7
Bing fought the urge to lick his lips. Dinner smelled wonderful. A hit of peppery spice and baked bread teased his senses.
“Oh, goodie!” Djoni exclaimed. “Chili with noodles. Yum!”
Amoretta nodded vigorously.
As far as Bing was concerned, chili was the perfect food on a cold autumn day.
“Mr. Twinkle, would you pray over our meal?” Gigget asked.
He was startled by the request but honored as well. “I’d be glad to. Do we hold our own hands, or do we hold our neighbor’s?” he asked.
Gigget grinned. “I’ve never tried the second one you mentioned. Maybe we should. What do you think, children?”
“Yes!”
Bing found each one of his thick hands held by a tiny one. The trusting squeeze from Amoretta, her tenderness and love so freely given by such a simple gesture, made him almost want to cry. “Heavenly Father, we come to You on a cold evening, grateful for the warm hospitality of this home and the food set before us. May the food be helpful to our bodies and our conversation a balm to our souls. Amen.” He raised his head and caught Gigget’s gaze. Tears sparkled in her eyes. Had he prayed wrong?
The kids still held his hands. He gave each a tender squeeze. “You might need those hands to eat your food unless your mother’s magical cooking allows it to flow into your mouth unaided. Oh, but she did provide spoons so I guess we should use them, right?”
The children giggled and released his hands.
Soon the bowls were full and sliced bread with melting butter was on a plate next to it. Bing picked up his spoon and dug in. The first bite exploded with flavor. “This has to be the best chili I’ve ever tasted,” Bing said.
Gigget’s cheeks grew pink. “Thank you. The tomatoes and onions were harvested from our garden last year.”
“That must be what sets this apart,” Lulu chimed in. “There’s nothing like fresh veggies to make the food taste even better. Of course, Gigget has always been a wonderful cook.” Lulu spooned chili into her mouth and moaned in pleasure.
Conversation was limited as everyone focused on eating and savoring every bite of the food set before them.
“Don’t eat too much,” Gigget warned. “I have fresh pie for dessert.”
Djoni bounced in his chair. “Yay!”
“It won’t be long now, I’m sure,” Bing said to Djoni.
Djoni beamed at him with happiness disproportionate to the thought of pie. Unless, perhaps, Gigget’s pies were that amazing.
Oh, he hoped so.
“Everything was wonderful, Gigget,” Tink said as he rubbed his substantial stomach. “I believe I still have room for pie.”
Lulu nudged her husband, “After three bowls of chili?” She turned to Gigget. “It really was good.”
The women cleared the table.
Gigget brought out an apple pie with streusel topping. Did she know it was his all-time favorite?
Lulu brought the vanilla ice cream.
“Pie-a-la mud,” he said.
“Pie a la mode,” Tink corrected as he shook his head.
“Maybe for you, but all I know is that once the ice cream starts to melt and mix with the pie...it gets a bit—muddy.” Bing winked at Gigget hoping she could take a joke.
“Mode or mud, I don’t care. I want pie,” Djoni exclaimed.
“Me, too!” Amoretta chimed in.
Soon a large slice of apple pie with a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream sat before him. Bing inhaled. “I love the smell of cinnamon, sugar, and apples. Quintessential fall to me.”
“Not pumpkin spice lattes?” Lulu asked.
Bing shook his head. “Never liked coffee, lattes, or whatever, and I’m fine with a good pumpkin pie as long as it is buried in whipped cream. Who ever thought of making a vegetable like pumpkin into a pie anyway? On the surface it is absurd.”
“My teacher told us about sweet-potato pie some people eat,” Djoni said.
“What about pecan pie—that’s a nut!” Tink offered with a grin.
Gigget giggled. “I guess if you add enough sugar to anything it will taste fine. I’ve never had the heart to eat a piece of mincemeat pie. My grandmother offered it once and I turned it down. Now I wonder what I might have been missing. Sometimes the strangest stuff that doesn’t sound good can be surprisingly tasty.”
“True. I guess that’s why God gave some people the imagination and skill to create unusual foods,” Lulu suggested.
“This is possibly the best apple pie I’ve ever had,” Bing said.
“Thanks. We collect the apples from our own trees out back. They are small but delicious,” Gigget said. “Mmmmm…”
Bing dug into his pie. “Mmmmm…is right.”
“Would anyone like another piece?” Gigget offered.
Bing shook his head. “Not for me. This was a wonderful treat. Now I insist on washing the dishes.” He gathered empty plates and brought them to the kitchen. After her hard work in preparing a meal, it was the least he could do.
Amoretta and Djoni grabbed towels to dry the dishes and put them away.
Their cheerful chatter filled a place in his soul that he’d never known was empty.
~*~
Gigget’s heart warmed for the man washing dishes and interacting with her kids.
“He’s a good man,” Lulu whispered.
“I’ve been acquainted with him a few years and agree with my wife.” Tink nodded. “He’s a solid man of integrity.” Tink took a sip of water.
“I only met him about a week and a half ago. But he’s been in this area for a while? Even attends our church?”
“Yes, but he was in the Army and away for some time I believe,” Lulu stated.
“He’s still in the National Guard,” Tink added.
“Perhaps that’s the reason he’s not intimidated by Fez.” Gigget glanced at Bing, who dabbed soap bubbles on Amoretta’s nose.
“Fez has been bothering you again?” Tink asked. “Why didn’t you say anything to us?”
“It happened at the Farmer’s Market and Bing took care of him. He was so respectful of the children and in the way he handled it,” Gigget said.
“They fought at the Farmer’s market?” Lulu said. “How come you never told me?”
Gigget sighed. “Perhaps because neither threw a punch. It was a war of words. And Bing prevailed against a bigger man who was definitely either in a bad mood—or drunk.”
“Humph,” Tink said. “Bing can be sly, which sounds bad, but I really mean it in a good way. He’s not a violent man but he is trained in self-defense. I have no doubt he could have held his own to defend your honor.”
Gigget watched the tableau in the kitchen as the kids chatted with Bing and the dishes got clean. Overwhelmed with emotion, she hadn’t even bothered to remind them that she had a dishwasher. No one had ever done dishes for her.
The children led Bing back into the dining area.
“The dishes are all done, milady,” Bing said.
The children giggled.
“It was a delightful meal but I really should be heading home to get my beauty rest before church tomorrow.” He winked as he patted his hair. “Thank you for a lovely evening and the loan of your two best helpers here.” He glanced down at the kids who gazed up at him with worshipful adoration.
“Do you have to go?” Amoretta asked. “Can’t you read us a bedtime story?”
“I need to leave and I’m sure your mother loves listening to you read those stories to her after her hard day of work.”
The kids ran to their mom. “Can we read you a story, Mom?” Djoni asked.
“After your baths. Go on upstairs and get started on that. I’ll be up shortly to make sure you got all the twigs and leaves out of your hair.” She ruffled Djoni’s head before the kids scampered away.
Gigget stood. “Thank you again for all your help.”
Bing handed her the phone. He opened the app. “Here are the two cameras. You’ll get a little beep notification if there’s motion and it will record the sound and video for you.”
“Wow. Thank you. One meal doesn’t seem like sufficient payment.” Gigget set the phone down.
“I’m only doing what God has asked me to do—but it was my distinct pleasure to do it for you,” Bing said.
“Well said.” Tink offered as he gave Bing a pat on the back. “We’ll walk out with you, Bing. Thanks for the lovely meal, Gigget.”
Lulu hugged Gigget and whispered in her ear, “Reel him in before he wiggles off the hook.”
Gigget locked the doors and wiped off the kitchen table. After sweeping the floor she gazed at her clean kitchen. How many times did she go to bed too tired to handle the dishes? She grabbed her phone and trudged up the stairs with far less energy than her children.
Once the kids were settled, Gigget got ready to sleep. She curled up in her cozy twin bed and wondered what it would be like to be loved by a man like Bing.
She set that dream aside. Dream or fantasy, she had no room in her life for heartache. As good as Bing was, that kind of commitment required respect that would last a lifetime. Bing was just being nice. Tears dampened her pillow as she drifted to sleep.