Chapter 4
By the time Hayley got home from the hospital, it was already approaching the dinner hour; she had yet to even think about what she would serve her kids. Leroy, her adorable white Shih Tzu, with a pronounced underbite and boundless energy, greeted her at the door, with his tail wagging. Blueberry, her recently adopted cat, an oversize Persian fur ball, with an infinite amount of attitude, was sitting menacingly in the hallway just off the kitchen. With his tail flapping up and down, he glared at Hayley, perturbed his own dinner had yet to be served.
As she yanked open the refrigerator to take a quick inventory, Gemma came bounding down the stairs, squealing with delight. Blueberry skittered out of the way just in time to avoid Gemma’s sneaker nearly crushing his tail. Gemma raced into the kitchen, her arms waving in the air.
“Mom! Mom! You’re never going to believe what just happened!”
“What?”
Gemma stopped suddenly, a disappointed look on her face.
“You mean that wasn’t a rhetorical question? You actually want me to guess?”
Gemma nodded.
“Um, okay. You got an A on your geometry test.”
“No. Come on, Mom. Be serious. Guess something that’s, like, actually in the realm of possibility. By the way, I flunked it and you have to sign the test to acknowledge I showed you the score, and I have to take it again next week before the Christmas break. Now guess again.”
“You flunked? Gemma, if you ever want to get into vet school, you’re going to have to do better. . . .”
“Stay on topic, please, okay, Mom?”
“Fine. But we’re not finished discussing that test. Okay. Let me think. That cute boy in gym class that you’ve been texting all of your friends about finally asked you out on a date.”
“No. And thanks for reminding me about his total lack of interest in me. Good job, Mom. Now I’m completely depressed. Way to go.”
“Okay, you know what? I’m not going to guess anymore. Why don’t you just tell me?”
“Reverend Staples called a few minutes ago and he’s decided to cast me in the Congregational Church’s Nativity play. I tried out for one of the Three Wise Men, but he didn’t think I was right for that part.”
“He probably saw your geometry test.”
“Mom!”
“Just kidding. So, who are you going to play?”
“The Virgin Mary!”
Wow. I did not see that one coming.
“Gemma, that’s fantastic. I’m so proud of you!”
Hayley hugged her daughter tightly.
“Mary’s, like, one of the leading roles!” Gemma shrieked. “The show is totally centered around her. She’s the most important character in the whole play.”
“Well, yes, honey, but God and the baby Jesus are pretty critical too in the scheme of things.”
“What are you talking about? They have no lines! I have pages and pages of dialogue I have to start memorizing. I just hope they get someone really hot to play Joseph.”
Gemma sailed back out of the kitchen and up the stairs, nearly plowing over Blueberry again. He had ventured gingerly back into the hallway, still annoyed that his ceramic bowl, with kitty paw prints on it, was still not filled with food.
Hayley went to the cupboard and foraged for some special-diet canned cat food when the back door to the kitchen swung open and Aaron walked in, rubbing his hands to warm up from the cold.
Hayley smiled at the sight of him. “What are you doing here? I thought you had to work late.”
“I was supposed to neuter Alma Henderson’s Maine coon cat at five-thirty, but he somehow got out the back screen door and ran away before she could get him into the pet carrier. Probably knew what was coming and got the hell out of Dodge.”
Hayley laughed. “Do you want to stay for dinner?”
“I was thinking of taking you and the kids out for pizza at Geddy’s.”
“Well, Dustin’s having dinner over at Spanky’s house, and Gemma is confined to her room cramming for a makeup geometry test, but she doesn’t know it yet. I’ve got some leftover meat loaf and makings for a side salad she can have.”
“Perfect. You prepare that for her and I’ll call and make a reservation at Portofino for two. Candlelight dinner. Bottle of wine. I’ll even let you spoon-feed me the tiramisu.”
“Now that’s quite an upgrade from pizza.”
“Sound good?”
“Sounds wonderful. Oh, wait. I have a meeting later tonight, around nine, with Garth Rawlings, the caterer. I’m going to hire him to prepare a few appetizers for our office Christmas party tomorrow night and wanted to go over everything with him at his office.”
“Okay, so we skip the tiramisu. But the bottle of wine is nonnegotiable.”
“Deal.”
He kissed Hayley on the lips. “You smell so good.”
“That’s probably just the wild cherry Little Trees air freshener I hung from my rearview mirror this morning.”
“Don’t kill the mood,” Aaron said, tickling her with his hands.
Hayley chortled and tried to pull his hands away, but he was having too much fun. He tickled her some more until her whole body was spasming. Then he locked his arms around her waist and pulled her into him, kissing her again, just as the phone rang. After it rang several times, it became abundantly clear Gemma had no intention of answering it from upstairs.
“Be just a minute,” Hayley said, reluctantly extricating herself from Aaron’s grip and picking up the phone. “Hello?”
“Hayley?”
She instantly recognized the voice.
Lex Bansfield.
“Lex, how are you doing?”
Aaron bristled just a bit at hearing Lex’s name. He was acutely aware of Hayley’s past history with him.
“My pride’s hurt more than anything else. I just wanted to thank you for stopping by to see me this afternoon. It meant a lot,” Lex said.
“Of course. When I heard you were hurt, I knew I had to see you to make sure you’re okay. Is there something you need?”
There was silence on the other end of the phone.
“Lex?”
“I’m kind of embarrassed to ask. I know how busy you are.”
“You know you can ask me anything, Lex.”
“I had a bit of a tantrum earlier here at the hospital. Not proud of it. It was about the food they tried to serve me for dinner. Some rancid piece of overcooked meat and a tiny cup of something they called ‘vegetable medley’ made up of cold peas and stale carrots. Oh, and green Jell-O. Can you believe it, Hayley? Green Jell-O? Seriously, I haven’t eaten crap like that since the third grade. I sent it all back to the kitchen and now I’m starving. Guess I didn’t think things through.”
“Do you want me to pick something up for you at the Shop ’n Save and bring it over to you?”
“Actually, I remember you keep cartons of your homemade turkey chili in the freezer out in your garage, and I was hoping, if you weren’t too busy . . .”
“You know I completely forgot about that.”
“I still dream about that chili.”
“Well, I can defrost some in the microwave and bring it over to you in about a half hour.”
Hayley glanced at Aaron, who was quickly summing up the situation in his mind and was frowning.
Hayley averted her eyes. “Hang on. I’ll be there soon.”
“Hayley, I know I’m not your responsibility, and I probably shouldn’t even be calling you, since we’re no longer—”
“We’re friends, Lex, and I don’t want to hear another word.”
Hayley hung up.
“You’re going to make him dinner?”
“No! Just warm up some of my chili. It’s already made. I feel bad for him, Aaron. He’s laid up in the hospital, and you know how awful the food is there. It’s not like he has any dietary restrictions, so I thought it would be a nice thing to do.”
“Well, I’ll go with you to the hospital, and after you drop off the chili, we can go to dinner.”
“Then we’ll be rushed because I have to meet Garth at nine.”
“Another time, then,” Aaron said, turning to leave.
“Aaron . . .”
Aaron turned back around. “No, it’s fine, Hayley. Really. I get it. He’s your friend. I have no problem with you doing him a favor. No problem at all.”
Nice words. But his face, however, told an entirely different story.