Bitty’s head swivels to me so fast it’s a wonder she isn’t dizzy. “You want me to do it?” she asks me, and you know it sounds timid, which isn’t like her. All three of the Stooges are bright, forward, and rather naughty. Under-confidence isn’t one of their traits.
“Yes, I do.” I wait for her reply. Amelia huffs and walks away. That’s when I notice Mia has entered the kitchen at some point and is watching all this happening.
Mia gives me a small smile before stepping closer, “Wow, what a compliment that is, Bitty. Being an honorary mother for the morning. What are you going to wear? You’ll have to make sure Victoria has something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. That is the mother-of-the-bride's responsibility.”
Bitty takes a deep breath, then turns to me with a huge, bright smile. “I’d be honored, Victoria. I’ll make sure you have everything you need. Let me know what time and where you want me to be. I’ll get a nice bouquet for you to carry. It’s my gift as a mother to a daughter.”
“That would be great, Bitty. Thank you so much. You know Bethy would have been with me as a sister, but you as a mother figure means such a lot to me.”
Bitty has tears in her eyes, and she hugs me fiercely before walking out of the kitchen with purpose. Mia looks at me and grins. “Well, I think you got her out of her funk.”
Both Mia and I turn when Amelia mutters something under her breath, but Mia steps closer and I see her hands clench, so something has pissed her off.
“You think you can do better, Amelia? You want to take the moment of happiness from Bitty, just because you can? Don’t piss me off more than you and Sybil have already.”
Amelia turns to Mia with shock on her face, and I’m thinking I should have brought the popcorn. I lean on the counter and wait to see what develops.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Amelia snaps, stepping a little closer to Mia.
“It means you undervalue Bitty. I’ve watched you throw her ideas in the trash every time she makes one. You’ve not noticed, you or Sybil that your friend is stepping away from you. It won’t take much longer before she leaves the clubhouse and the club,” Mia is gasping for breath because she’s said it all so fast.
“I don’t know what you mean?”
Mia slams her hands onto her hips and leans forward, so she’s inside Amelia’s personal space. “You need to come with me and have a talk. In fact, get Sybil and let’s make it a real talk. Meat, take charge of the kitchen.”
Meat, who had said nothing but hadn’t missed a thing, grunts and nods in response. It’s enough for Mia. She storms out of the kitchen with Amelia right behind her. I look at Meat and give a wide-eyed look, but can’t resist asking, “You want some popcorn?”
Meat stares at me a moment before a tiny tick of his top lip tells me he’s smiling, then he grunts and turns back to the job at hand. I turn and make my way back to the office where I’m going to tell Specs to watch the kitchen camera feedback, and yeah, I grab a bag of popcorn out of the cabinet for him.
The popcorn worked as Specs shoveled a handful into his mouth while watching Mia’s showdown with Amelia. He could watch what’s happening now, but we know not to invade spaces we don’t belong in.
The code works and Specs is delighted. My first job, and I did it well. I’m thankful that I’ve made a good first impression. Because of that, Specs tells me he is handing over the monitoring of all the club's businesses to me. Starting Monday, they will be my responsibility, and I will report to him if anything untoward happens. Otherwise, they are my babies to coddle. His words, not mine.
After collecting Corey from school, we go back to the apartment. “Okay, we are moving out on Saturday after the wedding. Let’sget things packed up and ready to move. We can do a few things each evening. Old clothes we’ll take to the Swap Shop. I think we can ask Sentry if he’ll pick them up, if we have a lot of things to give him for the shop,” I mumble, more to myself than Corey.
“Mom, what about toys? I have some things I don’t play with and I’d give them to Sentry.”
“That’s a good idea, Corey. I’m sure the shop would take them. Let’s have just a half-hour packing before Chaos arrives. He’s taking us to the house so we can walk around and see what it’s like.”
Corey rushes to his bedroom, and I open the kitchen cabinets to check what is mine to take, and what I need to leave because it was here when I leased the place.
An hour and thirty minutes later, Corey is running around the house shouting out when he sees something he particularly likes. I’m amazed at how much furniture has been left inside the house. The kitchen is fully stocked and has a small kitchen table and four chairs. The dining area has an eight-seater table and chairs, and honestly, it’s immaculate. It’s oak I think, and is highly polished. The woman who owned the house loved it, and she loved everything in it. It must have been hard to walk away and leave everything behind.
I must have said the last out loud as Chaos replies. “She took photograph albums, some glassware, and other trinkets she loved. You know special ones to her. She didn’t want to spend the rest of her days here alone, but sent a message that she hoped we would love the place as much as she did.”
Nodding, even with a tear in my eye as I feel emotional for the lady that I didn’t know, but had the kindest of hearts.
I am getting more and more excited as I enter each room. Laundry, mudroom, living room, dining room, beautiful welcoming kitchen, and that is just downstairs.
Once we walk outside, I can see Chaos spending time in the yard. He’s pointing out where he’s going to place a bike shed, a double garage and a shed for gardening equipment. He even asks where I’d like him to build a cookout area.
“Dad, there is a woman standing outside the house. She’s spying on us!” Corey is peeking through the sheers, and I giggle a little but place my hand over my mouth to try trapping it.
“That’ll be Mrs. Lincoln. She’s the nosy neighbor. Don’t be rude to her, Corey, if she says anything to you. She’s just a miserable old woman who has nothing better to do than mess with people,” Chaos states, as if it’s just a matter of fact.
“Okay, Dad,” Corey replies, and calling Chaos Dad has come easier and easier to him. I’m loving it when he calls me Mom.
Corey picks the bedroom he wants with an adjoined bathroom. I tell him he has to keep it clean, or he’ll be in big trouble. He gives me a huge nod and a sincere “I will, Mom,” which has my heart flipping in my chest.
