Now that’s some chicken house you’re makin’ there.”
Heidi turned at the sound of Velma’s voice. She hadn’t realized the woman had followed her into the yard where Lyle and Eli had moved the structure and were now working on its roof.
Heidi hated to be rude, but she hoped Velma wouldn’t take up too much of her time talking. She was halfway through today’s class and needed to get back inside.
“Yes, indeed.” Velma slapped her knee. “I’ve built a few chicken coops in my time. We had a really nice one when we lived in Kentucky. Housed enough chickens to give us plenty of eggs for our use, plus enough to sell.” She paused long enough to draw a quick breath, then kept talking. “I need to get one built at our place. Just haven’t made the time to do it yet. But I’d be glad to help you finish this one if ya like.”
When Velma quit talking, Eli jumped in. “I appreciate the offer, miss, but Lyle and I are almost done here, and everything’s under control.”
Before Velma could comment, Randy stepped forward, giving the leg of Eli’s trousers a tug. “You said I could help ya finish up with the coop.” He pointed to the house. “But I’m stuck in there makin’ some dumb old corn dog.”
Eli tapped the boy’s shoulder. “As soon as you’re done, you can come out and help us put the finishing touches on.”
“And don’t forget,” Lyle added, “you’ll get to go with me to pick up the chickens next week.”
Randy’s face brightened. “Can Marsha go too?”
“Of course she can.” Lyle gestured to Heidi. “I think my fraa might want to accompany us as well.”
Heidi nodded. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
“Okay!” Randy grinned.
Heidi felt relief when the boy started back to the house, swinging his arms. She smiled at the men. “There’ll be enough corn dogs to eat when they are done, so if you two would like to join us, you’re more than welcome.”
“Sounds good.” Lyle thumped his stomach. “I’ve been working up an appetite. How about you, Eli?”
Eli grinned. “Same here, but I think I might pass on the offer. I’ll be taking Loretta out for an early supper this evening, and I want to save plenty of room for the Farmstead Restaurant’s buffet.”
“Okay, well, I’d best get back to my class.” Heidi looked at Velma. “You’re welcome to come watch if you like.”
“I would, but I came here to get started on some chores for you, like I promised.” Velma shifted from one foot to the other. “What about your garden? Does it need to be weeded?” She looked toward the yard where the garden was planted, then tucked a strand of wayward hair back underneath her scarf.
Heidi glanced toward her garden. “I do appreciate the offer, and I would say yes, but the weeds aren’t too bad yet.” She could see by the downward curve of Velma’s mouth, that she was disappointed.
Since Heidi wasn’t sure what she wanted to have done, nor did she want to take the time to show Velma right now, she said, “Why don’t you plan on coming over one day next week to do a chore? By then I’ll have a better idea what I’d like to have done.”
Velma’s forehead wrinkled as she hesitantly nodded. “Guess that’d be okay. All right then, I’ll go inside with you and watch the proceedings.”
“Where’s Heidi? When is she coming back?” Kassidy’s chin jutted out as she pointed to the clock on the far wall. “It’ll be time for us to go pretty soon, and we won’t have made a thing.”
“Don’t be so impatient,” Denise reprimanded. “I’m sure Heidi will return soon. Besides, we don’t have any plans for the rest of the day, so there’s no hurry.”
Kassidy frowned. “I don’t wanna be here all day, Mom. I might want to get together with one of my friends.”
Jeremy glanced her way. “Ya know what, Kassidy? You whine too much.”
“Do not.”
“Yeah, you do.”
“No, I don’t, and you should mind your own business.”
Before a full-blown argument could brew, Denise quickly changed the subject. “Who likes mustard on their corn dogs?”
“I do.” Peggy Ann’s hand shot up. Little Marsha followed suit.
“I don’t like mustard,” Debbie said, “but I do like plenty of relish.”
“I like ketchup,” Kevin announced.
“Same here.” Jeremy nodded.
“How about you, Becky?” Denise asked. “What’s your favorite thing to put on a corn dog?”
“Ketchup, I guess.” The girl spoke quietly. “Sometimes I like mustard.”
“I’ll bet Heidi has ketchup and mustard.” Darren looked at Ellen and smiled. “What’s your favorite condiment?”
“I’m okay with ketchup and mustard, but what I really like on my regular hot dogs, or even a corn dog, is sauerkraut.”
“Same here.” Darren’s smile widened. “Looks like we have one more thing in common.”
Denise suppressed a smile. It didn’t take a genius to see the fireman was infatuated with the nurse. She remembered back to when Greg used to look at her like that. With both of them absorbed in their busy careers, they’d drifted apart. He rarely took the time to really look at her anymore, much less with such a happy expression.
Denise’s contemplations came to a halt when Heidi entered the kitchen with a frumpy looking woman with faded blond hair sticking out of a red paisley hankie scarf. The woman reminded her of a funny card she’d seen at the store recently. Except for not wearing a straw hat or having missing front teeth, Denise could swear it was the same lady pictured on the hilarious birthday card.
“Everyone, I’d like you to meet Velma Kimball. She’s Peggy Ann’s mother.”
“Sorry for the interruption,” Velma said, “but Heidi said it was okay if I came in and watched.” She gestured to Denise, as well as the other two parents. “Looks like I’m not the only adult here, though.”
“That’s right,” Heidi agreed. “This is Denise McGuire, Darren Keller, and Ellen Blackburn. Ellen’s daughter, Becky; Darren’s son, Jeremy; and Denise’s daughter, Kassidy, are my students.” She motioned to the boy and girl sitting across from Kassidy. “And you’ve met Debbie and Kevin Cooper. Neither of their parents is here today.”
Velma nodded. “Yeah, I was outside with you when their dad dropped them off.” She placed her hand on top of Marsha’s blond head. “And this cute little girl I’ve already met, along with her brother.” Velma reached out, as if to touch Randy, but he slunk down in his chair. Denise figured the boy was either shy around strangers or didn’t care much for Velma. Maybe she reminds him of someone he knows and doesn’t like.
“Okay, now, let’s start where we left off.” Heidi washed her hands at the sink and handed each of the children a wide-mouthed canning jar lid. “Just press it into your dough and when you lift it off, you’ll see that you’ve made a circle. Keep doing that until you have several circles.”
“What about the dough Marsha pulled off of mine and ate?” Debbie glanced at Heidi with a look of concern.
“It’s okay,” Heidi reassured her student. “You still have plenty of dough.” Heidi shook her head at Marsha. “Please don’t eat any more dough, okay? It’s not good for you.”
Slowly, Marsha nodded.
“Now what do we do?” Jeremy asked after he’d made his circles.
“You will place half a hot dog on each of the circles. Then bring the sides of the dough up and pinch it in the center.” Heidi took one and demonstrated.
“This is easy-peasy,” Kassidy said. “If you want my opinion, it’s baby stuff.”
Jeremy squinted. “Nobody asked for your opinion.”
“Oh, yeah, well, for your information—”
Heidi broke in quickly, as though hoping to divert a confrontation. “The next step will be to place the frankfurters wrapped with dough on a greased cooking sheet. We’ll set the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake them for twelve to fifteen minutes. Once they have cooled sufficiently, we can take the mini corn dogs outside and eat them at the picnic table.”
“Got any potato chips to go with ’em?” Peggy Ann wanted to know.
Heidi smiled. “Yes, I certainly do. We can also have some cold lemonade to drink.”
Peggy Ann clapped her hands. “Oh, good! It’ll be like a picnic. It’s been a long time since we had a picnic, huh, Mama?”
Velma nodded.
“We used to do picnics all the time before our daddy moved out of the house.” Kevin looked over at his sister. “Ain’t that right, Debbie?”
She scowled at him. “Ain’t isn’t good English, and you shouldn’t be blabbing stuff about us. It’s nobody’s business but ours.”
Kevin sneered at his sister. “Well, it’s not like I’m makin’ stuff up or anything. It’s the truth. We did a lot more fun things when Daddy lived with us.”
Denise felt sorry for these children whose parents were obviously separated, or maybe even divorced. She wondered if Kassidy knew how good she had it.
After everyone’s corn dogs were adequately browned, Heidi provided paper plates and suggested they take the food outside. “I’ll bring out the condiments, and if some of you parents don’t mind helping, you can bring the lemonade, chips, and some napkins.
“I’ll bring the chips,” Darren offered.
“And I’ll get the lemonade.”
Denise smiled. “Guess that leaves me to carry the napkins.”
“What about paper cups? Do you have any of those?” Velma asked.
“Yes, of course.” Heidi didn’t know why she felt so mixed up today. She’d had everything planned out ahead of time, but things hadn’t turned out the way she’d expected—starting with Velma and her daughter showing up before class.
“Always be prepared for the unexpected,” Heidi remembered her father saying.
It’s hard to be prepared for things you weren’t planning to happen, she mused.
After the children went outside with their plates filled, Heidi and the parents followed them out the door with the rest of the items. When Heidi saw Lyle look her way, she motioned for him to join them at the picnic table.
She was about to suggest that everyone bow their heads for silent prayer, when Jeremy picked up the plastic bottle of ketchup and held it over one of his corn dogs. Nothing came out, so he gave it a good squeeze. This time, though, he angled the container, while at the same time, looking at something across the way. The next thing Heidi knew, ketchup squirted out of the bottle and all over the front of Becky’s shirt.
Becky gasped, and so did all the adults. But, with the exception of Becky, the children must have thought it was funny, because they all laughed.
Becky started crying and raced for the house. Ellen followed.
Heidi cringed. So much for a nice picnic lunch. She debated on whether to go inside to check on Becky or stay put and let the girl’s mother handle it. She didn’t have to think about it long, for Darren got up and grasped his son’s arm. “Come with me, Jeremy. You owe Becky an apology.”
The boy shook his head. “Don’t see why I have to say I’m sorry. It was an accident, Dad. I didn’t mean to squirt her with ketchup.”
“That may be so, but you’re the one who caused it, so you need to apologize.” Darren held his ground and led his son up to the house.
“Eww… Mom.” Kassidy pointed. “Look what a bird just did on your shoulder.”
“Goodness, gracious.” Denise turned her head and grimaced when she saw a white blob on the navy-blue blouse she’d worn today. Taking a napkin, and trying to rub it off, Denise only managed to smear it.
“Guess when we get home you’ll have to soak your blouse and mine.” Kassidy snickered. “Maybe Heidi should have given you an apron to wear too.”
Heidi closed her eyes briefly. She would be glad when this day was over.