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I arrived back at the trailer, thoughts still swirling. My plan for the afternoon was to brainstorm ideas for my interview desserts, and maybe even sketch out a few concepts. As much as I'd enjoyed crafting my boozy boobies, I had to concede that Cole was right—the interviewers might not see the funny side. I needed to come up with a couple of simple yet sophisticated desserts I could quickly whip up in an unfamiliar kitchen.
Shame I couldn't just serve up mom's apple pie.
I took Anthony out to the backyard, and I heard voices and laughter drifting over from Cole's place. Curiosity piqued, I peeked over the fence and spotted Rhea and Lexi decked out in white martial arts uniforms, bowing to each other with exaggerated solemnity.
"Wow, girls, serious business!" I called out.
"It's a fight to the death," Lexi declared gravely.
"It's not!" Rhea yelled.
"Is too!" Lexi shouted back.
"Girls, girls, girls," Cole intervened, jogging out. He flashed me a quick smile before asking, "What's going on here?"
"Lexi says she's going to kill me."
Cole wrapped a comforting arm around his youngest. "Sweetheart, no one's going to kill you."
"She's being a baby," Lexi huffed, rolling her eyes. "It's just a joke."
"Sometimes it's hard to tell when you're kidding, Lex," Cole explained gently. "Your sense of humor can be a bit . . . dry. Plus, I think Rhea's dealing with some big feelings today."
"I am not." She crossed her arms and pouted.
Not wanting to intrude, I said, "Well, good to see you all."
"Wait!" Rhea called. "I need to ask you something."
Cole shook his head. “Rhea, like I said before, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Rhea wants you to come to dinner,” Lexi said.
“She does?” I couldn’t hide my surprise.
“We’re having chili,” Rhea said. “It’s the best chili ever. Daddy’s secret recipe. You gave us pie the other day and friends are supposed to share.” Tears welled up in her eyes as she continued, “That’s what everyone says but no one actually does it. No one shares.”
Cole mouthed “Sorry” at me.
"Is your dad okay with it?" I asked, not wanting to overstep.
"I don't mind," he assured me, clearly choosing his words carefully, "but I don't want you to feel like you have to."
"I’d love to join you. I think you're right, Rhea, people don't share enough, do they?"
"No. They're silly." I felt an overwhelming urge to hug her, poor thing. I wondered what had happened to make her so upset.
"Listen, girls, we can have Elara round for dinner, but I need a minute with her first, okay?"
"Go ahead," Lexi said, hands on hips.
"In private."
"Ugh, fine. Lexi, let's go into the tree house and play power outage."
"Ooohhhh, yeah!"
