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"I told you to go to your room. Give me a few minutes."
I bent down and reached into the snack cupboard, producing a chocolate bar I'd hidden, and held it up for Grace to take, which she did with a smile and disappeared. I listened as I heard her climb the stairs and then shut her bedroom door. Then I turned to Valerie.
"Care to tell me what it is you are doing here?" I questioned.
Valerie glanced around the kitchen and then met my eyes. "I need some money," she whispered, glancing over to the room my mother was in.
I looked over at the woman whose hair was perfectly styled and never went a month without a colour touchup. She wore a designer suit and had the latest Louis Vuitton shoes on her feet. She even carried one of their top bags over her arm. "You need money?" I questioned; not sure I heard her right.
She nodded. "Some things have come up."
I wasn't sure what to say. I looked around the at thousands of dollars in materials I'd had to purchase for this renovation and wondered if she'd lost her damn mind. I was the one who was responsible for Grace and making sure she had a roof over her head. I had no responsibility to pay this woman. The judge hadn’t even forced her to pay child support since I'd been the sole provider to the family.I was damn lucky that my lawyer fought to get me out of paying for her comfortable lifestyle.
I cleared my throat. "Please tell me you are kidding."
"No, I need some money."
"I'm sorry there, but the bank of Zach is closed. It closed the day you bedded the nineteen-year-old neighbour, remember."
"Zach, please. This is important."
"So were lawyers’ fees, but somehow you scraped those up while going behind my back and trotting around town with that boy toy of yours. Why don't you go ask him for some money?"
Valerie looked at me, a funny look on her face. She swallowed hard and shoved her hands in her pockets. "Don't be ridiculous. He doesn't have any money."
"I'm being ridiculous? The only one who was ridiculous was you, leaving me for him. Now, I said it before, and I'll say it again. I think you need to have your head checked."
"Does that mean you will not help me out?"
I chuckled under my breath before growing serious. "That, my dear, is exactly what it means. You'll have to find the next fool who will cover your expenses. Now, I need to get dinner on," I said, turning and pulling out another frozen package of chicken and throwing it in the microwave to thaw it.
The room was silent, and when I turned around, Valerie stood there looking at me. "Please, Zach, would you reconsider?"
I just shook my head. I grabbed her purse from where she’d left it on the counter and shoved it into her hand. "You've got to go," I said, turning her around and leading her to the front door. I didn't give her time to protest. Instead, I opened the door, ushered her out, and then locked the door behind her and made my way back into the kitchen where I took a bit and cooked the chicken again, this time not burning it.
Iris
"I had Thomas set up the backyard with some picnic tables and chairs for today's story time," Trinity said, coming out of the kitchen and into the store. "I think it will be nice for you and the kids to sit out back today. It's beautiful out there."
I smiled and nodded. "Yes, it’s one of the nicer days we've had lately. I spent so much time inside during the summer organizing the house that I want to soak up as much of the sunshine as I can before winter."
"Thomas is trying to get another permit for an extension on this building, but the town is giving us trouble. He said if worse comes to worse, he’ll build a room under his workshop for us to use during the winter."
I hadn't even thought about winter and what that would mean for the reading program, since we only started it a few weeks earlier.
"I fear I’m just outgrowing this space for all I want to do," Trinity said, grabbing a pile of books from a box and heading toward the shelves to place them.
"Would you consider moving if need be?"
Trinity shook her head. "No, if you remember, this was my aunt’s bookstore before mine. I'd never give it up." She smiled.
“Maybe we could clean out one of the storage areas in the back there as an option.”
Trinity thought for a moment and nodded. “Could work. Then I could use the area under Thomas’s workshop as storage. You might be onto something there.”
Just then, the door opened and in walked three kids. "Hi, Iris. We are here for story time."
"I guess that is my cue." I smiled, reaching for the book I'd chosen for today’s story hour, along with my coffee.
