Page 9 of Samuel

“Uncle Sam!” Abby and John’s adorable four-year-old daughter ran up the porch steps, jumping into his arms and losing her flower crown in the process.

“Well hey there, princess. What have you been up to?”

“Goddess and I picked flowers and made each other crowns! Do you want to watch a movie with me?”

Sam laughed. His mother had downright refused to be called “grandma” after John proposed to Abby, and Katy asked Abby to be her mom. It was hard to remember sometimes that his sister wasn’t actually Katy’s biological mom. The two of them were inseparable. Sam felt the familiar pressure building in his chest.

“Sure thing, kid. But I think we need to have dinner first.”

“Aww, man!”

“What movie do you want to watch after?”

“Ratatouutie!”

“It’s ratatouille, Katy,” Abby corrected.

“Right. The rat soup movie!”

Sam laughed.

“Are you sure?”

Katy jumped up and down, giggling as she shouted “rat soup” over and over again.

“Rat soup it is, kiddo. Go wash up before your dad gets here.”

Katy kept her chant going as she marched towards the downstairs bathroom.

“Sam,” his mom sighed. “I thought you would bring up Evelyn to meet me today.”

Abby’s eyes widened.

“I don’t think you need to meet her mom. I really don’t think she’ll be here long.”

“That’s nonsense. Daisy said she was the most qualified applicant you’d gotten in months. You’ll give her a fair shake, and I won’t hear another word about it. She’s probably busy settling into the apartment, but you bring her up to the house on Monday, or I’ll be down in the office to say hello.”

Four

“Do you want me to make you something for breakfast?” Sam’s mother called from the living room as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

“I’m heading to the office. Evie’s starting this morning and I’m sure she’s going to have a million questions. This coffee will do for now.”

“Wait one second! Before you go, leave Shep up here with me today.”

“Mom, he’s supposed to be a working ranch dog.”

“I don’t care. He’s a gentle soul and I know he’ll just aggravate you while you’re trying to show Evie around.”

Sam nodded. “Yeah, that’s probably true. I’ll leave him up here. Just for today, though. He needs to start going out with Derrick and Zeke.”

“Sure he does, baby. Oh, I pulled cards for you this morning.”

Sam closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His mom was… eccentric. And one of her favorite things to do was pull tarot cards for him. He’d spent weeks hearing about ‘an unexpected turn of events’ and ‘blessings beyond his wildest dream’ coming into his life soon. Yet, every time another bill came due that he couldn’t pay, he was reminded just how silly it was to take any stock in what his mother said.

Sam grabbed his hat, placing it on his head before he bent down and kissed her cheek. “I’m sure it’s real interesting stuff today, Ma, but I gotta go.”

“I know. You’re really busy. Just, keep your emotions in check today, okay? It seems like you’re on edge and I’d hate for you to say something to someone you can’t take back.”

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