Chapter Ten
“Isaid I was sorry. Maisie needed dry clothes to come to the café, and I thought that door led to the bedroom. I explained what happened at the park before.” They were sitting in the restaurant, both girls were with him, and he swelled with pride at their appearance.
No man ever had lovelier companions than these two with their pretty matching sundresses.
Mia wore blue and Maisie wore her favorite pink.
They had tiny little straps with miniature satin flowers decorating them, no waistline but the skirts, after they passed their hips, were short.
There were ruffles of white silky stuff at the bottom that fluttered as they walked.
He’d noticed the other women in the place staring at the two in their lovely clothes and wasn’t surprised when one older lady came over and asked Mia if she could tell her the name of the shop where she’d bought the matching dresses.
Seems this woman had a daughter and granddaughter who would
lu-ove something similar, and she would love to buy outfits like these for her daughter’s upcoming birthday.
“I just adore the soft material and the way they flow, and the colors are gorgeous. Do they come in other patterns?” Her gushing was kind of funny, especially the way she emphasized each adjective, but he seemed to be the only one who saw the humor.
“Yes. Actually, I make them and sell them myself off my website. Here’s my card. We take all of our orders online or by phone, so please do give us a call.”
“Oh, my dear. I will, as soon as I get home later. They’re just lovely.
Thank you so much.” Shuffling back to her own table, she shared the information with the other three, who in minutes were all taking pictures with their cellphones of the information.
One older granny had her pen out and was writing it down in the old-fashioned way that folks used before cellphones.
“She loves lots, doesn’t she Mia?”
Mia answered the little girl, “Uh-huh. I noticed that myself.” Now Mia shared a grin with Maisie, her expression much lighter than when they’d first arrived.
Turning to Jack, she laughed at his obvious confusion. “The lady repeated the word love a number of times and Maisie’s playschool is working on words right now. How often one word sounds like another but has a different first letter. And of course, has a different meaning.”
Glad to see Mia was over her earlier funk, Jack grinned. “That’s why she’s into rhymes.”
“Yes. Maisie’s a smart little cookie, aren’t you doll face?” Mia turned to the child perched in her booster chair, paying attention to the discussion. “Her teacher calls her precocious and very sweet, she plays well with the others and they all love her.”
Laughing along with the girls, catching the joke when Mia exaggerated the word love, Jack didn’t know when the sky had ever been bluer or the sun brighter.
***
Mia didn’t hold it against Jack for mistaking the door of the bathroom with the bedroom. What drove her insane was the fact that he’d seen her at her worst, bumbling around like a clown, legs in the air, her hair streaming over her face, while she tried not to drown.
What woman who’s attracted to any guy wants him to laugh when she’s naked? And laugh, he did.
His handsome face had broken into smiles of pure glee and even Maisie had giggled about her struggles. When they’d gotten dressed together, Maisie explained about their rhymes and how her bite me remark had fit in.
That’s why they’d been laughing outside the bathroom. Oh!
Understanding the joke softened the blow, but she’d still felt awkward with Jack… until now. Looking at him confidently leaning back in the booth, arm up over the top and his knee bent on the seat, his relaxed pose made her settle down, and she began questioning him about their trip.
While the girls had gotten ready, he’d taken the last of their belongings to the van out back and had even waited to bring her final suitcases down before they went to eat. Since his plans were to leave as soon as lunch was over, he’d parked the stuffed van in the café’s lot in the back.
Although Mia had driven the cumbersome moving vehicle from the rental place over to their apartment, she’d dreaded the thought of having to drive it on the freeway all the way to Maricopa.
Having Jack arrive to take over had solved that problem and was another reason she could relax now that her work was finished.
Earlier in the week, she’d sold her own car, an older Camry, with intentions of leasing a new Rav4 Hybrid once she arrived home. She’d need her own wheels to get around, visits to the hospital and her parents, and her dream had always been to drive a Hybrid.
Not one to carry on about carbon footprints in an annoying way, even though Jassie had often teased her about her strong views, nevertheless she worried about the environment for Maisie’s generation and wanted to do all she could as a responsible adult.
Scientists were full of doomsday predictions, ones that made total sense if one did the research. As a responsible individual, she couldn’t ignore feelings of panic whenever she thought of the future. Shaking off the doom and gloom, she zeroed in on Jack coloring a picture with Maisie.
“Thanks for arranging the last of our belongings, Jack. There wasn’t much room left. If you hadn’t reorganized the van, I imagine Maisie and I would have been sharing the front with a lot more of the suitcases and boxes.”
“No problem. It was easier for me to shift things around.” He smiled nicely, probably hiding his horror at the way she’d stuffed things in any old way. “I imagined you’d have a lot more.”
“Oh, there was, but I had one of the staff, who’s moving there too, bring all the material, sewing machines and business stuff with him.”
Maisie piped up and added, “I like Mark. He’s my fwiend.”
“He likes you too, Maisie. Finish coloring your picture so we can bring it with us for our new fridge.”
“Okay, Mia.” Maisie went back to sorting out her crayons.
Mia saw that Jack waited for her to continue, and so she did.
“Usually, I have women working with me. But one of the girls had a cousin who recently immigrated, and she wanted to help him get settled. She asked if I’d hire him.
He’s a wonderful seamstress, has fabulous ideas, and once he came onboard, we’ve worked so well together that after I told him about the move, he offered to come along.
He left a week ago with the business load and is waiting for when I arrive.
He’s found a place to live in Maricopa and will begin working with me as soon as we can get set up. That’s where you come in.”
“Me?”
“Uh-huh. Angie said you’d be renovating the larger casita for me and Maisie to live in.
I’d hoped that the storeroom behind could be made into a workshop where I could continue my business.
That way, Maisie would be able to stay with me most days, or with Angie, and we could make it a comfortable arrangement. ”
“Angie kind of led me to believe that with her in the hospital, you could just stay in the big house while my crew and I get busy on the casita. But I can get a couple of the guys to fix up that old barn. First, I’d have to be sure it was worth the effort, it’s kind of rundown.
If not, we could build something new without much difficulty. There’s plenty of space.”
“Did she ever have the fence installed around the pool?”
“We did that as soon as she came up with the idea of inviting you to stay after Jasmine passed. I’m a little out of touch with the whole story. Who was Jasmine, and why was her death so traumatic?”
“She was Maisie’s mother and my best friend.”