Page 11 of Unforgiven in Cheshire Bay

We’d have to eat elsewhere though, as there was no doubt in my mind I wouldn’t be dining in his establishment. Once was enough.

Chapter Four

Crumbling the piece of paper, I tossed it into the recycle bin set up beside the garbage receptacle. “I swear I’m never going to get this right.”

A chime rang out as Vera wandered into the garage, Francesca hot on her heels. Since we lived near the wooded entrance on the edge of town, Francesca’s former boyfriend had helped to install a sensor that chimed whenever the door of the house opened, and it rang to my phone. If she wandered away and didn’t have her hearing aid in, we’d be hopeless in calling out to her and having her hear us, so this gave us a small warning. As her mother, I had to constantly drill this into her as the clock was ticking on her hearing loss. She needed to tell someone when she was leaving. For any reason. And getting her own cell phone so I could track her was out of my budget.

“Hey, honey, what’s up?” I signed and spoke.

Vera moved her hands. She pointed to the few tools and chunks of wood I’d let her have. “Can I play?”

“Yes.” I made a fist and bobbed it back and forth, then turned to my sister. “What time do you work tonight?”

Vera donned the required apron and eye protection, climbing onto a stool at a table I’d built for her. She never really made anything, at least nothing familiar to me, but she enjoyed using the tools and hammering things.

Keeping her under a watchful eye, I waited for Francesca’s answer.

“Seven.”

Francesca worked at the Cowboy Den and absolutely hated it, only showing up mere moments before her scheduled shifts. Nightly, she had to push away the groping hands from drunken men, plus she had a dick of a boss who truly didn’t care to protect the wait staff. The only thing keeping her from quitting were the tips, which were ridiculously high. It was amazing the shit she put up with for the money.

“I keep telling you, you need to consider what I proposed. It’s a win-win for everyone.”

“I’ve been thinking about that.” She pulled a stool beside Vera and watched her chip a piece of wood. “She’s pretty good.”

I brushed my hand over Vera’s head and planted a kiss on her forehead. Pressing my ring and swear finger into my palm while splaying out the other three digits, I signedI love youto Vera.

Without signing it back, or saying it even, she went back to work.

“Anyway, I’ve been thinking about your suggestion. Like really thinking.” My sister was hunched over the table, and I saw the little girl in her as she looked up at me with her deep blue eyes, a family gene I had not inherited. “And I think I’m going to do it.”

“Really?” I wanted to jump up and down with excitement, but I hesitated.

“I’ve got enough money set aside to put it together in the basement, but that means for the next couple of weeks, I’m going to be painting and decorating.” A glimmer of hope brushed across her face.

I beamed. “You’re going to be a great dayhome provider.”

“You’re sure about all this?”

“I see you with her.” I gazed lovingly at Vera. “You were a fantastic nanny for the Hartmans.”

“And you don’t mind me converting the basement into a play space?”

“I wouldn’t have offered it up if I did.”

Vera and I didn’t have that much, having bought the house a couple of years back with my sister Mia’s help. She was a realtor, and found the foreclosure, knowing it needed a lot of work – but nothing I couldn’t, or my handy family as it turned out, couldn’t address. The house had been a labour of love, and when Francesca moved in a year ago, we partitioned her a spare room in the basement and gave her a three-piece bathroom. It was just as much her house as it was mine.

“Thank you. I’m going to give my two-week notice today. Tell Nathaniel he can stick it where the sun doesn’t shine.”

“Well, maybe wait until your last shift to do that.” I laughed.

She pulled her thick dark hair over her shoulder and braided it with ease, something I’d never been able to do. For whatever reason, doing a braid caused a weird kink to form in my hand. Francesca had become the hair stylist once Vera’s hair was long enough to do something with.

“So, while I’m fixing the basement, I won’t be as available to watch her.” She ran her hand over her niece’s back.

“That’s okay. We’ll manage. But Saturdays?”

“Are you kidding? That’s our special day. I’m not giving that up.” She glowed. “And she’ll have a spot in my space after school too. It’ll be great. She can teach them ASL and have a couple of new friends too.”

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