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“Two ponytails, please.”
“You look like a pony’s tail, squirt,” John said, pulling Sarah’s hair gently.
“I do not!” Sarah squeaked.
“Enough!” Lou said, just as Sadie finished working magic on the unruly mass that the child had for hair. “Go and get your breakfast.”
The dining hall was filled with twelve hungry men, all of whom wanted their breakfast. However, the line parted swiftly as one of the hands offered Sarah a plate and helped her to fill it. She sat down among the men as though she belonged and started to eat her breakfast.
“Uh, hum.” Sadie coughed gently.
Sarah laid her fork beside her plate. Every head in the room bowed as Sarah said, “Thank you, God, for this food, for the people who are here, and for our health. We pray You keep everyone safe while they do their chores today and that You will keep an eye on Mrs. Wester. Amen.”
A chorus of twelve amen’s joined hers and the commotion began anew.
Brody stepped in line behind Lou. “Which of the guys does that little nymph belong to? And where’s her mother?”
“You’re looking at her,” Lou replied, her eyes meeting his, daring him to pass some judgment about her daughter.
“Does her father live here, too?” he asked casually.
“No,” was her only reply.
Lou joked with one of the men about a date he had been on the night before, and another of the hands quizzed Sarah on her spelling homework. Then Lou rose, placed her plate and cup in the sink, and grabbed Sarah’s backpack from a post by the door. She beckoned for her daughter. “Move your butt, little lady. You’re going to miss the bus.”
“I’ll take her down, Lou,” John said, grabbing the backpack and bending over so Sarah could climb on his back. They walked over close to Lou so she could get a peck on the cheek.
“How about me?” John asked with his bottom lip poked out.
Lou smacked him soundly on the rump before she said, “Giddy up.”
The hands all laughed as John walked out the door with a false look of dejection on his face.
Through the screen door, all the hands could hear Sarah say, “I’ll give you a kiss, John.” Then she squealed with laughter.
Lou stood in the doorway and watched them walk to the end of the lane. Then she turned and started clearing the dishes from the table as Sadie loaded the industrial sized dishwasher. When the task was complete, Lou threw the towel down and looked at her watch. “Sadie, I’m going for my run. Be back in about an hour.”
“Jogging?” Brody asked.
Lou just nodded, glancing at her watch with impatience.
“Care if I join you? I want to talk to you anyway.”
She looked slightly annoyed. “Can you hurry? I have a lot of work to do today,” Lou replied.
“I’ll meet you outside in five minutes. I just need to change my shoes,” Brody said.
****
True to his word, Brody stepped off the back porch steps no more than five minutes later. Lou could almost feel his gaze on her as she stretched against the board rail fence. Her right leg was extended in the air, her ankle resting on the top rail. She bent with her nose nearly touching her knee. She flexed and extended her arms toward her toes, taking full advantage of the stretching position.
She dropped her leg. Her eyes met his, not comprehending the reason for the sudden darkening of his slate gray eyes.
“Ready?” she asked, checking her watch.
“Always,” replied Brody.
She started the jog down the trail slowly, regulating her breaths as her feet hit the path. The jogging trail took them down the dirt drive that led to the bus stop. Lou then turned and cut across a small path that led around the edge of the property. The path was well worn and wide enough for the two of them to run abreast.
