Be Sweet Read online

  “Where’s your dad?” she asks.

  “He’s in the kitchen, getting an apple.”

  Mom flashes a smile and heads for the kitchen.

  “Did you see that grin? I’ll bet she’s going to tell him she’ll go home with him tonight,” Janni says.

  “Let’s go see,” I whisper.

  Daniel shakes his head, grins, and picks up the coupon section of the newspaper.

  Janni muffles a giggle behind her hand and follows close behind me as we skulk toward the kitchen.

  “Milton, I wanted to talk to you a minute,” Mom says.

  We hear him turn around. Mom screams, and her brittle bones clat-ter into a heap on the floor.

  Janni rushes to Mom, kneels beside her to make sure she’s still breathing. She is.

  I dart forward to see if Dad’s all right. One glimpse at him, my jaw goes slack and my vision blurs. Time seems to stand still while Dad stands before us, rigid posture, eyes glazed. He doesn’t move an inch, but it’s what I see in his hand that causes my breath to catch in my chest.

  It’s a machete. And it’s pointed straight at us.

  Okay, so I ’m exaggerating a little. It ’s not exactly a machete, but Dad is holding a kitchen knife. A big one. He blinks, then throws the knife into the sink and runs to Mom. “You okay, Viney?”

  “Don’t you touch me,” she hisses, jerking her arm away. Mom scrambles to her feet and points the bony finger that makes grown men tremble. “We caught you red-handed.” She pokes him in the chest with a thump that makes my chest hurt.

  “Caught me what?” he asks, completely clueless. He’s backing away while she continues to stab him with her index finger. Finally, the lights come on. His eyes grow wide. “Why, Viney, you don’t think—”

  “Yes, I do think, Milton Haverford. You and Gertie are in cahoots, that’s what.” She turns to us. “I told you he was trying to kill me.”

  Dad sighs as though he’s been through all this before. “I was not trying to kill you, Viney. I was peeling an apple. You called to me, and I turned around.” He steps over to the skinless fruit, picks it up, then walks to Mom. “I was hungry, Viney. That’s all.” He bites so hard into the apple, it shakes his top dentures loose. With dignity, he snaps them back into place and walks out with an attitude that causes Mom’s age spots to turn fire engine red.

  “Don’t you dare walk out on me, Milton Haverford,” Mom shouts after him.

  “I’ve had enough, thank you,” Dad says, heading toward the door. He stops and whips around to face Mom. Striking the air with his pointed finger, he says, “And furthermore, Viney, you’re not welcome home until you come to your senses.”

  “Well, that was a bust,” Janni says in the fam-ily room after Dad leaves, the kids go to a movie, and Mom goes to bed for the night.

  “No kiddin’.” Daniel lifts his legs onto the ottoman. “I sure hope we’re not putting all this money into a party that’s not going to happen,” Daniel says, picking up the scissors and the coupon page of the newspaper.

  “We still have a little time. They’ll surely get things patched up,” I say, my toothache growing a tad more intense. It’s been a while since my last checkup, so I make a mental note to set an appointment when I get back to Maine.

  “One can only hope.” Janni’s chin slumps into her palm.

  “Hey, what if we make her miserable while she’s here?” Daniel says.

  “Daniel, she’s our mother. We don’t want to do that,” Janni says.

  “Why not?” I chime in.

  “Char!”

  “Well, she doesn’t belong here. She belongs with Dad. They’re both miserable.” Digging an emery board from my purse, I start whacking away at my nails. My sister and Mom have beautiful nails. They don’t ever get them professionally done, yet they have perfectly strong, manicured nails. I pay big bucks to get mine worked on, and they are paper-thin, chipped, and expensive. The manicurist probably puts stuff on them that makes me have to come back.

  “I know.” We think some more. “Maybe the boys could play loud music.”

  “They’re scared of her. They won’t do it,” I say.

  “Blake will.” Daniel’s face brightens with hope.

  “No, Daniel. I won’t have you making Mom think we want to get rid of her,” Janni says.

  “But we do,” I remind her. Janni gives me a look of reprimand. Just like Mom.

  “Oh, all right.” Daniel pushes himself out of his chair. “I’m going to bed.”

  “What an awful night,” Janni says, stress making her look five years older.

  “Yeah. Let’s go eat some cookies.”

  Janni gapes at me.

  “What?”

  “Doesn’t any of this bother you?”

  “Yes. Want to try one of my cookies?” I call over my shoulder.

  “They’re not your cookies. The bakery prepared them.” Janni fol-lows me into the kitchen.

  “Yes, and I bought them.” We plunk ourselves down at the table, a plate of the bakery chocolate chip cookies between us, cold milk in wide-mouthed mugs for easy dunking.

  “Now, this is much better,” I say, dipping my cookie into the chilled skim milk—hey, I watch my calories—then taking a bite.

  Janni stares at me. “You don’t let much get to you, do you?”

  “Things get to me, but I don’t let them linger there.”

  Janni takes a bite of the cookie, and her eyes widen. “These aren’t bad.”

  Her words are a sort of truce between us. “Maybe I should try one of yours.”

  She smiles, walks over and grabs one, then gives it to me.

  I take a bite and have to say I’m pleasantly surprised. “These are good, too, sis.”

  “Are we having a bonding moment?” Janni wants to know.

  “Um-hum, over cookies.”

  “If I could eat like you do without gaining weight, I’d drown my sor-rows in cookies too.”

  “Well, there is that little matter of the extra twenty pounds. Still, if I didn’t walk on the beach every morning, I’d really be in trouble.”

  “Don’t you ever worry about walking by yourself?”

  “Not where I live. A bunch of retired folks out there. No one has the energy to hurt me.”

  She chuckles.

  “So are you enjoying having the kids home?”

  “Yeah. I miss those boys. You know, though, after Ethan and Candy started dating, it really hit me that soon someone else will take first place in my boys’ lives, and I will no longer be needed.”

  “You’ll always be needed, Janni. You’re their mother.”

  “Yeah, but you know what I mean. Things will be different when they have their own homes.”

  “I guess. But you’ll find plenty to keep you busy.”

  She smirks. “To use your phrase—whatever.”

  “Say, what do you think about Stephanie?” Given Janni’s current mood, I probably shouldn’t ask about Stephanie sleeping on the couch, but I promised Blake I would try, and they’ll be back soon.

  “She’s a sweet girl.”

  I hesitate. “Listen, Janni, I know you have a lot on your plate right now, but you need to know that I found Blake and Stephanie in the hayloft last night.”

  Janni gasps and starts coughing.

  That didn’t come out exactly like I had hoped. “I didn’t mean to imply—”

  Janni struggles for breath. “What exactly did you mean, Char?” she asks in a raspy voice.

  “She was staying up there. Blake had just gotten her some blankets and a pillow. It seems she was kicked out of the other place.”

  Janni’s cough finally settles down. “You mean the person she was staying with kicked her out?”

  “Yeah, a boyfriend moved in, and Stephanie moved out.”

  “When did this happen?”

  “Just yesterday.”

  “And she has no other place to stay?”

  “Right. I’d be happy to give her my room—”

/>   “Well, of course she can stay here. You know I would never turn any-one down who needed a place to stay. Why would you even hesitate to ask me, Char? I don’t want that child sleeping out in the cold barn.”

  “It’s just that you haven’t been quite yourself lately, and I wasn’t sure you would be up for more company—especially nonfamily company. Still, I only let her stay out there last night. I wanted to offer her my room, but didn’t know how you would handle it if you saw her there.”

  “Well, she won’t be staying out there tonight if I have anything to say about it,” Janni says, rising. “I’ll grab some blankets and pillows. She can sleep in the family room on the sofa sleeper.”

  By the time the kids return, Janni and I have Stephanie’s place on the family room sofa bed ready for her.

  “Is Dad in the doghouse?” Ethan asks, looking at the sofa bed.

  “No, he’s not in the doghouse. This is for Stephanie,” Janni says.

  We all turn to a surprised Stephanie. She looks at me.

  “Yes, I told her. And she’s happy to have you join us.”

  “Absolutely,” Janni says, pulling Stephanie into a hug. “For however long you need, honey, you’re welcome to stay here,” Janni says.

  Tears fill her eyes. “Thank you. I’ll earn my keep while I’m here, I promise.” Makes me wonder if she’s planning to move in.

  “Sheesh, it’s only a sofa bed, Stephanie. And a lumpy one at that,” Blake says. “You want to stay in my bed?”

  A collective intake of air here. From the looks of Janni, we may need to make a mad dash for the smelling salts.

  “I meant you could stay in my bed, and Ethan and I can come down here.”

  “Sure,” Ethan joins in.

  Blake looks at us and rolls his eyes. “Get your minds out of the gut-ter, Mom and Aunt Char.”

  “No, I’m staying right here.” Stephanie says. “It’s great.”

  “Well, now that we’ve got that settled,” Ethan says, “I’m hungry.”

  “You just ate a whole bag of popcorn and Twizzlers,” Candy says.

  “And your point is?” Blake asks as they make their way to the kitchen. “

  You miss this?” I ask Janni.

  She chuckles. “Crazy, I know, but I do.”

  I’m tired and want to go to bed, but they have their heat so high I keep waking up in the middle of the night, sweating like a pig on a spit. Still, no one else says anything. Tappery has a discount store that stays open all night. I’ll head over there and see if they have a small fan. “I think I’m going to run to the store,” I say.

  “At this hour?” Janni thinks her entire family should be safely tucked in bed by nine o’clock.

  “Yeah, I feel like going out a little while.”

  Janni shakes her head. “Well, you have more energy than I do. I’m going to bed. Danny gave you a key to let yourself in, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Okay. Don’t stay out too late.”

  “Yes, Mom.” Though my coat is gaping open, I step outside into the cold night air and feel better instantly. No wonder Janni is lethargic all the time. All that heat would zap anyone of their strength.

  fifteen

  “Since we have other helpers, we’ll be back to bottle the syrup in a few minutes. Stephanie and I are going to run into town and get a coffee,” Blake says the next afternoon. “She wants to check on her possible job status too.”

  “What about Ethan and Candy?” Janni says, watching the sap sift through the cone filters. Sweat is beading on her face. “Are they going?”

  The temperature from the fire makes the room warm, but Janni’s having a hot flash if ever I’ve seen one.

  “They’re sticking around.” He laughs at his pun. “Get it? Sticking?” Stephanie gives him a playful punch in the arm.

  “Don’t quit your day job,” I call out.

  “They’ll be back down in a few minutes,” Blake says.

  “Okay.” Janni’s forehead creases. “But don’t be too long. The syrup will be ready to bottle soon, and we can use all the help we can get.” She swipes her face with her arm.

  “Yeah, we’ll grab the coffee and come right back. Anybody else want anything?”

  “Absolutely. Maple macchiato with three shots over ice,” I say, not wanting anything hot. At least my mood is better today. It helped to buy that small fan last night. With it blowing on my face all night, I didn’t wake up once.

  “Get me something cold. Anything, I don’t care.” Desperation lines Janni’s voice. Maybe with her surge in temperature, they’ll turn down the heat in the house, and I won’t need my fan after all.

  “There’s money in my purse up at the house,” I say to Blake.

  “These are on me.” He flashes his heart-melting grin.

  “See ya.” Stephanie smiles and waves.

  “Can you believe that girl runs five miles every morning?” Janni says.

  “She does?”

  “Yep. She told me so when I caught her coming in the house this morning before I even had the coffee made. She was dressed in sweats, her face all aglow with healthy vitality.”

  “Well, tell her to stop it. She’ll make the rest of us look bad.”

  Janni chuckles. “That’s what I thought too.”

  “Do you think it’s possible that you keep your house too warm, Janni?” I tread easily here.

  She gives me a dry stare. “Daniel keeps the temperature at sixty-four.”

  “Oh.” Not quite low enough to cause hypothermia, but close. Suddenly it dawns on me how hot I’ve been. I think I’ll keep that little fact to myself until I can figure out what’s going on. Hopefully, this toothache that’s back in full force isn’t the culprit. I decide to change the subject. “You know, the sap is down a little this year, but what are you going to do in the years when the sap production is high?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, you can’t do this by yourself, and the boys won’t be around to help forever.”

  “I know.” We leave our position at the finishing pan. Janni goes back to watching the sap in the evaporator, and I watch the temperature gauge.

  “’Course, knowing you, you’ll always have friends ready to lend a helping hand.”

  “We do have great friends.” She glances at her watch. “Hey, we’ll need to go start dinner soon.”

  Just then the door swings open, and Russ walks in, causing my heart to flutter like a fallen leaf in the wind.

  “Hi, everybody.” He looks straight at me, and we exchange smiles.

  “So how’s Peter?” Janni whispers with a smirk.

  “Peter?” As in, Pan? Cottontail? Who? It takes me a minute to realize who Janni is, why she’s talking to me, and what country I live in.

  Janni laughs.

  “Pe—Peter is fine,” I stammer.

  Her little bit of teasing irritates me. I’m not sure why. Maybe I don’t like people assuming things. Such as assuming there is a relationship developing between Russ and me. Just because my stomach flips when he walks into a room doesn’t mean anything. It does the same thing when I eat burritos. Russ is nice to me, and I think he enjoys my company, but he’s more concerned about being a friend to Daniel and Janni. For all I know, he’s showing me attention to gain their favor.

  That little thought rocks my world for a moment.

  Pulling off his leather jacket, he places it on a chair in the corner. A guy from the church switches places with him, and Russ starts shoving wood into the fire, his muscles flexing with the effort. I try not to stare, I really do, but let me just say he could put Popeye to shame. I’ll bet he snacks on spinach.

  I’m picturing the two of us enjoying a quaint picnic in a spinach field. Is there such a thing?

  “You ready to go?” Janni interrupts my little daydream.

  A girl can’t have a single private thought in this place.

  “Chili and cornbread, does it get any better than this?” Blake says while chewing o
n his corn bread.

  Janni laughs. “It does my heart good to cook for you boys.”

  “What? It’s not like I don’t eat,” Daniel says, patting his well-padded, round belly.

  “I know, but it’s hard to get excited about cooking for two people.”

  “I’m excited when you cook for two people,” Daniel says. “Especially when one of them is me.”

  Janni’s chin hikes. “I’m a woman of the millennium, thank you.”

  Blake stops chewing and stares at her.

  “Well, I am. I’ve worked hard all these years, I deserve to go out and eat once in a while.”

  “Yes, you do,” I agree wholeheartedly.

  Everyone’s attention is now fixed on me. “Well, she does. There comes a time in a woman’s life when you have to stop living for every-one else and enjoy life a little.”

  Daniel blinks.

  Russ stares at me so long, I’m afraid there’s corn bread on my face.

  “It’s not as though I’m a women’s libber or anything,” I blubber, “It’s just that—”

  Russ holds his hand up. “We get it. And we agree.” He winks, and his mouth splits into a wide grin.

  I’m not sure, but I think my toes are curling.

  “We do?” Daniel asks, mouth gaping.

  “Sure. Janni’s served others all these years. There’s nothing wrong with her being served once in a while.”

  Janni settles back into her chair, looking completely content at this turn in the conversation.

  “So you’re not going to cook for us anymore?” Daniel looks as though Janni snatched his favorite flannel shirt from his drawer and took it to Goodwill.

  “Most of the time I am. But once in a while I want you to take me to a candlelight dinner prepared by someone else.”

  “But I love your cooking.”

  “And you’ll get it—now and then. But sometimes I need to be served.”

  This is a liberated Janni that I have never seen before. Daniel stares at her a moment and goes back to his chili. “As long as I eat, I guess it doesn’t matter where we eat.”

  “Exactly,” Janni says with a snap of her head. “Besides, I love to cook. I’ll still be doing plenty of it. I’m just saying once in a while, I would appreciate the option of going out. I might even sign up for cooking classes at the community college.”