Rogues to Riches by Jerri Kay Lincoln

Author:Jerri Kay Lincoln [Lincoln, Jerri Kay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ralston Store Publishing
Published: 2019-01-11T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

I WOKE UP early that morning and had no inkling of the dread and double dread that lay before me. Snow dripped from the sky. It was that temperature outside too warm for snow and yet too cold for rain. When Bingo came in from doing his business—which he concluded as fast as he could—he was covered with the wet clumps. Taking a towel from the linen closet in the bathroom, I dried him off, while he wiggled and smiled from under the towel.

I shook my finger at Bingo so he wouldn’t go in and wake Aiden. He might or might not have understood me, but he followed me into the living room where I planned to read. Aiden often got up early and read in bed, but when I peeked in his room, he was still sleeping.

When it was time, I called from the living room for Aiden to get up and get ready. Sometimes—no usually—he would read in bed before school in the morning. I would pretend I didn’t know, and he would pretend that I didn’t know, and all was well. Not that I minded him reading in the morning, but it was just our routine, and we stuck to it.

I fixed him his cereal and juice. He liked the juice with pulp in it, and although I originally didn’t, I learned to like it, too. Aiden said it was healthier, and with all the reading he did, I believed him. Then I put two eggs on to soft boil and while I was waiting, I made his lunch. He liked a salami sandwich with mustard on one piece of bread—whole wheat, of course—and mayonnaise on the other piece of bread. Then I put in a large chunk of cucumber and two Oreo cookies.

When Aiden came in, he sat at the table, poured his milk onto the cereal, and said, “Mommy? Can I have chocolate cheesecake pie for dessert instead of Oreos today? Pl-ease?” He drew out please into two syllables for effect.

But I didn’t fall for it. “Sorry, kiddo, it’s too messy.”

He started arguing, “No, it isn’t—” but I stopped him short by holding up my hand.

“All right, then. You want me to tell you the real reason?” He nodded. I leaned over and put my face two inches from his. “More for me!” Then I laughed an evil sounding laugh, and we both giggled. And contrary to public belief, giggling is not reserved for children. Adults are perfectly capable of it, as well. Aiden liked it when I giggled. I tried not to do it around Billy, so I didn’t know what he thought of it.

“Okay, then. Promise me you won’t have any for lunch today!” Aiden had an arrogant look on his face, like he won. And he had.

Raising my nose into the air, I said, “Fine. Then I’ll have double for dinner!”

“Nooooooo!” said Aiden.

And we both giggled again. We had that kind of relationship—playful. He wasn’t ever really disrespectful; it was all part of the game.

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