Be Sweet (10 page)

Janni writes something on the paper with scrapbook ink.

“
That
made you binge on cookies?”

“Hey, you have such great handwriting, you could put the names on the place cards at the party.”

“We're having place cards?” she asks, disbelief hanging between us.

“Is that all right?”

She sighs. “I guess.”

Not wanting to give her time to get stirred up, I return to our dis-cussion. “Russ joined me at the table.”

“You're kidding.” She plops a stack of pictures down beside her.

“Nope. But it gets better.”

I have Janni's full attention now. “What happened next?”

“Linda Kaiser joined us.” My words come out in a frosty cloud. I rub my arms back and forth with quick strokes.

“No way!” For a moment I think she's going to do the fainting-goat thing, but she holds her own.

“It still gets better.”

“Oh my goodness, I can't stand it!” she says with the enthusiasm of an excited puppy.

“Want me to stop?”

She grabs both my hands and shouts, “No!”

“Gail joined us too.”

With a gaping mouth, Janni is totally speechless. It's as though someone stole her favorite recipe and sent a ransom note.

“What did you do?”

“What I do best. Opened my mouth and said the wrong thing.” I tell her about my snide remarks and my dramatic exit.

I'm certain Janni is judging me right at this moment, but she doesn't let on. “You manage not to see anyone for thirty years, then wham! You practically see your whole graduating class.”

“It's hardly my whole class. It just happens to be two of the people in all the world I would prefer never to see again in this lifetime. At least Eddie didn't show up.”

“Is it better or worse now that you've seen them?” Janni holds her gloves next to her face.

“It's all right. I survived. But I hope it's the last time I see them.”

“So sad,” Janni says, rummaging through the next batch of pictures.

“What's sad about it? It's not as though I did anything wrong.”

“No, but it's sad that things turned out the way they did. If Eddie hadn't—well, you would still be here, around family, where you belong.”

“I'm happy where I live, Janni. I'm successful in my business. Life is good. Eddie is a jerk, but he did me a favor.”

Janni grows quiet. “I'm sorry, Char.”

“Let's just forget it.”

“I sure miss Aunt Rose,” she says.

“Me too.”

“I'm glad you got her place. You deserve it.”

“She got me through that divorce. I had to get away from Tappery. The memories. The gossip. Gail Campbell. Linda and Eddie. Aunt Rose offered me a safe haven.”

“Well, you helped her, too, in her last days when she really needed it.”

“It was the least I could do. I never dreamed she would leave me the cottage.” I turn to Janni. “Let's just hope I don't have to see any of those guys again while I'm here.”

“Tappery is a pretty small community.”

“Thank you for pointing that out. I'll visit the coffee shop in the off hours and do my grocery shopping the same way. Surely I can go that long without seeing them.”

“Even Russ?”

“Oh, Russ is okay, but I don't want to see him if I can help it. I'm dating Peter, after all. Besides, Russ lives here. Long-distance relation-ships never work.”

“If you just want to stay friends, it should be no big deal if you run into him, right?”

“Well, I don't want him to think—”

“So you tell him where you stand up front. You're dating someone back home. Period. You can only be his friend. 'Course, that's all that you are with Peter too. Am I right?” She's making a point, but I ignore her. “So it shouldn't be a problem to run into”—she uses finger quotes here—“‘a friend' in Tappery.”

“I see how your mind works. And let me just say, it's scary that I understand it.” We both laugh.

“Good. Now that that's settled, I need to tell you something.”

“What?”

“Um . . .” she looks down at her gloved fingers. “You know, Daniel was looking for some people to help with the sugaring, and, well, we have a friend who has another job, but he said he could help out here and there.”

“That's great,” I say, though I don't know what this has to do with me.

“The friend is Russ Benson.”

After checking with Carpenter Center, I 'm
relieved to find they have crystal glasses with gold accents to use with the china. So that's one less worry. I put a checkmark beside the list in my notebook and make a mental note to shop for ribbon today. Just then the front door shoves open, causing me to jump.

“Hey, Aunt Char,” Blake says, dropping his bulging duffle bag onto the floor.

“Blake Ort!” I shout, bouncing out of my chair and rushing to the door to give him a squeeze. He hauls his muscular six-foot-something self over to me and pulls me into a bear hug. Like father, like son.

“How are you, kid?” His broad shoulder reduces the sound of my voice to a muffle. He pulls away, and I look up at him. I tousle his hair, which isn't easy to do since he's taller than me. “Still breaking girls' hearts?”

A lopsided grin erupts on his face. “Can I help it if I'm so doggone good-looking?”

“It's your calling.”

“Exactly.”

It's easy to see why Blake breaks hearts. He's handsome and fun.

“Hey, Aunt Char,” Ethan says, stepping through the door. A whoosh of cold night air rushes in, making me shiver. A long-haired brunette follows close behind. Ethan has the blonde hair of the Ort family, but his brown eyes and round face are every inch his mother's—as is his body build. He's shorter and a bit thicker. He kinda reminds me of Barney Rubble. Still, his smile could charm the sap from a maple tree.

“Great to see you, Ethan.” I grab him and give him a hard squeeze.

Janni saunters down the stairs, and Daniel comes from the family room to join us. Nothing short of a fire would make them run. I've entered the land of Mayberry.

After everyone finishes hugging, Ethan introduces his friend. “Every-body, this is Candy Walling.” Cute dimples peek from the corners of her mouth when she smiles, and love flickers in her gray eyes, I'm sure of it.

“Candy has offered to help with the sap. Isn't that sweet?” Janni's gaze goes from me to the boys who are laughing. “What?”

“You said ‘isn't that sweet?' Get it? Sweet, sap? Candy? Notice any-thing?” I tease.

She rolls her eyes. “Anyway—” She draws the word out like a Slinky. “It will be great to have the extra help.” She tosses a smile of thanks to Candy.

“Oh, by the way, I met a girl over at the coffee shop today. She's twenty-four and looking for a temporary job,” Daniel says.

“What were you doing at the coffee shop? My coffee not good enough for you now?” Janni says, hands on her hips.

“Just wanted to see what all the fuss was about. You still make the best coffee,” my brother-in-law graciously says, though we both know better, and gives her a peck on the cheek. She instantly softens.

Blake jumps in. “Twenty-four? Would I like her?”

“Put your tongue back in your mouth, Big Boy. You may need it for dinner,” I say.

He shrugs.

“I thought we could use the extra help, so I told her to be here at nine on Monday morning.”

“Would I like her?” Blake presses.

“We can use the help, that's for sure,” Janni says. “And you, young man, behave yourself. By the way, you boys need to know that Grandma is staying with us for a while,” Janni whispers.

“Why is that?” Blake asks.

“Long story. We'll tell you later.”

“Which room are Grandma and Grandpa staying in?” Ethan asks.

“Grandpa's not here,” Daniel says.

“Grandma's staying in the study.” Seeing the boys' wide eyes, Janni says, “Go upstairs and put your things away. We'll talk later.”

We all chat awhile, and then the kids get their things put away in their rooms. Candy will stay in Ethan's room while Ethan bunks out with Blake.

“Boy, it's great to see those kids,” I say, joining Janni in the kitchen.

“Isn't it?” She pulls a pizza crust from the fridge, stretches it onto a pizza pan, then spreads homemade sauce on top.

“I considered going to the high school and announcing that we needed help but thought better of it.” After washing my hands, I help top the pizza with pepperoni slices.

“Why? You afraid you'll run into—”

“The Evil Friends,” I say, clawlike hands in the air, fingers wiggling. “Boo, ha, ha, ha.”

Janni laughs. “Get me the cheese from the fridge, will you?”

“Sure.” A package of blended mozzarella and cheddar is on the top shelf, so I pull it out. “This what you want?”

“That's it. Thanks.” After washing the sauce from her hands, she rips open the package and sprinkles the cheese. “Well, you don't have to be around Russ, you know. We'll all eat together, but you don't have to sit by him.”

“Oh, it's no big deal. Besides, it's not like he's shown any interest in me other than being polite. Just because he had a crush on me thirty years ago, doesn't mean anything today. We're both different people than we were then.” Trust me on this. He's
way
different. Not that I care one way or the other. “Thirty years changes things, right? I mean, all you have to do is look at my thighs to see that.”

“You need to learn to be comfortable in your skin,” Janni says, taking a bite from a chocolate chip cookie, caring not one lick that her slender self disappeared years ago. I'm not sure if she's comfortable in her skin or beyond caring anymore. “I think it's really sweet of Russ to offer to help. Though I wonder if he would have offered if you weren't here.”

“Oh, please. He's just being nice.”

“Well, I saw the way he glowed right after he saw you at our house. There was more than nice in his eyes, let me tell you. So if you're not interested, you'd better let him down gently.”

“Oh, yeah, sure. I'll just walk up to him and say, ‘Thanks for helping with the syrup, Russ. And by the way, I thought I'd better clear the air. I'm dating someone back home, so we're just going to keep this at the friendship level, okay?' To which he will reply, ‘I wasn't wanting to do otherwise.'”

“You underestimate yourself.” Janni shoves the pizza pan into the oven and closes the door. She turns to me. “But then you always did.”

If I'm all that, why did my husband leave me?

eight

On Monday morning, my eyes refuse to pop open until
I've had my morning run to the coffee shop. My maple macchiato is just what the doctor ordered. Once I drain my cup, I wrap myself in so many clothes I could win a part in
The Mummy,
and then I head out the front door with the others. We've been collecting sap for a couple of days, so Janni and I plan to help gather sap then come back early to pre-pare lunch.

“You guys ready to go?” Janni asks, eyes bright, skin glowing. Early in the morning. Sometimes it boggles my mind that we're blood relatives.

Blake, Ethan, and Candy look worse than the old-timers. Dark circles shadow their eyes. And their hair? Nothing short of hosin' them down can fix that.

“Wait. We can't leave. That new girl isn't here yet,” I say.

“I wonder if she's going to show up,” Janni says.

“It's possible her enthusiasm waned with the morning light. It happens. After all, if Godzilla hadn't been sleeping in the next room, dis-guised as my mother, I might have stayed in bed this morning.”

Janni gasps. “Char!” The kids laugh, and she's trying very hard not to join them.

Just then we see a lone walker headed our way.

“Must be the new girl,” Blake says with a mischievous grin and wiggling of his eyebrows. He walks out to meet her while the rest of us look on. When they get closer, Blake gives me a thumbs-up and throws a “vavoom” look my way.

She's so cute, I half expect her to sprinkle fairy dust. She reminds me of someone. I can't put my finger on it, but I think it's that gal I sold the Williamson house to recently. We quickly introduce ourselves. She tells us her name is Stephanie Sherwood.

“Thanks for coming. We can always use extra help,” Janni says.

Stephanie stares at Janni a moment without saying anything. I don't know if she's nervous or if she thinks Janni's weird, because come to think of it, I look at Janni that way too.

Janni must sense Stephanie's nervousness, because she reaches over and gives the young girl a hug. “We really appreciate you show-ing up.”

That's why everyone loves Janni. She has such a way with people. So warm and sweet. Just like a cinnamon roll. It's disgusting. Me? I'm about as cozy as a hedgehog. I am my mother's daughter.

“Thanks for giving me the chance,” Stephanie says. She seems a little choked up. Before my morning coffee, I'm exactly the same way.

We fall into step together as we all make our way toward the woods.

“Well, I may just have to call in sick after spring break and stick around,” Blake says.

“
Stick
around?” I ask.

“Ha-ha,” he says to me, his eyes never leaving Stephanie.

She ignores him. “So what are we going to do right now?”

“We're going to take the bags from the trees, pour the sap into some buckets, dump them in a big tank in the truck, put the bags back, and then Daniel will take the truck down to the Sugar Shack.”

“What happens there?”

“We'll run the sap through a pipe from the tank into the Sugar Shack where it will flow into a holding tank. If we have enough sap, we'll start the evaporator and begin the sugaring process.”