a bit. Shy. Nora had said Berry was very shy. He glanced over at the page that had her attention and asked, “What animal is that?”
She didn’t even favor him with a look, but she said, “Cow.”
“Do you know what a cow says?”
“Moo,” she said in a very, very quiet voice.
He chuckled. Berry was wearing a cute little lavender outfit, pants and a long-sleeved shirt with flowers on it, tennis shoes over her lace-trimmed socks. He had expected a ragamuffin in old, used, tattered clothes, not nice stuff like this. “If the cow was that quiet, the farmer would never be able to find her. What’s next?” he asked.
She turned the page. “Guck,” she said softly.
He laughed. “Or duck, depending on your preference. And what does the duck say?”
“Guack,” she whispered.
“You’re very smart. What’s next?”
She turned the page and said, “Fog.”
“And the frog says?”
“Burbbet.”
“I have a pond full of frogs. Do you like frogs?”
She nodded.
“If you come a tiny bit closer to me so I can see the page, I can read it to you,” he offered. She merely turned the page.
But she said, “Kitty. Mow.”
“Brilliant,” he said. And he moved a bit closer. He read, “‘This is a kitten and it says meow. The kitten likes to play with a ball of string or yarn.’” He put a little feeling into his meow and she glanced up at him with a shy smile. He wondered if Nora had been like this as a little girl, shy and sweet. She wasn’t shy and sweet now, but she was definitely fun at times. And he couldn’t deny she was nice enough. But she stood up for herself. She was proud. Too proud. She had bravado. He got the sense she was faking that, but he liked it. In fact, if she had to summon it and it wasn’t natural, he liked it even more.
Berry turned the page and he read, “‘This is a puppy and he says…’”
She looked up at him and said, “Woof. Woof.”
“And do puppies like kittens and frogs?” he asked her. And she nodded. “I thought so,” he said. “I have a puppy,” he said.
“Gook,” she proudly informed him.
He laughed. Ah, so the d’s were g’s. “Yes, Duke. Not exactly a puppy. More of a gog.”
“Don’t mispronounce,” came Nora’s voice from behind him. “I know it’s tempting, and fun, but really…”
They both turned, looked at her and smiled.
“She seems very smart for two,” he said. “Is she?”
“She’s almost three, and she is. I need to work with her more, but there’s the time thing. We need to do letters, numbers and colors. We have worked on some, but just a few. Preschool, though a necessity so I can work, is also a gift. They’re so focused.” She gave a nod. “That’s Berry’s favorite book. Her grandpa gave it to her.”
“Papa,” Berry corrected.
Tom smiled before he could stop himself. “She likes him, I guess.”
“It hasn’t been quick. He’s been to visit twice and she will finally let him read to her a little bit, as long as he doesn’t get too close.”
“Then I scored,” Tom said. “I read three pages on our first date.”
Nora smiled. “If you want a shower before dinner, there’s time.”
He made a mock gesture of sniffing his own armpit and raising questioning eyes to her.
“Cripes,” she said. “Maxie said you’d want a shower. I wasn’t passing judgment.”
“Yeah, okay,” he said. “I’ll be down in a few.” And he left Berry and went in stocking feet into the house.
There at the table, propped up in her booster seat with a few crackers in front of her, was Fay. For some reason he couldn’t quite explain to himself, he was greatly relieved to see that the little sister looked like Nora as well—soft, light brown hair, peachy skin, golden-brown eyes. But this little one was not shy; she squealed and laughed when he walked into the kitchen and hurled a fistful of scrunched-up crackers at him. Her teeth were brand-new and in weird, adorable shapes and lengths. Happiness and confidence just rolled off her.
Maxie laughed at the scattered cracker crumbs, completely unperturbed. In fact, if Tom had to guess, his grandmother preferred baby mess to boots and expensive sweaters and no appetite.