“When did you draw this?” he asked, moving toward the steps.
“This morning, after I took Zoe home.”
“This morning? Just this morning? Unbelievable! I was out riding in a tractor this morning getting the field ready for planting.”
Stacey giggled. “I thought I smelled something. L’air du turf, maybe?”
“Hey! I took a shower.”
She squeezed his arm as they mounted the first step. “Not you, silly. The air is rich with the aroma of the earth and bovine manure.”
He snorted. “Nice try. But we don’t fertilize cotton with manure.”
They went inside, where the smell of turned, sandy soil was replaced by the aroma of something wonderful in the oven. The air was warm to the point of feeling thick, yet for some reason Calvin’s two younger brothers were still inside, bashing Transformer figures together in an epic—and loud—battle for galactic domination. Eight-year-old Zachary climbed on top of the coffee table and launched an attack from above, voicing dive bomb and explosion noises. Jacob, two years younger, protested that Zach was cheating and shimmied under the table to escape. Peyton, holding BabyEmily’s wrists to keep her from getting in the way, yelled at Zachary for getting on the table. Zach responded by scrambling onto the couch instead.
Typical day in the Greenlee house.
Mom shuttled around the corner from the kitchen, all smiles and arms open wide to greet Stacey. “How you doing, baby girl? It’s so good to see you!”
Calvin stood back while Mom smothered his girlfriend. Mom loved Stacey. In fact, she loved just about anyone who entered her house. “Loving on people” was her solution to all the world’s problems. It was also her form of escape from her own problems, Calvin thought. Since Michael’s passing, and after a period where all she did was cry at the slightest prompting, Mom poured herself into caring for everyone, to the point where she was almost manic about it. She was happy when she kept herself busy being the perfect wife, mother, and host. Miserable when she wasn’t able to do that. Still, Mom had told Calvin that Stacey was just the kind of girl he needed.
So why, as he watched Mom compliment Stacey’s new hair color, did Calvin’s warm, fuzzy feelings give way to a sense that he was being manipulated? He looked at the blue folder in his hand. She’d done the drawing to say she was sorry … so he wouldn’t ask her again about her diet.
As Mom turned away from Stacey and glanced at him, Calvin saw a flash of some darker emotion cross her features. Concern? Disapproval? She turned it off too quickly for him to decipher it. “Calvin, honey, would you and Stacey be good enough to watch the baby for a little bit? I need Peyton to run to the store for me. I forgot to pick up currants when I went shopping.”
“Mom,” Peyton whined, sitting in a chair by the front window while trying to hold on to Emily and a bridal magazine at the same time. “His girlfriend just got here. I don’t know why you do this allthe time. Whenever Ryan comes over, that’s the time you figure out something you need me to do.”
“Stacey is practically family. She doesn’t mind. Do you, sweetie? Just while Peyton goes to the store?”
Calvin shook his head while Stacey agreed. It wasn’t that Mom wanted to interrupt the time he spent with Stacey, or the time Peyton spent with her fiancé, Ryan. It was just that Mom was always busy, and she extended that busyness out to everyone else.
Zach jumped off the couch, chasing Jacob upstairs, and Calvin slumped down in his place. He rotated his sore ankle while Stacey sat beside him. She took eighteen-month-old Emily into her lap.
“Are you hungry, Stacey?” Mom asked, pausing at the wide arched entryway to the dining room. “We had lunch just a bit ago, but I can fix y’all some snacks, if you want.”
“Oh, no thank you, Mrs. Greenlee. I ate lunch right before I came. Besides, it smells like you’ve got enough things
“This morning, after I took Zoe home.”
“This morning? Just this morning? Unbelievable! I was out riding in a tractor this morning getting the field ready for planting.”
Stacey giggled. “I thought I smelled something. L’air du turf, maybe?”
“Hey! I took a shower.”
She squeezed his arm as they mounted the first step. “Not you, silly. The air is rich with the aroma of the earth and bovine manure.”
He snorted. “Nice try. But we don’t fertilize cotton with manure.”
They went inside, where the smell of turned, sandy soil was replaced by the aroma of something wonderful in the oven. The air was warm to the point of feeling thick, yet for some reason Calvin’s two younger brothers were still inside, bashing Transformer figures together in an epic—and loud—battle for galactic domination. Eight-year-old Zachary climbed on top of the coffee table and launched an attack from above, voicing dive bomb and explosion noises. Jacob, two years younger, protested that Zach was cheating and shimmied under the table to escape. Peyton, holding BabyEmily’s wrists to keep her from getting in the way, yelled at Zachary for getting on the table. Zach responded by scrambling onto the couch instead.
Typical day in the Greenlee house.
Mom shuttled around the corner from the kitchen, all smiles and arms open wide to greet Stacey. “How you doing, baby girl? It’s so good to see you!”
Calvin stood back while Mom smothered his girlfriend. Mom loved Stacey. In fact, she loved just about anyone who entered her house. “Loving on people” was her solution to all the world’s problems. It was also her form of escape from her own problems, Calvin thought. Since Michael’s passing, and after a period where all she did was cry at the slightest prompting, Mom poured herself into caring for everyone, to the point where she was almost manic about it. She was happy when she kept herself busy being the perfect wife, mother, and host. Miserable when she wasn’t able to do that. Still, Mom had told Calvin that Stacey was just the kind of girl he needed.
So why, as he watched Mom compliment Stacey’s new hair color, did Calvin’s warm, fuzzy feelings give way to a sense that he was being manipulated? He looked at the blue folder in his hand. She’d done the drawing to say she was sorry … so he wouldn’t ask her again about her diet.
As Mom turned away from Stacey and glanced at him, Calvin saw a flash of some darker emotion cross her features. Concern? Disapproval? She turned it off too quickly for him to decipher it. “Calvin, honey, would you and Stacey be good enough to watch the baby for a little bit? I need Peyton to run to the store for me. I forgot to pick up currants when I went shopping.”
“Mom,” Peyton whined, sitting in a chair by the front window while trying to hold on to Emily and a bridal magazine at the same time. “His girlfriend just got here. I don’t know why you do this allthe time. Whenever Ryan comes over, that’s the time you figure out something you need me to do.”
“Stacey is practically family. She doesn’t mind. Do you, sweetie? Just while Peyton goes to the store?”
Calvin shook his head while Stacey agreed. It wasn’t that Mom wanted to interrupt the time he spent with Stacey, or the time Peyton spent with her fiancé, Ryan. It was just that Mom was always busy, and she extended that busyness out to everyone else.
Zach jumped off the couch, chasing Jacob upstairs, and Calvin slumped down in his place. He rotated his sore ankle while Stacey sat beside him. She took eighteen-month-old Emily into her lap.
“Are you hungry, Stacey?” Mom asked, pausing at the wide arched entryway to the dining room. “We had lunch just a bit ago, but I can fix y’all some snacks, if you want.”
“Oh, no thank you, Mrs. Greenlee. I ate lunch right before I came. Besides, it smells like you’ve got enough things
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