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I snorted. They really were confident.
“Sounds like a plan,” I said as they skipped ahead of me to walk into the boutique.
Sadie was arranging some jewelry on the counter and her face lit up as the girls went over to hug her.
“What are you two up to? You look like you’ve been plotting.” Never underestimate the instincts of a mother.
They shared a look.
“We want to do something with you and Dad. A special surprise,” Riley said as her mom brushed her hair back from her face.
“Oh do you now?” she said, looking at Zoey. “What kind of surprise?”
“Mom,” Riley said, rolling her eyes. “It’s not a surprise if we tell you what it is.”
“Do you know anything about this?” Sadie said, turning her attention to me. I’d been looking at some of the racks of clothes. I bought way too much stuff from this store because I couldn’t help myself.
“It’s good, I promise. Nothing nefarious,” I said. The twins grinned at me.
Sadie looked back down at her daughters. “Okay, when is this surprise happening?” The twins jumped up and down and chattered away, telling her how happy they were and how much she was going to love it.
I thought about telling her what they were really planning, but I kept my mouth shut.
Hopefully I wouldn’t get fired.
* * *
After I tookRiley and Zoey to see the latest animated movie all the kids were excited about and then deposited them back with their mom, I hit the Yellow Roof Grocery store for a box of brownie mix, cookie dough, Oreos, and hurried back to Mark’s.
He and Honor were still working, so I did my best to make the brownies as fast as possible, but they were still in the oven when Honor came out with her bag over her shoulder.
“Wait,” I said, looking at the timer on my phone. Ten minutes still to go.
“Excuse me?” Honor said, freezing. I guess I’d been a little aggressive, but I’d been so sure that I could get these brownies baked before she came out.
“Sorry. I, um, do you have anywhere to be?” I asked.
Honor stared at me and then set her bag down on a chair. “Why?”
“Um, I need you to wait like fifteen minutes,” I said, hoping she couldn’t smell the scent of chocolate wafting from the oven.
Honor narrowed her eyes. “Again, I ask, why?”
“Fuck it, I’m making you apology brownies. This time I made them from scratch. And we need to talk about the other thing.” I didn’t want Mark to come out and hear me talking about kissing, so I kept things vague on purpose.
Honor looked right at the box I’d left on the counter.
“Okay, so I made them from a box, but they’re slutty brownies!”
Honor crossed her arms. “Do I even want to ask?”
“You’ve never had slutty brownies? They’re the best. Kind of a bitch to make, but your eyes are going to roll back in your head, trust me.”
Honor did not look like she believed me, but she did take several steps toward me.
“So yeah. I made you slutty apology brownies,” I said, and Honor let out a snort.
“I’m not sure whether to be flattered or insulted,” she said, and then she was in the kitchen, and there didn’t seem to be enough room to breathe.
