Twin Oaks by Melissa Palmer

Author:Melissa Palmer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Open Books
Published: 2014-12-03T00:00:00+00:00

IT'S TIME

"Hello, anyone here?" Dawn poked her head inside the door expecting Ben. It wasn't often she needed to knock.

"He's out in the garage, honey." Bea's face looked as though the sun itself were hidden just behind her eyes, her smile brightening as she spoke. "Doing some work."

In the hours since this morning the house had changed. The clunky pots were gone and she could see the thick tassels of a fancy throw rug where a fat mountain of old magazines had lived for as long as she'd been coming here.

"It's amazing."

"Isn't it though?"

Dawn had expected a challenge balancing the plastic containers with the overstuffed paper bags, but a hopscotch path through the front room had been cleared.

"Where's the mess, Bea?" The voice behind her was frank and adult despite the incongruous nature of its sound.

"Lucy!" Dawn's voice dropped an octave, thick with admonition.

The child merely shrugged behind a large jug of ice tea. It sloshed as she teetered into the room like a penguin.

"That's all right," Bea chuckled, relieving the girl of her load. "It's gone—most of it, anyhow. Benny's trying to clean up in here for me." She pushed a box of beads with her foot and put a hand on her hip in disbelief. Then, as if she suddenly remembered something she'd forgotten, she called into the kitchen, "Where's my Becca?"

"Oh, she's coming," said Dawn. "She's got a surprise for you. But I'm sworn to secrecy."

Bea rested the cool jug on her shoulder like a sleeping baby. With the other hand she led Lucy to the kitchen. If either hand had been free, then she would have held it to her face in shock when she saw what waited in the kitchen with Dawn.

"What is all this?"

"I thought I'd bring a late lunch," she answered not looking up from the task at hand. She had the farmhouse table filled end to end with plates and bowls of all sizes. Sliced cheeses and salads nestled between plates of fried chicken and fresh rolls. Spreads and dips, condiments in convenient mini-cups and platters of crunchy sliced vegetables made a rainbow on the periphery.

"Lunch? Honey, this is a feast. It's only us two, dear."

The words caught Dawn off guard. "I know. I just wanted to do something nice for you." She stared at a napkin she'd folded into neat fours. "Felt like a special occasion or something today. I don't know. Like we should be celebrating..." She fiddled with a toothpick that wouldn't sit straight. "You both do so much for me. It's the least I can do."

Bea scanned the table and found a stack of finger sandwiches that she hadn't previously noticed. Dawn looked out the window, though Becca had come in through the front door.

"Thought you might be looking for your friend..."

Dawn pushed a piece of hair behind her ear and found a piece of celery that had fallen out of line. "My friend?" But her query was hollow and her face went a shade or two deeper. "Is he still here?" She spoke in a hushed tone, and her little girl smiled.

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