Chapter Three
"What did Annie do?"
I looked around the bedroom and sighed. Maybe I never should have let Annie get the walls painted hot pink, or the lime green bedspread, or the neon orange pillowcases. Then again, it was Annie's room, and Fi never had the chance to really make it her own. Fi groaned, stepping further into the doorway and putting the suitcases on the floor.
"You could stay in the guestroom instead," I offered. "If the colors here are a little too much."
Fi laughed. "Nah, I'll let Annie have it and take the bigger room. We can paint everything black later." She grinned.
"Black?" I asked worriedly.
"Not really, Mom," Fi said quickly, reaching over to tear down an *NSYNC poster. She made a face. "Yuck."
After she had rearranged everything to a satisfactory level of improvement, we sat cross-legged on the bed, facing each other. "So," I said. "Mother and daughter talk?"
She smiled, her eyes lighting up. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Carey." I held my breath, silently praying that she wouldn't get upset with me for this. But for some reason, my level of curiosity had hit its peak and I was dying to know. In the past, Fi and I shared many secrets, since we were the only girls in the house most of the time before Annie came along, and when both Carey and Clu visited us every day. But, that was then. That was before Fi would even imagine leaving me. Could we still share our secrets with each other?
Her cheeks reddened slightly, and I knew immediately that I hadn't imagined the way she was watching him. I remembered this look—it was the same look she had after I asked her about that boy she met a few years ago, Ryan. "When did this happen?" I asked.
"I don't know… today, I guess. But it was always there," she said, her voice now softer. I didn't say anything, just noticing the way she suddenly seemed so out of touch and distant. She really liked him a lot. I felt a slight tinge of jealousy—I wished I could feel that way about someone. But nobody had even come close to making me feel that way, since Rick. "He's so smart… and funny… and incredibly sweet…" My tinge of jealousy faded away. Maybe I could give Tad a call tonight. Besides, it was so cute how Fi was rattling off Carey's qualities. Somehow, in the back of my mind, I always imagined that she'd end up with one of the Bell brothers. She'd grown up with them. It was almost set in stone.
I went downstairs to start dinner for Fiona and me, which would be a simple dish of spaghetti and tomato sauce. Today was far too stressful to make anything fancy. After dinner, I just wanted to take a hot shower and get into bed, letting the falling raindrops pattering against the roof soothe me to sleep. I could face life tomorrow.
"Is there enough for one more?"
The sudden voice startled me, and I screamed. The wooden spoon, in my hands just seconds ago, clattered on the floor, sending with it little drops of boiling water everywhere. Thankfully, I narrowly avoided being struck by one of them. I spun around to face Carey, who was standing in the kitchen doorway.
"What are you doing here?" I asked. I didn't mean to sound so annoyed, but he had scared the hell out of me. "I mean," I added, taking deep breaths to calm myself, "didn't you drive home after you dropped me off?" He had to. Unless I was going crazy, which didn't seem too unlikely, considering all that had happened today.
"Oh… God. Sorry," he muttered, bending down quickly to pick up the wooden spoon I had dropped. He handed it to me with a sheepish smile. "Here."
It was hard not to smile back. "It's okay, Carey. You just scared me, that's all." Well, that's obvious. Why was it impossible to make a single intelligent comment today? "So… were you here this whole time?" I asked.
Carey snatched a paper towel from the roll on the counter and wiped the water that had fallen on the floor. "I went home first," he explained. "But nobody was there so I walked back to see if maybe Jack and Clu were hanging out here."
"Jack's not home yet," I told him.
"I know." There was silence and I continued mixing around the tomato sauce, not that it was really that necessary. "Okay, so I probably shouldn't invite myself over after giving you such a scare before, but is it okay if I eat dinner here? I really don't feel like eating pizza bagel bites for the third day in a row."
I laughed. "It's okay, you know you're always welcome." I had a feeling that I wouldn't be eating too much anyway.
"Thanks!" I just gave my it-was-nothing nod and stirred up the sauce again. Then I eyed the spaghetti. Was it just me or were they taking extra-long to cook today? For a brief moment the kitchen lit up slightly, and some seconds later the unmistakable boom of thunder followed it. There goes my peaceful storm. "Do you need help?"
I turned and looked at Carey in disbelief. Someone was offering to help me? Was it possible? I nodded slightly and Carey stood up, running to the stove. "I'm sorry, Carey… I don't know what's wrong with me… I can't think straight or cook a simple meal or do anything right today…" I began.
"Look, it's okay," he assured me, giving me a small shove to the table. "Just sit down and relax. I'll take care of everything." I walked over to the table in somewhat of a daze and sat down, having nothing better to do then watch him watch the pots. I could now see why my daughter liked Carey so much. He was truly something else.