“I was just leaving. I have stuff to do today. Can’t you take her in? Grant is still sleeping, but he’ll get up.” She wanted to get going. Cait was afraid to get too much closer to these people, especially the little girl now in her arms.
“I can’t. He’ll have to take a shower and then get dressed. I really need to get to the courthouse and see my client. Thanks so much, Cait. Tell Spence to call me later.”
Ronnie was pulling out into the street when Cait realized that she had said jail the first time and courthouse the second time when talking about her client.
She looked at Meggie.
“I think I’ve just been bamboozled. What do you think?” Shaking her head, Cait walked back into the big house thinking about how best to get back at the lady lawyer without resorting to physical harm. Then she thought about what a perfect pair she and her husband were as lawyers.
Meggie told Cait she was hungry. Cait realized she was as well. She had not eaten much in the way of lunch and she and Grant had not eaten anything once they got back here last night. Cait detoured to the kitchen and hoped that there would be at least a box of cereal in the cabinets.
The kitchen was a chef’s dream. That is if the dream consisted of deep walnut cabinets so glossy she could see herself in the shine. The counter tops were a laminate of dark green with specks of deep gold and deeper reds. The refrigerator was a stainless steel doublewide side by side that would have been right at home in most restaurant kitchens. The stove, also stainless steel and as massive as the fridge, had six burners and a grill in the center. The sink was situated in the corner of the room and large picture windows opened the area.
The view was spectacular, spilling out into the pool and well maintained back yard. Along the wall sitting on the counter was a toaster, microwave, and something she thought might be a coffee machine, though she was not entirely sure. The island in the middle of the room sported a double sink and a small refrigerator beneath more counter tops, wooden cutting board style this time.
Under the island was every small appliance known to mankind and some that were probably not. Hanging over it was a large assortment of pots and pans.
There was a large, round crock that held numerous wooden spoons and other kitchen utensils.
Cait was completely and utterly overwhelmed. She just knew that she was not going to find a simple box of corn flakes and that she would certainly make a mess if she tried to cook in here.
“How about if I take you out? I have to tell you, sweetie, I don’t do kitchens.
I don’t even know what half this stuff does, much less how to use it. If you want, I’ll get you some waffles or something.” Meggie was already shaking her head.
Cait was so screwed.
The first thing Meggie did was pull out a small step ladder and open a cabinet that slide out and revealed a large assortment of cook books. She pointed to them as if to say, “You can read, can’t you? Then you can cook.” Getting the not so subtle hint, Cait pulled the first one off the shelf only to have Meggie put it back and hand her another one.
This one had pictures of kids cooking with an adult on it and Cait thought the child leaning on the counter looking at her was too smart for her own good.
She opened the book and started reading. Okay, maybe she could do this. How hard can it be if they let you make...crepes with kids? Getting out the ingredients, they began their adventure.
~~~
Spencer could smell it when he woke up. He was not sure what it was, but thought it had to be from outside. He was disappointed that Cait had gone, but knew that she would not get too far. Smiling, he stepped into the shower and then dressed quickly.
The closer he got to the kitchen, the more worried he became about what he thought was coming from outside. The smell...burning eggs, he thought, and it was coming from his own house. He stopped when he heard Cait talking.
“I don’t think this is right either. And stop laughing at me. This was your flipping idea. I wanted to go out, but no, you had to hand me a cookbook instead. I bet the next time your aunt suggests you stay with me, you’ll say no.” Spencer realized that Meggie was in there as well. He leaned against the door jamb and listened more. He was not worried about his kitchen; anything she might have done he was sure he could clean up. And if he couldn’t, then he would simply buy a replacement. He nearly laughed out loud when Cait started again.
“See what that picture looks like? Does this even resemble...stop laughing at me, young lady. Your dad is going to kill us both. Oh yeah, both of us. You too!
I’m going to tell him this was your...it was too. Shit! I mean shoot. It’ll take days for this to come off this pan. And there aren’t any more eggs either, thank goodness. Now can we go out to eat? I’m starved.” Spencer opened the door and stopped dead in his tracks. Okay, maybe it would be easier to move. The kitchen was a mess. No, beyond mess; it was a disaster. It looked as if every pan, every bowl and every utensil had been used at some point and tossed toward the sink. The dishwasher was open and it looked like it had been filled by tossing things at it from across the room, and no food had been scraped off. Every burner on the stove was on and the oven light was bright as well. The island, his pride and joy, was covered in egg shells and empty cartons. There was a stack of cold toast that looked like it had been an entire loaf of bread with the butter now congealed on the slices. Glasses were everywhere and there was a mild spill on the floor near where Meggie sat perched on her ladder still in her jammies. Cait was dressed in one of his dress shirts that hung to her mid-thigh and her dress pants.
“I’m guessing we should have gone out to eat, Meggie. Your dad looks like we just took his favorite toy from him and broke it. I can explain, Grant.” She looked ready to cry, something that shocked him more than the mess in the kitchen.
“I hope so, though I don’t really care. What is it you were trying to make anyway? A bomb? It looks like it was successful if it was supposed to blow up in the kitchen and resemble a food fight.”
“Ha Ha, very funny. Your sister-in-law dropped off Meggie just as I was leaving. She said she had to go see a client, but I think she was trying to be sneaky for some reason. Anyway, Meggie hands me a cookbook and we set off.
I’m afraid I have no talent for the kitchen.”
“No kidding. What were you trying to make anyway?” He looked down at the Cooking with Children cookbook and nearly laughed out loud again. “Easy Crepes” was the title on the page. He wondered what she would do to him if he told her Meggie could make these without any problems, had in fact made them for him on occasion. He winked at his daughter.
“I should go. I’ve really...I’m sorry about this, Grant. I wanted to cook her something, and it seemed easy enough, but it isn’t.” Cait started backing toward the door and he stopped her by pulling her into his arms for a kiss.
He wasn’t sure how much longer or how much further they would have gone if Meggie had not clapped her hands. Grinning at Meggie, he kissed Cait again.
“You are not leaving me with this mess. Both of you are going to clean this up, starting with the dishes. Meggie, you load the dishwasher and show O’Malley how to do it. I’ll start on the counter tops. Then when I find them, I can cook us something...well, anything else. All right?” When they nodded, so did he. “Good.”
Spencer watched the two of them together. Every time Cait put a dish in wrong, Meggie would take it out and hand it to her again. It wasn’t long before Cait got the hang of it and Meggie was patting her on the back. Once the dishwasher was loaded, Cait filled the sink with soapy water and pulled a chair over for Meggie to stand on so she could dry. The counters may have gotten finished faster if he didn’t keep catching himself just watching them, but it was just too beautiful of a sight to see Meggie laughing again.
Meggie hadn’t been born deaf. Meggie’s mother, Shannon, had let an ear infection go too long before seeking medical treatment for her. By the time Meggie saw a doctor; she was in severe pain and had to be hospitalized for the infection. But that was not the whole of it. Shannon had had a live-in boyfriend who hated children and when Meggie’s cries had kept him awake one too many nights; he had slapped Meggie repeatedly on her tiny ears and shattered her ear drums when she was only three months old. Then last year, Shannon had decided that she didn’t want to be a mother anymore and had “sold” Meggie to him.
When he found enough counter space to cut things up, he pulled down his favorite skillet and put it on the burner. With a few pats of butter sizzling, he started cutting up carrots, onions and garlic. It was nearly lunch time anyway and he decided to make a quick stir fry with the left over rice and a few fresh vegetables. The aroma soon took over the smell of burnt egg and filled the house with a much better scent. Finding some chicken left over from yesterday’s lunch, he cut it into long strips and then tossed it in with the veggies and garlic. By the time he put the rice in the skillet, the girls were finished with the dishes and were setting the table.
“Five minutes, ladies. Let’s see if we can get the coffeemaker going too.” He noticed that Cait had never drunk coffee before, and was not surprised when she declined to join him for a cup.
No one said anything as they started eating. Spencer felt bad when he realized that Cait hadn’t eaten since yesterday and had been watching Meggie for three hours before he had finally come downstairs. But other than the kitchen, neither of them seemed to have minded the time alone.
“What are your plans for today, O’Malley? Want to hang out with Meggie and me? We’re going to the mall to shop for a Memorial Day outfit for me. I think I’ll wear a pink tutu and a short skirt.”
“I have to go soon. I’m headed back to Chicago tomorrow and I still have to pack. But I would like to see you in the tutu. Can you send me a picture?” She was smiling, but it never reached her eyes.
Before he could ask her to stay, his phone rang. He reached out and took her hand when she started to get up. It was several seconds before he realized he missed something in the phone conversation.
“I’m sorry, what did you say? I’ve got company here and I was distracted.” His office was being moved; could he come to the university and talk to the dean? He understood that the building where his office was stationed was being renovated, but why was the dean involved? Spencer had been a tenured professor at the university for nearly sixteen years teaching History. He was also on vacation, his first since he had gotten out of college and started teaching.
“Dean Williams would like for you to meet in his office as soon as you can, this morning if possible. He said he has some things he’d like to discuss with you before term starts next fall,” the woman’s voice told him again.
“I have my little girl right now and I can’t leave her. My sitter is on vacation as well. I’ll have to call you right back, all right? I need to call one of my family members to take her.”
“What’s going on, everything all right?”
He looked at Cait and found he wanted to cry. He couldn’t very well talk her into staying when he had to go to his office. “I have to go to the dean’s office and see what he wants. I have to call my mother and see if she can watch...crap! The caterers will be in today. Maybe Morgan. I wonder if she can take…”
“I’ll keep her. That is if I don’t have to cook. She and I can go over to my uncle’s house and hang out. She likes him okay.” Meggie loved Paddy O’Malley, actually, and they both knew it.
“No, I don’t want to impose. Besides, there’s the shopping thing. I promised her a trip to the mall. And it’s not just for an outfit; she doesn’t have any summer stuff.”
“I know how to go to the mall, Grant. And I can promise you she’ll be safe with me. I won’t cook anything for her at all even if we are both ready to eat the other’s legs.”
Spencer looked over at Meggie. She was nodding her head so hard that he was sure she would get a stiff neck if she kept it up. It was then that he realized that both he and Cait had been speaking to each other and to Meggie with sign as well.
“Okay. But I pay for the trip. Here, let me write down her sizes for you. I don’t know what’s in the mall for a little girls’ stuff, but I’m sure she does.
Morgan took her there for her birthday last year and spent a fortune on her. Are you sure about this?”
“Yes. We’ll be fine. I need to replace my aunt’s blouse anyway. It seems to have gotten torn somehow.”
After he programmed his cell phone number into her phone and gave her the sizes and his credit card, Spencer called the secretary back and told her he would be in soon. Cait and Meggie loaded up in his new car and headed to her uncle’s house so Cait could change. Spencer drove to the university and thought his face was going to hurt tomorrow from all the smiling he was doing today.
~~~
Cait left Meggie in the kitchen with her uncle and aunt and went up to take a much needed shower. She thought she had flour in her bra and she felt a little sore from last night. Standing under the hot spray, she realized what she had done.
She had spent the night with a man and now she was watching his little girl for the day. And not only that, but she was taking her clothing shopping. Cait had to lean against the wall while she took several deep breaths. What the hell was she thinking? She knew it had to do with his sex appeal, at least sleeping with him part, but the kid? Muttering under her breath about needing her head examined, she got out of the shower and started to get dressed.
She didn’t have a lot of clothes with her, a few pairs of jeans and a couple of pretty tops. She hadn’t planned to stay long when she’d come here, just get well enough to be able to protect herself then move back to her tiny apartment.
Pulling out a pair of fresh pants, she was putting them on when she thought about her apartment.
Cait had moved in just out of college. It was a nice enough place if one overlooked the fact that she lived within spitting distance from the elevated trains. The noise was so much a part of her that she had had a hard time getting any sleep when she had first moved here. There was a single living/dining/kitchen room that was open and airy. Her furniture was nice, though she rarely sat on it. The kitchen table had one chair, which was good as she only had one plate, two forks, a spoon and a knife. She did have a great many paper plates and plastic ware to round off if she needed more. She drank neither hot tea nor coffee so she didn’t have a mug. The coffee pot had been a gift and she had never even plugged it in. The refrigerator had a drawer where she threw all the packets of whatever sauces came with her take out—mostly soy and hot mustard and nothing much else. It was thankfully empty when she had gotten hurt or she would have a hell of a nasty mess when she got back. The couch had been a hand-me-down from her uncle’s house and the only time it was used was when she forgot to put sheets on the bed or fell on the couch when she was too tired to go to bed. Her bed was a single and the sheets were as old and worn as the rags her aunt Dee used at home. But it was hers.