Page 9 of Second Chance in Charlevoix
Going into the pantry she pulled down a box of Cheerios and a packet of chicken and rice cereal. She quickly sprinkled some of the dry cereal onto Holly’s tray. But Holly swept them onto the floor. “No. Lucky Arms.”
That was how the baby pronounced Lucky Charms. Although Izzy was trying to wean her daughter off sugary cereals, this wasn’t the time. She left to get the other box. Of course Holly preferred the colorful pieces with tiny marshmallows. Izzy had felt the same at that age. Down below the highchair, their dog Piper was slurping up the Cheerios with his long tongue.
“My, Holly sure has her own opinions, “Sam said. “We used to eat everything.”
Izzy let the comment ride. She probably should get used to hearing unwanted advice. Skipper’s mother had never been one to hold her tongue, so she might be hearing plenty of it in the days to come. Opening the jar of baby food, Izzy scooped some into a bowl and popped it into the microwave. She set the timer and hit some buttons.
“When are you moving into Skipper’s place?” Sam asked.
Avoiding her eyes, Izzy made a fuss about cleaning up the floor with a damp paper towel. Maybe Sam couldn’t see that there was nothing to clean up. Piper was a canine vacuum. “Still working on a moving date.Say, Josh stopped in today.” Time to take her sister in another direction.
Looking up, she noticed that Sam had turned pale. Was that comment mean? Izzy hadn’t meant it that way. She just didn’t want to be pinned down about her upcoming move until she heard from Skipper. And she hoped it would be good news.
“What did Josh want?” Sam brushed back her shoulder-length caramel hair as if Josh McCall could see her.
“The same thing everybody else wants.” Izzy bounced up with a laugh. “Coffee and a pastry.” She tossed the paper towel into the trash and opened the microwave. After sampling the food to make sure it wasn't too hot, she positioned herself in the chair next to Holly. Fastening a bib around her daughter's neck was never easy, especially when Holly was reaching for the food. Holding her baby’s fingers with one hand, Izzy started shoveling in food with the other.
“Skipper baked a new delicacy today. Pear and Almond Delight.”
“That sounds heavenly.” Aunt Cate opened a bottle of Louis Jadot chardonnay, and Sam took down the wine glasses.
But Izzy shook her head. If she didn’t watch what she was doing, she’d have baby food and wine all over. “I’ll bring you some samples of the new tart tomorrow.”Okay, the pastries might be a little dry after sitting in the box overnight. No need to mention that.
“You mean Josh just got coffee and that was that?” Clearly Sam's mind was still on Josh and not the pastries.
“Something’s cooking down here. What do I smell?” Dressed in jeans and an untucked white T-shirt, Marlowe slouched in the doorway. The faint smell of the baby food lingered.
“Nothing, sweetheart.” Setting down her wine glass, Aunt Cate strolled over to the refrigerator and opened the freezer. “What do we have here? Turkey with mashed potatoes, spaghetti with or without meatballs, or turkey tetrazzini.” The bright red boxes of frozen dinners were in her hands.
Blinking as if she'd just gotten up from a nap, Marlowe collapsed into one of the empty chairs. The night before she’d mentioned that she had a big day in front of her, driving up to Petoskey and beyond. “Are we ordering out?”
“No, we're microwaving in,” Aunt Cate said with a smile.
Moaning, Marlowe propped her head up in her two palms. “Okay, spaghetti with meatballs for me.”
“Me too,” Sam said.
“Are all the spaghetti with meatballs gone?” Why did her older sisters always get their choices? Holly had finally wrenched her hands from Izzy’s. Dippinga tiny fist into what was left of her food, Holly lifted it and began to suck her fingers.
“You can have the kind without meatballs.” Aunt Cate whisked a red box from the freezer. “This isn't the end of the world.”
“I'll trade with you, Izzy,” Sam said quickly. “No problem. You take the meatballs and I get more sauce.”
Izzy settled back. This was childish and she knew it. Wasn’t she trying to change her old habits? “That’s okay, Sam. I’m good with only the sauce. No problem.”
“So did you get your furniture stored away?” Marlowe asked Sam before giving in to a yawn. “Everything good?”
“No.” Sam's face looked puffed up, like she'd been crying. Why hadn't Izzy noticed that earlier?
“So what's the deal?” Marlowe asked while her aunt opened a package and popped the first frozen dinner into the microwave.
Digging a tissue from the pocket of her navy slacks, Sam blew her nose. “It appears that my worldly belongings are on their way to Ripon, Wisconsin.”
“What?” Marlowe's mouth fell open, and she made googly eyes at Holly.
Pointing to her aunt, Holly giggled. She loved it when Aunt Marlowe made funny faces.
“Exactly my reaction.” Sam apparently had decided to make the best of it. “The furniture thatarrived here was clearly not mine and was sent back to Chicago. I'm never using that company again.”
