sweetheart, right?”
He just hmm’d again, something he was a little too expert at.
“I could get her to help fill the salt and pepper shakers. She’d have a blast. And if we needed something else to do, we’d move on to sugar. And if we ran out of sugar, she could wash tables. Come on. She’ll be fine. And Bev totally loves her.”
He acknowledged that truth with a small nod then finally shrugged, giving in to the obvious solution to his problem. “I guess we can give it a try. But if you want out after day one, you say the word, and I can make after-care arrangements.”
With the teachers whose hands were full. Clarissa didn’t know this for a fact, but it seemed to her that some people classified Mackenzie’s spirit as something that needed to be tamped down. Once upon a time, she’d had spirit like that.
“We’ll be fine,” she said with more surety than she felt.
*****
Clarissa handed Mackenzie an anti-bacteria wipe and showed her how to wipe down the tables at the same time she looked at the clock above the register. She wasn’t sure this was going to take the whole time after all. She swallowed a bit of panic and tried to focus on Mackenzie’s new story.
“There was this mermaid named Lemmalu an’ she loved plums. This story’s in the bible, Clarissa, so pay attention and you’ll learn a memory verse, too.”
“Lemmalu the Mermaid is the bible?” Clarissa laughed at Mackenzie’s active imagination.
“Yes. And Lemmalu’s momma went on a break to Las Vegas.”
Danger zone. Clarissa wondered if she should redirect the story, but Mackenzie kept right on going.
“And her daddy had a seaweed farm. Hey, Clarissa, guess what!”
“You want purple hair.”
“No, silly,” Mackenzie giggled. “This boy named Mi Nguyen brought seaweed sticks for us to eat one day. They looked like green Fruit Roll-Ups but they tasted like grass. I still said thank you, but seaweed is gross. Do you want me to get Mi to bring you a seaweed?”
The bell over the diner door jingled and Jed strolled in saving Clarissa from having to answer that question.
Well, that was interesting.
Mackenzie was standing on one of the red booth benches twirling a wash cloth in circles above her head talking about seaweed while a tired looking Clarissa used a bottle filled with clear liquid to spray the tables.
The bell over the door served as his calling card, and Mackenzie turned toward him with her big smile that reminded him of all the good things in life.
“Daddy!” She jumped down and ran to him wrapping her little arms around his legs until he pulled her up for a giant bear hug.
He owed Clarissa big time for this.
“I got to read today, Daddy. And I didn’t get no sticks pulled. I got to put a star by my name.”
Good day.
Clarissa wiped her hands on her jeans. Her hair was pulled back in a pony tail. Her face looked a little whiter than it had yesterday.
“You feeling okay?”
“Yep.” Her small chuckle sounded like she was feeling anything but. He wondered if she had anyone to help her if she was sick. Or anyone to talk to if she needed help.
“I don’t think there’s a way I can repay you for helping me today. We were able to get the first trees out today. Should be done tomorrow. Can we at least make you dinner?”
Mack pushed back until he put her on the floor. “I can help Daddy make Mac’roni ‘n cheese and fish sticks and I can show you my room and my tree house and Flower and Blue.”
The wistful look on Clarissa’s face said she wanted to say yes. But she shook her head. “Can’t tonight. Work. Speaking of, I better go get ready.”
Guilt speared through him at how tired she sounded. He started to suggest after-care for tomorrow instead, but she jumped up and disappeared so fast he wondered if he’d done something to offend her.
Mackenzie’s worried words echoed his thoughts.
“We better stay here, Daddy. I don’t think Clarissa got to say goodbye.”
Mackenzie was right. They couldn’t just leave Clarissa alone.
Clarissa leaned against her kitchen counter and tried to stop her heart from hurting.
How had she let this happen?
How had she let herself get so wrapped up with a five-year-old kid? Seeing Mackenzie in Jed’s arms, love so obvious, was suddenly killing her.
She’d spent years without close relationships, told herself it was the only way to protect her heart. So how come she hurt so bad now?
She