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They stayed.
Mac poured chips next to the hamburger on her plate and tried to take it all in. This wasn’t anything like the tight-lipped and solemn evening she’d endured when Kevin died. These people marked death with a celebration of life. A completely different attitude than any she’d experienced. Respect was there, but it wore a light covering of humor. Like a fuzzy sweater on the first chilly day of fall, their companionship cocooned her in warmth.
She munched on a chip. Charley had been right about the house and the food. One of them had grilled burgers. There was a plate of cold cuts and sliced cheeses in her fridge, and two casseroles were resting in her freezer. An enormous chocolate cake sat on the counter for later, and her cookie jar held fresh oatmeal cookies.
Riley had scarfed down a burger and retreated to his room and his video games with a soda. Dane, heaven forgive the injustice, didn’t have a gaming system at his house, and Riley was in withdrawal.
Mac’s eye’s roamed the table as she listened to her new friends—what an amazing concept—tell stories about their own mothers. Laughter ruled, and it took a bit of the sting out of the day.
“My mom had a nose like a well-trained hound dog,” Randy said. “You know kids. They aren’t always the most hygienically conscious people in the world.” She shook her head. “I remember one day, I think I was eleven or twelve, we were at the mall, and a group of kids walked by. Body odor trailed them like a black fog. I thought Mom was going to toss her lunch. Once she got her heaves under control, she looked at me. ‘Did you use deodorant this morning?’ she asked.”
“Oh I can tell this is not going to be good,” Alex chimed in.
Randy snorted. “You don’t know the half of it. I was barely a tween. Lip gloss and mascara are so much more important at that age. I must have shrugged or done something equally stupid to give her the idea that the answer could be no. When we got home, she took me in the bathroom, scrubbed my underarms until they were cherry red, and handed me the deodorant. Man, that spray stung.”
Nobody attempted to stifle their giggles, and Mac found she couldn’t either.
“But I learned my lesson,” Randy finished. “Deodorant became my new best friend, and if the question ever came up again, yes was my immediate response.” She shook her head with a wistful smile. “I don’t have a lot of good memories of my childhood, but I had the joy of seeing Mom accept Christ a couple of years before she died.” Randy swept away a tear and shoved her thick red hair away from her face. “I just know Mom took that nose to the grave with her. I figure God’s using her at the pearly gates to check for contraband.”
“That’s too funny,” Jesse pushed away from the table. She motioned to the cake. “I need chocolate after that. Anyone else?”
When everyone at the table nodded, Charley scooted back as well. “I’ll help.” She looked at Mac. “Coffee?”
Mac started to rise. “I’ll get it.”
Charley frowned. “Sit. Just point me in the right direction.”
Mac did, and Charley grabbed the bag.
Alex propped her elbows on the table and lowered her head into her hands. “Cop coffee? Heaven help us all. We won’t get a wink of sleep tonight.”
“Ha ha,” Charley muttered as she scooped coffee into the filter.
Dane leaned back and crossed his arms. The motion drew Mac’s attention. She sent him a smile, and when he returned it, duck bumps hitched a ride on goose flesh and zipped to the tips of her fingers. She snatched up her glass of soda and took a deep drink. What is going on with me?
Jesse returned to the table with paper plates holding generous slices of cake. She placed one in front of Mac. “I’m trusting you to either forget this or find a way to work it off our hips without killing us the next time we exercise.”
“That’s rich,” Dane needled his sister. “If you guys had real jobs like me, you wouldn’t have to worry about a few extra calories.”
Jesse popped him on the back of the head as she passed behind him and continued serving their dessert.
Dane rubbed at the spot. “Just for that, baby sister, I’m going to share our family secret.”
Jesse turned to look at him. Her puzzled frown morphed into an open-mouthed stare. “No, Dane—”
“It must be shared.” He chased his cake with coffee. “And if any of you ever repeat any part of this story to our mother, I’ll deny it and kill you in your sleep.” Dane took a deep breath. “Our mom has a secret hobby.”
“More obsession than hobby,” Jesse muttered as she took her seat.
“Oh, let me guess.” Alex bounced in her chair, her hazel eyes sparkling with speculation. “She hand knits your underwear.”
“What?” Dane frowned at her, then rolled his eyes. “No. You spend too much time on Pinterest.” He clasped his hands on the table and leaned forward. “She collects aluminum cans.”
Alex dismissed him with a wave. “That’s not a hobby. It’s called recycling.”
“Would be if she did it to be green or had a specific problem with litter,” Dane said. “But those aren’t her reasons. She does it so she can make Dad turn them in for the few pennies a bag that they’re worth.”
“So she’s thrifty,” Randy said. “I don’t see anything strange about that.”
“You will.” Dane wagged a finger between himself and his sister. “Through the years Jesse and I have both been the victims of a spur of the minute swerve to the shoulder of the road and a command, daylight or dark, sunny or rainy, cold or hot, to ‘Hop out and pick up that can.’”
“Do you remember the scene in the movie Independence Day where Jeff Goldblum’s character is fishing cans out of the office trash and muttering? Multiply that by ten and you have our mom. Throwing cans away is a capital offense at her house, one that you will be reminded of over many future visits.”
Dane shifted his voice into a falsetto sing song. “Be sure to put that can in the bag by the back door. I found three in the trash after you guys left the other day.”
Jesse groaned, shoved her glasses up onto her head, and lowered her face into her hands.
Mac looked from brother to sister. When they sat side by side, the family resemblance was hard to miss. The black hair and dark brows. But Jesse’s eyes were brown where Dane’s were blue.
Dane continued. “The summer before I graduated, Mom took Jesse and me to Six Flags. We drank plenty of sodas on the drive. Mom had a brown paper bag in the van, and her command, as always, was to put the cans in the bag when we were done.
“We planned to visit the park for two days. This required two nights stay at a nearby motel. Mom’s bag of cans was locked safely away in the van, but we managed to toss back a few sodas in the room before we went to bed each night. As ordered, those cans were dutifully crushed and placed in a used fast food bag for the trip home.”
Dane sat back as he warmed to his story. “The second morning, as we were preparing to check out, Mom began to look for this bag. She couldn’t find it. We were mobilized to look under beds, behind furniture, and heaven forbid—in all the room’s trash cans. No sack. Mom’s conclusion—the cleaning staff had ‘stolen’ her cans.”
“Uh, stolen?” Charley asked.
“Oh, yes.” Jesse leaned her head on Dane’s shoulder and joined the story. “Stolen. The only explanation.”
Mac put her hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle.
“Remember,” Dane said. “We’re talking about squished cans in a crumpled Sonic bag. If you were a part of the cleaning staff, what would you think? But no amount of logic could convince our mother of anything short of theft. Forget that there was undisturbed luggage in the room with much more valuable contents. She was determined to have justice. She intended to report the theft to the manager.”
Laughter doubled Alex over in her chair. “Oh, tell me she didn’t.”
Jesse sat up. “I wish he could.”
“Sis and I were mortified.” Dane threw an arm around his sister’s shoulders and sent her a smile before he continued. “We begged, we pleaded, we offered to run across the street to the convenience store, buy a fresh six pack of soda, and drink them on the spot to replace the missing cans. Nothing was good enough for Mom.”
By this time, the six people around the table were laughing and wiping tears from their eyes. Mac had never heard anything like this. Nor had she been a part of a group of people so comfortable with each other.
“I’ll never forget hiding in the van with Jesse as Mom marched to the manager’s office to report the robbery. I’ll never forget her anger at being told there was nothing the staff could do to replace her loss.”
Charley fanned her face. “Oh, the great soda pop can caper!”
“I miss those days.” Jesse murmured.
Hmm. Randy had lost her mother, and despite the humorous story she’d shared, if the shadows in Randy’s eyes were any indication, there was more to that story. Alex’s parents had divorced early. Her mom had remarried a couple of years ago and moved to Florida. Charley’s had recently downsized and moved into a condo in a retirement village.
Now she looked at Jesse. “Your mom is gone too?”
“No, but Mom and Dad have some issues right now. Laughter is in short supply most days.” She glanced up when Mac’s mantle clock chimed the hour. “Oh good grief. Is it ten already? We need to get this mess cleaned up and get out of here or we’ll never make it to work tomorrow.”
Alex gathered up cups and plates. “You guys go on. I’ll help Mac put everything away. I don’t have to get up as early as the rest of you.”
They took her suggestion. Dane went to collect Riley. Mac smiled when she heard his firm voice respond to her son’s whining. Five minutes to wrap up his game seemed more than fair. While the time passed, Mac walked to the front door with Jesse, Charley, and Randy. With hugs, whispered words of encouragement, and demands that she call one of them if she needed anything, they took their leave. Riley and Dane came up the hall a few seconds later.
“Ten more minutes, I would have unlocked the next level,” Riley griped.
“Ten more minutes of study on any given day, and you might unlock your school work,” Dane responded. “We need to work on your priorities. Now tell your mother goodbye.”
“See ya.” The storm door clicked shut behind him.
Dane shook his head as the boy sprinted for the van. “I think I’ll keep him home from school tomorrow, if that’s OK with you.”
Mac glanced at the van. “I hadn’t really thought about it. His grades...”
“Mac, no one expects him to be at school the day after losing his grandmother.”
“But he doesn’t...”
Dane laid a finger across her lips. “I wouldn’t be too sure. He’s hiding it well, but I think there’s a spot on the inside that hurts more than he lets on. Some guy time might help him deal with it.”
“You’re right. Thank you for what you’re trying to do.”
“Not a problem. Now I’ll say goodbye for both of us.” He wrapped Mac in his arms and held her in place for a few moments. “Will you let me know if there’s anything I can do for you?”
She closed her eyes and leaned into him. You’re already doing it. It was wonderful to be held. His arms were strong, and his heartbeat matched her own. The prickly feeling from earlier returned and pooled in the pit of her stomach. Something that made her want to cling to him and never let go. Her eyes snapped open. She released him and took a step back with a suddenness that left them both unsteady.
“Mac?”
“Sorry...I...I need to go help Alex.”
“You sure you’re OK?”
“Yes.”
Dane studied her for a second before turning to follow Riley to the van.
Mac closed the door, distressed by the tremor in her hands. Why does he make me feel so jittery inside? She pushed the question aside and went to see if she could help Alex. Her kitchen was spotless when she got there.
“Wow, you’re fast.”
Alex folded the dish towel and laid it on the counter. “Paper and plastic always make the cleanup easier. I wouldn’t have anything else in my kitchen if it were up to me.”
Mac looked at the half-full pot of coffee, not quite ready to be alone. “Do you have time for a second cup before you head home?”
“I was hoping you’d ask. It’s a shame to toss it out.”
Mac retrieved two cups from the cabinet, divided the steaming liquid between them, and settled at the table with Alex.
“Where will your mom’s service be held?”
“No place,” Mac answered. “She settled on cremation a long time ago, and even if she hadn’t, she didn’t know anyone here. I said my goodbyes today. At some point, Riley and I will find a good place to scatter a few of her ashes, and then I’ll send the rest back to New York to be buried.”
“A good plan.” Alex sipped and smiled over her cup. “It’s not too bad, even if Charley did make it.”
Mac ran a finger around the rim of her mug. “She was such a comfort to me today. You all were. And tonight...tonight was just what I needed. How did you guys know I needed to laugh?”
“The Bible.”
Mac narrowed her eyes.
“You lost your mom. There will be plenty of time for tears, but tonight you needed the company of friends. Proverbs says that a merry heart doeth good like a medicine.”
Mac had never heard the words laughter and Bible used in the same sentence. The two could never go together as far as she was concerned.
“Your sour is showing.”
“What?”
Alex grinned. “That face you get every time anyone mentions God or the Bible.” She leaned forward on crossed arms. When her brown pixie-cut hair swung forward to curtain her delicate features, she shoved it behind her ears and studied Mac with sympathy-filled hazel eyes.
Mac ducked her head and tried to reclaim the pleasant mood that had filled her kitchen before Alex brought religion into it.
Alex reached across and laid a hand on Mac’s arm. “You know my husband’s a pastor, right?”
It took all of Mac’s willpower not to flinch away from the other woman’s touch.
Alex rubbed gently. “Hon, I’m not going to preach to you. That’s the last thing you need tonight. But I am going to say that the people who raised you were wrong. They used a warped version of God’s word as a weapon against you. I know it hurt you, and I know that you don’t want anything to do with religion and Christianity because of it. I don’t blame you.”
Mac raised her head, surprised at the words.
Alex tilted her head. “Have you ever read any of the Bible for yourself?”
That was the second time in two days she’d heard that question. Why was it such a big deal? “It wasn’t allowed. The man was head of the house and in charge of the family’s spiritual knowledge.”
“That’s sort of what I thought,” Alex said. “Can you at least entertain the idea that they twisted what you were taught to suit their own purpose?”
When Mac didn’t answer Alex pushed from the table. “I have to get home. Hunter will be worried if I’m gone much longer.”
Mac followed her to the door, and Alex turned to give her a hug. “I promised not to preach to you, but I left a Bible on your nightstand. Would you do me one favor?”
Mac studied Alex. She didn’t need to be told that her sour was showing, but she owed her new friends a debt. She nodded warily.
“Oh, honey, relax. I’m not going to ask you to read it and write a book report. But I did bookmark the Gospel of John for you and left a list of verses in Romans I’d like you to read. You’re a smart girl with a mind of your own. Aren’t you just a little curious about what the Bible has to say for itself?”
“I never thought about it.”
“It’s time you did. Read what I marked for you and let me know if you have any questions.”
Mac agreed, shut the door behind her friend, and retreated to her room. The Bible was there, as promised. She sat on the edge of the bed and picked it up. It fell open to an index card. Mac looked at the top of the selected page. The Gospel of John.
Confusion and conflict twisted inside her. No doubt Alex had the best intentions, but Mac was afraid. The teachings of this book had held her hostage for too long. She was finally free. Succumbing to round two was not on Mac’s agenda.