Page 40 of Decoded
Chapter twenty-eight
Anna
“A
re you homeless?” The small child sitting next to me on the couch looks up and asks. Lincoln’s daughter is adorable, with his same honey brown locks braided into pigtails, freckles dotting her cheeks and the bridge of her nose, and those beautiful blue eyes all the Fisher men were blessed with.
“Excuse me?”
“Are you homeless? If you are, Daddy and I make blessing bags to keep in the car. We hand them out when we see people who look like they could use a little help. I can get you one, if you want.” I smile at the thought of grumpy Lincoln building these bags with his daughter and handing them out to others. Sometimes the biggest grumps have the biggest hearts.
“Oh, I’m not homeless.” I assure her.
“You sure? You were wearing one of Uncle Keaton’s shirts and you’re in his home. If you don’t have your own clothes or house, then you’re probably homeless. And that’s okay. Daddy says sometimes people get down on their luck and go through tryingtimes, but it doesn’t mean they’re bad people. They just need a little help, is all. Do you need a little help?”
I think I love this little Fisher with a huge heart.
“You know what, I could use your help with something.” She straightens up, trying to make herself bigger, prepared for any task I throw her way. “I was trying to decide what to watch, and I just can’t figure out what would be good.”
Those blue eyes of hers light up and she begins to bounce. “My Little Pony! It’s the best. Here, I know how to turn it on. Uncle Keaton showed me.” She grabs the remote from the coffee table and works the system like a professional. “My name is Charlie. I’m six. Your turn.”
It takes me a second to process what she’s said, so she stops her search, staring at me with raised eyebrows and a “get on with it” expression. This kid is funny. “Oh, I’m Anna. I’m thirty.”
“Whoa,” she takes a second to process the information, her lips making a perfect circle. “That’s so old. Is that why your boobies are so big? Because they’ve had so long to grow? I asked my Daddy when I would grow boobies. He said we don’t talk about boobies. What was it like when you were a kid? Were there dinosaurs? Were all your tv shows in black and white? Sometimes my Grammy likes to watch tv shows in black and white. They’re real boring.”
“Charlie.” Lincoln’s gruff voice startles both of us girls as he and Keaton walk back into the room. I can’t find it in me to look at my brother-in-law. After he caught us in the kitchen, fortunately shielding Charlie’s view from seeing the sticky situation Keaton and I had gotten ourselves into, I went back upstairs to make myself a bit more presentable to hang out with the kid. I have no doubt that he saw a few things before I managed to clean myself up and I have no idea how to act normal around him now.
“We’re heading home. Let’s go.” Charlie wasn’t having it.
“Why? We just got here. Anna and I were going to watch My Little Pony, and Daddy, guess what…” She pauses for dramatic effect, “She’s thirty.”
He snorts, clearly amused by his offspring. “Is she now? That’s all fascinating, but we’ve got to get back to Grammy and make sure she’s okay. Uncle Keaton and Anna are going to come over to our place.”
I stare at Keaton. Apparently, he’s made plans for us today. And apparently those plans involve me meeting his mother.
“But Daddy, this is the bestest episode, and Anna needs to watch it. We’re best friends now.”
“Best friends, you say?” Lincoln asks. “Guess I’ll just have to let Uncle Cam know that when he comes over, too.” Charlie’s eyes grow wide, and she tosses the remote before leaping from the couch and bouncing over to her dad, who lifts her upon impact.
“Uncle Cam is going to be there? He’s my favorite!” Lincoln shoots a smirk over at Keaton.
“Thanks, Pip. What about me?” Keaton asks, his hand over his heart as though he’s wounded. The look on his face tells me this isn’t the first time Charlie’s broken this news to him.
She just shrugs at him and then fires a million questions at Lincoln as he walks them out the door. “Can we do the fire pit tonight? I want marshmallows. But can you not catch it on fire this time?” As her voice trails off, I turn to look at Keaton, who has his hand on the back of his neck and a sheepish look on his face.
“So, umm, how would you feel about meeting my mom?”
We pull up to the incredible farmhouse that Keaton grew up in. The white board and batten siding has been well maintained and is crisp and striking with the black trim, accents, and roof. Natural wood posts flank the large, covered porch where a set of black rocking chairs are featured. Beautiful blue hydrangea bushes and hostas in the front, welcome you to the home. You can just feel that this is a happy place to be and I’m so thankful Keaton is sharing it with me.
“This place is stunning.”
Keaton snorts in confirmation, “It wasn’t always like this. Lincoln has really fixed it up and it’s come a long way. He’s trying so hard to make it a perfect home for Charlie and every time he feels he strikes out in one area, he makes up for it in another.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Lincoln feels guilty for Charlie growing up without her mother. He’s been in the dating game for a long time, but when you live in a small town, you exhaust your options pretty quickly. Women from out of town know his name because of his bank account, and well, he gets a lot of first dates, but they show their true intentions and rarely get a second. Every time he goes on abad date, the house gets a nice little addition. That’s how Charlie got a pool last year.”
“What happened to Charlie’s mom?” I ask hesitantly. I don’t want to pry into Lincoln’s life, but I guess he’s technically my brother now, too, so I’m genuinely curious.
