AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You made Nana’s pierogi.” Lily eyed the steaming bowl of potato-and-cheese dumplings suspiciously. “You only ever make them for my birthday.”
Clementine finished panfrying the last round of half-moons and dumped them in the bowl with the rest of the batch. “I had the day off. Brittany covered the store.” The pile of blistered dough hiding a creamy center of mashed potatoes and sharp cheddar looked like a lot for two people, but Lily would eat them for days until they were gone. Clementine scraped the last of the butter and shallots from the pan into the dish, the pink bits of onion looking like candy sprinkles atop a dessert.
Lily’s brows knitted at the center, Tyler’s sharp gaze hiding inside her hazel eyes. “That still doesn’t sound like you. You usually use your day off to hit the gym early, then lie on the couch with a book. And then we order pizza.”
Clementine shrugged and tossed a piece of trout into the empty skillet. There was enough residual butter in the nonstick pan to get the job done. “I thought you might like them tonight. I had a craving.” This wasn’t a lie—Clementine always had a craving for Mama’s pierogi, handed down for generations and an instant comfort with their buttery taste and contrasting textures. One bite and she was transported to childhood visits to her grandma’s house, where pierogi were frequent on Fish Fridays, you had to wash and dry the dishes by hand and everyone said grace before anyone could touch a bite to eat.
Lily set the table with two plates, a small one for her—being a vegetarian, she would only eat the pierogi—and a larger one for Clementine. “I took George and Gracie to Hobbs’s house today.” Her voice was quiet, not full of the usual joy she typically had when somebody she’d been fostering got placed. Lily had nearly thrown a party when Roscoe went to a retired couple who lived in a small cottage near a lake, and when Benedict had been adopted by a family with a five-year-old boy whose personality matched the dog’s. Ever since she’d come home from work today, she’d been holed up in her room, her answers to Clementine’s questions brief and flat.
“Oh, right.” Clementine pretended like she’d forgotten about that as she squeezed some lemon over her trout. “How’d that go?”
“Good.” Lily set out napkins and forks. “They’re going to foster them for now. Hannah is definitely a good choice. She already has plans to take them both on daily walks. When I got there she was really excited to show me the matching pink harnesses. Nobody’s sure George will actually walk in it, but if Gracie goes, he probably will.”
Clementine smiled to herself, picturing little George, all dolled up in one of his sweaters, pink harness showing off his moon-colored eyes. Gracie would probably strain against the leash until she was trained and George would keep her in check, his little legs going fast to keep up.
“Are you picturing it?” Lily got a half smirk on her face.
“Totally.” Clementine dumped her fish onto her plate and settled into her chair.
Lily brought the big bowl of pierogi and began sliding them onto her plate, one at a time, like they were precious treasure.
“How did Hobbs feel about it? Could you tell?”
“He’s definitely hesitant.”
“Doesn’t surprise me.” Clementine accepted the spoon from Lily when she was done and scooped up a few pierogi. “Hobbs clearly likes being single and the party life, from what I’ve seen.”
Lily shrugged. “I don’t know anything about that. I meant there’s something about Gracie that gets to him.” She rubbed her hand over her chest. “I don’t know how to explain it. I just know it’s there.”
“Oh, okay.” Clementine almost suggested that Lily didn’t know Hobbs like the rest of them, but then she thought about how it might be easier for Lily to see a different version of Hobbs for that very reason. Lily had no biases.
Lily stabbed a pierogi with her fork tines and bit into it. “It’s fine, though. Hannah will take care of them, no matter what.”
Clementine sliced off a piece of her own pierogi and felt guilty as she bit into it. She realized she’d been trying to soothe herself with her grandma’s food as much as she’d been trying to soothe Lily. “You really liked George and Gracie, didn’t you?”
Lily chewed, her cheek full of pierogi. She didn’t answer until she’d swallowed it down. “I like all the animals. In one way or another.”
“Yes, I know, but...” Clementine poked her fish around her plate. “You liked them a little more. You didn’t exactly rush to get them over to Hobbs’s house. He had to contact you, rather than the other way around.”
Lily stuffed another potato dumpling into her mouth. “I did that on purpose.” This time, she spoke with her mouth full. “That’s when I knew they were serious.”
“Oh.” Clementine felt the tension that had taken up residence in her shoulders for the larger part of the day start to melt like the butter in the dinner skillet. “That’s really smart.”
“But you’re right.” Lily gave her an unflinching gaze. “I did have a soft spot for George and Gracie. I kind of wanted to keep them. But I know you have your rule.” Her voice hardened at the end, just a touch, like the stale edges of a marshmallow.
The tension came rushing back. “We agreed on that rule.” This was one of those times Clementine hated parenting alone. It was bad enough that being a parent meant questioning everything that you did; when you were the only parent, you had no one to support you, keep you in check, give another point of view or just reassure you that you weren’t going insane. It was like being stuck out in the middle of the ocean with only one oar. “If you want to be able to foster any animal who needs saving, we can’t have a bunch of permanent pets.”
“I know, Mom.” Lily’s usual enjoyment over pierogi was absent tonight. She’d been right; they were mostly reserved for her birthday or Christmas because they were such a pain in the butt. Clementine had spent a good part of the day making the dough and the mashed potatoes, as well as doing the assembly and cooking, which was twofold because they both enjoyed them fried after they’d been boiled. Usually they talked about Nana, who’d passed away a couple of years ago, while they ate way more than they should. But tonight the mood was definitely muted.
In fact, the whole house was pretty quiet.
“Do we have any rescues in the house right now?” Clementine laid her fork against her plate and looked around the room, like a dog, cat or rabbit might pop out of the shadows and start barking, mewing or running in circles.
“Nope.” Lily polished off her last pierogi, scraping it around her plate to get the last of the sour cream before she shoved it in her mouth. “It’s all peaceful for once. You should be happy.”
“I’ve never complained about the rescues, Lil.” Clementine thought about it. “Well, not much. I don’t complain much.”
Lily rose, plate in hands. “It’s okay, Mom. You’ve let me have loads more pets than most mothers do. Thanks for the pierogi. I’m going to bed to read. It’s been a long day. G’night.”
