second time, he mumbled, “Oh, well, uh,” and looked at his feet. She knew he was stalling.
“I, uh, wanted to let them know there’s going to be some, uh, work in the backyard. Today.”
Why would Bud and Lynda care about work next door? She was about to ask when Todd filled in a crucial gap.
“We’re having some landscaping removed. There’s going to be digging and, uh, trim work on the hedge.”
“Will there be a mess? On their side?”
“Oh, uh, gee,” he mumbled. “Yeah, probably.”
“I’ll let them know,” she brusquely replied.
“Do you know when they’ll be home? I should really touch base with them—as the homeowners.”
The thought of Todd banging on the door every few hours did not sound appealing, so she cut to the chase and shut him down.
“They’re visiting their daughter. Palm Springs.” The minute the words came out of her mouth, she regretted telling him too much.
One more time, he broke out a muddled response punctuated with, “uh,” “well,” and “gee.”
“Oh, uh, well, gee, thanks for saving me the headache of watching and waiting for them.”
Watching and waiting? The word cluster didn’t inspire warm, fuzzy feelings.
It was hard not to whoop, “Hallelujah,” when the baby chimed in with an angry wail.
She looked at Todd, said, “Gotta go,” and pushed past him without another word.
Mariah swished her tail and sashayed back and forth beside Summer as she knelt to dump a can of smelly food onto a cat-shaped ceramic dish.
“Salmon pâté,” she announced. “Blech.”
The pale gray and white domestic longhair feline didn’t give a fig what anyone thought and ignored Summer in favor of dinner. She petted the soft, bushy diva cat and then wisely backed away. Lynda’s snotty pet wasn’t fond of people.
In the living room, a baby grand piano sat near a window with Ari in her baby seat on top. Her little mouth was torturing a binky—something Summer hoped was the first step to getting her stubborn daughter to accept the bottle. Poor Mrs. Pak had quite a time convincing Ari to drink.
While the cat picked at her dish of food, Summer sat at the piano and played a soft tune. Nothing fancy. Her skill was novice level at best.
Outside the window, night had fallen. It was dark by six o’clock each evening. Her mind wandered, and she found herself wondering what long winter nights were like where the weather was icy cold. She imagined moonlight shining on mounds of freshly fallen snow would be quite pretty.
“You know what I just realized?” She looked at Ari. The baby was used to her mommy’s impromptu, extemporaneous ramblings and merely smiled.
“I’ve never made a snow angel.”
Summer dropped her hands into her lap. “Gosh, what a crazy thought, right?”
Her rapt audience of one kept on smiling, so she let the freeform of thoughts pour out.
“You don’t know this about me yet, but your mommy has a madcap side.” She giggled. “It’s all fun and games till my show-off tendencies get me in trouble. Take skiing, for instance. I’m pretty sure swishing down a mountain with the cold air in your face is a rush, but I’d get cocky and, well …” She lifted her shoulders and grinned. “Knowing how I am, there’s a better than good chance I’d end up airlifted out of the snow by the paramedics.”
The baby’s reaction to her mother’s thrill-seeking confession was a squirm and a gurgle.
“But cross-country skiing? Gliding across the snow using poles and muscle power? I think we have a winner. Bet it burns energy and calories. Not that body image is a factor,” she quickly interjected. There was no way her daughter was going to grow up thinking she had to conform to a cult of unrealistic expectations.
Nuh-uh. No way. It was time for a better paradigm because the current one wasn’t healthy or sustainable. She was going to parent smartly with compassion and also a few sharply drawn red lines. Laziness will not be tolerated. Manners will matter. Giving rather than taking shall be her family mantra.
“I’ve got it all figured out. Not.” She laughed. Every parent through the ages probably thought they were gonna break the mold. Ha!
Mariah and her swishing tail jumped onto the piano and sat next to the baby. Shadowy moonlight streaming through the window gave the scene a softness. Summer took out her phone and snapped a picture as her daughter and the longhaired feline looked at one another.
She checked the shot, and muttered, “Cool. Uncle Reed will love this.”