Jayden explained. “Carmella didn’t want you to fall off the top of that stack of hay or for the other girls to make fun of you if they found out about your fear. She was being a good friend.”
One tear made its way from Tiffany’s eye to her chin, leaving a long, clean streak on her otherwise dirty cheek. “I have never had anyone do something like that for me before.”
“That’s what teamwork is all about,” Jayden told her.
“I wish all three of us lived closer to each other.” Tiffany smeared the wet streak across her face. “My other so-called friends sure wouldn’t do anything like that for me. They’d be the ones laughing at me.”
“You’ll have your phones back when you all go back to your homes, so you and the other girls can call each other or FaceTime or even visit once in a while.” Jayden opened the dining room door just as the first raindrops fell from the dark clouds. “If I remember right, y’all were never going to be sisters or even friends when you first got here.”
“We’ve been through a lot together and we talk about our problems while we work. They have my back, just like today,” Tiffany said. “That don’t mean we won’t argue again, maybe a lot, before we leave here, but no one else would understand this place, not even if we tried to tell them about it, or how much being here is helping us. I wonder if what we feel is something like the military does when they go out on missions and are away from their homes. It’s kind of like a bond that can’t be explained.”
“Maybe so.” Just thinking about the bond she didn’t have with her sister made Jayden’s chest feel heavy. “Go wash your hands and face in the bathroom, and then you can cut the cake into squares for me. We’re having pulled pork sandwiches, slaw, and baked beans tonight. I thought something like strawberry cake and ice cream would be good for dessert after spending a day out in the fields.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Tiffany nodded.
Jayden removed the lid from a huge slow cooker and used two forks to pull apart the pork roasts that had been cooking all day. While she worked, she thought about what Tiffany had said and wished that she and Skyler could form a bond like her three girls had done. She had no doubt that if her sister had seen a rat right above her head, she would have kept her mouth shut until the damned thing jumped down on Jayden. Then Skyler would have laughed, but not hard enough to ruin her makeup. If these girls could overcome the past, maybe there would be hope for the future for Jayden and Skyler.
“Everything smells so good.” Tiffany slipped an apron over her dirty uniform. “I’m wearing this so I don’t get bits of hay in the cake. I hate to admit it, but I hate the thought of going home now. I’ve gotten spoiled having good food three times a day.”
“And you are beginning to have a beautiful, healthy glow about you,” Jayden said.
“No, because I’ve worked it off.” Tiffany pulled on a pair of latex gloves, picked up a knife, and began cutting the sheet cake into squares. “When I get done, do I get to lick the knife?”
“Just be careful and don’t cut your tongue. You’re sassy enough without having a split tongue,” Jayden joked.
“Just think how much I could cuss Keelan out if I had two tongues going at once.” Tiffany giggled. “I really don’t like that girl. I bet this camp hasn’t done her a bit of good, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if she gets sent home before this month is over. Do you realize that we’re half done now?”
“Yes, I already thought of that.” Jayden dipped the meat up into a big silver serving pan. “I hear the herd coming. Would you help me serve?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Tiffany nodded. “They’d better get what they want, because I’m hungry, and when I get done making my tray, there won’t be any leftovers for the hogs.”
Novalene came in first, poured glasses of sweet tea, and carried them to the adult table. “The girls are making a run through the bathhouse to clean up their faces and hands,” she said. “Diana is keeping an eye on them.”
“The only thing I really like about kitchen duty is that I don’t have to stand with my toes