"Well, how did the apple picking go?" she asked, washing the last dish in the sink. She rinsed it off and put it in the dish drainer.
Kenny walked over to her and handed her a bag. "We got you and Bette a fried apple pie."
"Oh, that sounds delicious. Thank you!"
"We also got a lot of apples," groaned Remington as he deposited two large bags of apples onto the table. "And I've got more in the car."
Her mouth dropped open at the sight of the enormous bags of apples. It was an assortment of red, green, and yellow. By the time he was done bringing them in, the entire table was full. "Why did you pick so many apples?"
"And fried pies," added Kenny.
Zoe blushed, looking down and then back up, batting her mother's blue eyes at Kerrie. "We didn't know how big a bushel was, so we got two just in case."
"And in case you're wondering how much a bushel weighs, it's about 45 lb per. We didn't think to Google first," quipped Remington with a roll of his eyes.
Kerrie blinked a few times. "So, what you're telling me is you picked almost 100 lb of apples?"
"And fried pies," added Kenny.
The back door opened, and Bette stepped in. She looked at the table and then around the room. "Why are there so many apples?
"And fried pies," chimed Kerrie, Kenny, Zoe, and Remington simultaneously. Clara stayed stoically silent but appeared to be repressing a smile.
They burst out laughing, except for a confused Bette and Clara.
Kerrie answered her. "Your daughter didn't know what a bushel was, so she bought two, and now we have almost 100 lb of apples."
"I wanted to make sure we had plenty," shrugged Zoe.
"Well, you definitely did that," said Clara.
Bette cocked her head. "Mother, I didn't realize you were coming over."
Kerrie quickly changed the topic back to apples. "How about we take some to the guys? We can see if Elaine has anything to dip them in, like honey or peanut butter."
Bette nodded, dropping her purse on the counter. "I think that sounds like a good idea. Don't worry, honey. We'll figure out something. How long did it take y'all to pick all these?"
Zoe looked sheepishly at Remington. "Well, Kenny and I helped with the first 15 minutes before I took him back to Remington's car to sit in the air conditioning. Then I helped Remington for ten more minutes, but I got tired. So, he finished picking the rest while Kenny and I listened to music and drank apple cider slushies."
"To answer your question, it takes an hour and 10 minutes after everyone ditches you," interjected Remington.
"I'm so sorry we ditched you, baby," Zoe said in a sickly sweet voice. She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek, prompting Kenny to walk over and do the same to the other cheek.
Remington smiled sheepishly, his cheeks reddening. "Okay, okay, apology accepted. I know when I'm beaten with you two."
It had been about four months since the kickball game. There were a few rocky moments at the start. Kerrie had a difficult time not slipping into old patterns concerning emotions and saying no. The idea of telling others she didn't have time to do extra things like take men to evening meetings was foreign. She hadn't realized how deep she had gotten. It took a lot of courage and putting her pride to the side, but she admitted she needed help from someone outside of her immediate circle. She reached out to a colleague at the women's section of Turtle Grove, a woman named Jade Williams, and asked if she could help. She and Jade spent a few evenings after work going over Kerrie's control issue and helped her see things with more clarity.
She also started going to AA again. It had been rough when she stood up for the first time in months and said that she had come to realize that she had thought maybe she had kicked the whole addiction thing but that she had realized that she was still an addict. She was just doing it in different ways. She had thrown herself headfirst into caring for everything and everyone around her, because it was a lot easier to focus on other people than looking inward where it hurt the most, where it was more raw. Those first couple of months were difficult, but she was happier and better for it now.
When Mabel noticed Kerrie's progress, she approached her again about allowing Kenny more freedom, and after some thinking, she accepted that she had been selfish, keeping him tied to the house and tied to her. Just because he had had some health issues didn't mean he had to stop living, and sitting in front of the television to watch SpongeBobwasn't living. So for two days a week, Kenny went to the day program. She also had been more lenient about him leaving the house without her, like going with Zoe. She still made sure he was with someone responsible, but his little outings seemed to transform him. New life had been breathed into him. He had more energy, and a brightness had entered his eyes that Kerrie didn't realize had dimmed.
"Hey, Remington, do you want to help me start the grill?"
"Grill? I thought it was meatloaf night," said Bette, as Missy walked through the back door. "Missy? What are you doing here? What's going on?"
Kerrie glanced over to Zoe and nodded.
The young blonde yelled, motioning her arms wildly, which Kenny tried to mimic, "Surprise!"
