Page 39 of More Than Anything

His mom was coming to visit. She’d see how great he was doing and she’d be so proud. Then she’d tell his brother, and Ben would be jealous and pissed.

And that was exactly what he hoped would happen.

* * *

Dinner had been amazing.Avery had grilled steaks and corn on the cob, and Danette fixed green beans and salad. The four of them had eaten until they were stuffed. Greg said he’d never eaten salad so good. Bless his heart, he did everything he could to compliment Danette, and she glowed every time he did. Arlene had brought that sweet tea she was famous for, but the guys had enjoyed a couple of beers apiece. They’d settled down in the living room to play a board game when Avery heard a car door.

He couldn’t believe his eyes when he peeked out the curtain of the window by the front door: Lydia. Steeling himself for some kind of attack, he waited until she knocked, then opened the door. His face stony, he said, “Hello, Lydia.”

“Hi. Um, got minute?”

No way was he letting her inside. “Right here. What’s up?”

She handed him a box. “I made these for you. Because I felt bad about, well, you know, everything. I’m sorry.”

The box wasn’t especially heavy, but Avery was just too curious. “What is this?”

“They’re cupcakes. I mean, they’re nothing special, but even though I’m not very good at stuff like that, they turned out pretty good. There’s twenty-three. I made two dozen, but I had to try one. I didn’t want to bring them to you if they were awful, you know?” she said, scuffing her toe across the porch boards.

Avery just stood there, amazed but trying hard not to show it. “Are they poisoned?” he asked, trying to make a joke.

To his amazement, Lydia looked like she might cry. “No. I told you, I ate one. But that’s okay. You can throw them away if you want. I just wanted to, I don’t know, try to do something nice. I’m not a bad person. Really, I’m not.” She stood there for an awkward moment, then said, “I should go. I’m sorry I bothered you. Bye.” Turning on her heels, she headed down the steps.

“Wait!” She stopped on the last step at Avery’s voice. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t very nice of me. Thank you. I’ve got guests, and I’m sure we’ll enjoy them. That was very kind of you, and you didn’t have to do it.”

“I know,” she said, never turning around. “I just thought I should, I don’t know, well, I’m going. Goodnight, Avery.”

He watched her walk away toward her car, her shoulders slumped, and climb in to drive away. She’d gotten far enough out the drive that all he could see was her taillights when he realized he should’ve invited her in to join them. Or that might’ve been a bad idea. He wasn’t sure. It was all about playing it by ear with Lydia.

“Where’d those come from?” Danette asked when he put out a plate of the cupcakes.

“LydiaKinsey.”

“Lydia? Are you serious? I’m afraid to eat them,” she mumbled.

“She said she ate one, so they must be okay,” Avery said, peeling the cupcake paper from one and taking a bite. “Oh, lord, these are good. Lemon.”

“They are,” Greg agreed, taking a bite of the one he’d picked up. “Excellent.”

“Hmmm.” Danette and Arlene picked up one apiece and tied into them. “Theyarereally good,” Arlene agreed. “I mean, I’m pretty sure they came from a box, but still, mmmmm.”

When everyone was gone for the night and everything cleaned up and put away, Avery climbed the stairs with Skipper in his wake. On a plate in his hand was a cupcake, and he had a bottle of water in the other hand. After he’d eaten the cupcake and brushed his teeth, he climbed into bed and lay there in the dark.

LydiaKinsey had brought him cupcakes. On a whim, he picked up his phone and sent a text.

Hey, Lydia. Thanks again for the cupcakes. We really enjoyed them. It was very kind of you. Have a nice evening.

In just a couple of seconds, he got back a simple text:YW

Progress made. Sort of.

“Mom!” Avery called out as he waved to his mother at the TexarkanaRegional Airport.

“Avery!” She trotted down the concourse and straight into his arms. “Oh, son! It’s so good to see you!”

“You too, Mom! Come on. Let’s get going. I put stuff on to cook while I was gone.”

She wrinkled her brow in disbelief. “You? Cooking?”

---