“I am, too.” She gave him one more kiss then followed behind Avery.
A little while later, breakfast dishes done, Devlin off on his rounds protecting the community, Tresia changed into the extra clothes she’d brought with her and called out through the open kitchen door. “Avery! Come on inside.”
“Okay, Mama!” She jumped off the swing as it was just starting to rise and landed gracefully on her feet, then picked up Cecily, who she rested against the tree trunk, and ran toward the porch. She stopped on the bottom step, her face registering confusion. “Why do you look like that?”
“Like what?”
“You got a thing on your head.” She pointed to her own head as she climbed the steps and entered the kitchen.
Tresia followed, smoothing her hand over the bandana she’d tied around her head. “This? It’s so my hair doesn’t get dirty and stays out of my face.”
Avery grinned. “And you’re wearing pants. I never seen a lady wearing pants.”
She glanced down at the trousers she’d put on and laughed. “I am, aren’t I?”
“How come?”
“We’re going to clean today and I don’t want to ruin any of my good clothes.”
Avery looked around the kitchen and frowned. “It’s already clean.”
“Not this house. My house. At least where I used to live. You know my store?”
Avery nodded.
“There’s an apartment over it and it’s mine again. The store, too.”
A curious expression came over her features. “Are you gonna live there after you marry Daddy?”
She’d always known Avery was smart, but not this smart. “No, my girl. I’ll live here with you and your daddy. I’m thinking of renting it out.”
“What does renting mean?”
“Someone will live there and pay me money to do so, but before I can do that, I’ll have to clean it. Make sure it’s presentable.”
“Okay.” She tilted her head to the side. “Do I have to clean, too?”
“Only if you want to help me, but you don’t have to. I have a lot of books and things in my old room. You could draw if you want.” She bent down and gently took Avery’s chin between her finger and thumb. “I think I might have some watercolors, too, but I’m not sure if the paint is still good.”
They left the house, carrying all the things they needed to clean, and cut across the town square, then walked around to the rear of Sullivan’s Emporium. Climbing the steps to the balcony which ran the length of the building, Tresia shifted the items in her arms and fished through her drawstring purse. She pulled out the key and unlocked the door. After she opened it, she stopped short, unprepared for the mess Arnold and Willetta had left her.
She should have known it would look like this, judging by the condition the store had sunk into. It didn’t look like either one of them had swept or mopped…or even done the dishes, as the sink was overflowing with used, dirty plates and glasses, some withdried food still on them. They hadn’t taken out the trash, either, which overflowed the bin.
Most of all, she wasn’t prepared for the smell, a combination of sweat, and Arnold’s cologne, and rotting food. It brought tears to her eyes, but she wasn’t sure if it was just the smell or the sheer disappointment of seeing what Arnold and Willetta had done to the home she’d lived in all her life. She thought it might be a bit of both. She inhaled through her mouth to prevent retching.
Avery held her nose closed with her fingers. “Pew! It stinks in here!”
“I know.” Tresia rushed into the apartment and started flinging back the curtains and opening the windows in the small, but well-appointed kitchen, allowing fresh air to circulate. She did the same in the parlor, and the bedrooms, too, until all the windows were open and the stench didn’t seem so bad. She came back into the kitchen and noticed Avery hadn’t moved from the doorway.
“You don’t want to come in?”
She shook her head. “Uh uh.”
She couldn’t say she blamed her. If she didn’t have to do this, she wouldn’t. “All right. You can sit right there.” She pointed through the open door to a chair on the balcony. “I’ll bring you a book.”
She left the room, wanting so much to hold her own nose, and found a book in the bookshelf, one with pictures of birds for Avery to look through. “Will you be all right out here?”
Avery nodded and opened the book.
