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Her voice rings in my head so loud that I cringe, but it quickly dissipates when my niece and nephew tug on my arms.
“Uncle Jude, can we go soon? I want to make cookies!” Julia squeals, and I nod, searching for her shoes. I swear, I can never find both in the same spot. There’s always one and not the other.I don’t know how they manage to lose them daily. But after a search party and a brief meltdown by Charlie, we’re in my sister’s van that she left behind for us and are on the road.
It’s a short trip, seeing as my sister doesn’t live that far out of town. And even in that time, my niece and nephew manage to spill a bag of crackers across the floor.
“Sorry, Uncle Jude,” Jordan says when I finally pull up to a house near downtown. The class is being hosted at a woman’s home and not a storefront. If this was any more formal, I probably wouldn’t have invited the kids along because no one wants three little kids being rowdy while trying to frost cookies.
“It’s fine, little dude. Let’s just pick it all up and throw it away.”
We make short work of it, me doing most of it because the kids get distracted, and Jordan shoves far too many dirty crackers into his mouth, but we finally make it out of the van.
“I’m so excited!” Julia squeals as we make our way up the front path to the house. I glance down at them and then press a kiss to Charlie’s head, who’s strapped into the carrier on my front, before knocking on the door.
“Hey, little dudes,” Lucas says when he opens the front door. Jordan beams as he runs up to him. Lucas swings him into his big arms and roughly throws him into the air. Julia gasps at the sight, tugging on Lucas’s leg, begging to be next.
“Me next. Me next!” she chants.
“Wait your turn, Julia, and Lucas, don’t throw them through the ceiling,” I say gruffly, which only makes Lucas roll his eyes and toss Jordan up higher.
“But going through the ceiling is so much fun,” he says and the kids chime in that he’s right. They love going through ceilings. My eyes roll when Lucas swings Julia and Jordan around, the two of them squealing in delight.
“I’m still the favorite uncle, right, Charlie?” I mutter as Ollie skips up next to me. He’s looking very chipper today, as usual. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him sad. Well, that’s not true. I saw him sad. Once. And I nearly cried myself from the sight.
“Hey, man. How was the move yesterday?” I ask, referring to the job he took, helping a family move into their home. Ollie works a few days a week at the sandwich shop and the rest of his time is spent moving people in and out of houses. It’s probably best for him, to be honest. He has a lot of energy to burn. And burn it, he does. I helped him once and never again. Wasn’t worth the aches and pains I had after a full day of moving heavy furniture. Felt like a ninety-year-old man after that. I needed an ice bath.
“It was fine. Normal. And goddamn. This little dude is so big now. I remember when he was just a lump.”
Ollie reaches out and grabs on to Charlie’s little hand and shakes it. His head is tilted down and he’s sucking on the lip of the carrier, coating it with drool. Fucking babies, man.
“Yep, growing like a weed, aren’t you, little guy?”
“More like a sunflower. Pretty soon he’ll be as tall as you,” Ollie says.
Charlie kicks his legs and flails his arms in response as we make our way into the kitchen. It’s a modern one for such an old house, but it makes sense if the woman here likes to bake. It has all new equipment, a double oven, a large mixer in the corner, and a square island with a variety of tools situated in the middle.
“Oh hello, young men. So glad you could make it. When Oliver said that you were bringing your babies, I was so excited,” the woman says with a wide smile. She’s older, probably in her late seventies with graying hair and glasses.
“Oh, they’re not mine,” I say with a grin. “Although I love them like they are. They’re my niece and nephews. The kidsbeing tossed around out there are Jordan and Julia, and this here is Charlie.”
As if summoned, Jordan and Julia run in and tug on my leg.
“I hit the fan!” Jordan tells me, and I scowl at Lucas who looks sheepish.
“At least it wasn’t the ceiling,” Lucas grumbles, and I roll my eyes.
But Helen doesn’t even notice, she’s bending down and smiling at Julia and Jordan, who look like they just went through a wind tunnel.
“Oh, hello there. Your uncle was just telling me all about you. I’m Helen. I’m going to help you decorate cookies today. And guess what? I bought special sprinkles just for you.”
Julia and Jordan positively vibrate with excitement over that. They do love their sprinkles. Have to ration them like drugs. One time I saw them licking sprinkles off the floor like they were vacuums. Disgusting and endearing at the same time.
My eyes settle on Helen and I blink, really taking her in. Shit, she looks so damn familiar. Maybe she’s ventured into the sandwich shop a few times for lunch, or maybe I’ve just seen her around town. But there’s something else about her that is so fucking familiar too. Just can’t put my finger on it.
“Well, thanks for letting us all join last minute,” I say.
“Oh, it’s no problem. We have a few more people showing up so we’ll get started in a minute. Do you kids want to help me take the dough out of the mixer?”
They shout that yes, they do and she leads them to the sink where they wash their hands before helping Helen scoop the dough out.
