glancing around at the singers, most of them off-key, as Damon strummed her ukulele. Once the song was over, Lily leaned toward the cake, which was on a small table
in front of her. “Bite?”
“Yes, you can have a bite, birthday girl,” Colbi cooed. But before she could cut her a piece, the toddler leaned forward, removed the little table from the top of the cake, and began licking the frosting off it.
“Oh no,” Iris said, grabbing Lily’s hand. “You can’t eat that little table.” She quickly cut a piece of the cake and handed it, along with a plastic fork, to Michael. “Here, Daddy will help you eat it. I’ll wash the little table and you can take it home to play with.”
“That was fun,” Savannah said as she and Colbi straightened the kitchen minutes later. “Thank you for making it special for Lily.”
“Oh, it was fun. Anyway, I didn’t do anything.”
Savannah looked around at the boxes still sitting here and there throughout the house. “Can I come over tomorrow and help you put stuff away?”
Colbi shook her head. “No, that’s what husbands are for, isn’t it? Damon will be here tomorrow. I’ll have him do most of the bending and stretching.” She raised her arms in the air. “Although it would do me good to move, too.”
“Yeah, how are you feeling after all the physical work these last few weeks?”
“Pretty good; just tired. No more morning sickness, thank heavens.” Colbi smiled. “However, I think I was fortunate in that mine was fairly mild.”
“That’s good. But being tired is certainly part of pregnancy. Don’t fight it, okay? Get plenty of rest.” Savannah rushed toward Lily before the toddler could pull a pottery pitcher from an open box. “I’m telling you, girl, you’ll need all the energy you can muster once that baby gets here.”
“I can see that,” Colbi said, rubbing her barely bulging tummy. “Thanks for the advice.”
Suddenly Iris burst into the kitchen from the patio. “We have to go, kids. Craig just got a call.” She hugged Colbi, then Savannah. “It’s been lovely.”
“Is it about Mr. Kittleman?” Savannah asked, hopefully.
She nodded and said quietly, “Maybe. They found a body.”
Savannah put her hands over her mouth. “Oh no. Well, keep us posted, will you?”
“Thanks for everything, Iris,” Colbi said, walking with her out onto the patio. When she noticed that Craig was about to leave through the side gate, she called, “’Bye Craig. Thanks for your help.” She looked around. “Where are the boys? I want to thank them, too.”