AllFreeNovel
Share Us
As he slid off the counter and headed toward the door, I watched him retreat. He was a delicious looking man. Though I wasn’t ready to jump back into the sexual bandwagon yet, at least I had learned that it was okay to date again.
* * *
By seven,we were ready for dinner, but upon viewing the table, Grams informed me that noproperMacPherson set the table without proper placemats and napkins. So, I dug through my linen closet until I found five placemats and four napkins. The napkins were bigger than Fancypants, so I found a small washcloth that would work for him and explained that he was to use it to wipe off his mouth when he was done eating.
The doorbell rang.
“Shall I watch the dinner while you greet our guests?” Grams asked.
I took off my apron. “Please. The bread is in the oven, wrapped in foil. If you could stir the sauce, I’ll drain the spaghetti when I get back.”
She took over as I hurried to answer the door.
I had changed into a dark green sundress that complemented my hair. Grams was wearing a circle skirt, belted over a pale blue satin blouse. I prayed she wouldn’t drop any spaghetti on it, but then again, the woman was fastidious and I doubt if she’d ever spilled a drop of anything in her life.
May was wearing a camel-colored linen pantsuit that looked both breathable and yet chic, and Bran was wearing a pair of black slacks and a tidy polo shirt, with his hair slicked back into a manbun. He was carrying flowers, and May carried the pie she’d promised to make.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” I said. “Come in.”
It had occurred to me, as I navigated an early evening discussion on manners with my Grams, that, while we probably would have a great deal to talk about, any conversation with her was going to be fraught with me worrying about what I said, or how I said it. I wondered if I’d ever feel relaxed around her—but she certainly made my relationship with my mother seem more comfortable than I had ever thought possible.
“Come in, please.” I ushered them in, grateful to see them both. I herded them into the kitchen, to where Grams was still stirring the sauce.
“Grams, I’d like you to meet my neighbor, May Anderson, and her son, Bran. May and Bran, this is my great-grandmother, Morgance MacPherson.” I motioned for Grams to hand me the stirring spoon.
She moved over to greet May and Bran while I drained the noodles and poured them into a serving bowl, then I added the sauce and tossed them lightly, trying to avoid splattering myself with scalding sauce. I set the spaghetti in the center of the table, next to the salad. Then, I retrieved the bread from the oven, transferring the slices of the baguette to a tray.
Bran greeted Grams, then helped me by filling the goblets with merlot, while I filled the water glasses. Fancypants flew in and asked me to turn on the water so he could wash his hands—which was the cutest thing to watch—and then he took his place in the high chair. It might be originally made for babies, but it was perfect for dragonettes, too.
May stared at him, then cracked a smile. “Well, now I’ve seen everything. How on earth did you decide a high chair was going to work for a dragonette?”
“We made the fortuitous discovery at a rummage sale a couple weeks back, when he landed in one and we realized that it gave him the perfect situation to eat from a plate. I bought it and we polished it up.”
Not only had I polished the metal parts, but I’d recovered the seat and back with a vinyl toile featuring dancing goats in black and white. From a distance, it looked shabby chic, rustic designer, but up close, it was easy to clean and functional.
I filled a bread-and-butter plate with spaghetti and a piece of bread, but skipped the salad. Fancypants wasn’t a vegetable connoisseur. I set the plate in front of him and he politely restrained himself from diving in before everyone else was seated. As I unfurled my napkin and placed it in my lap, I hoped that Grams wouldn’t complain about the simple dinner, but she surprised me.
“This smells absolutely amazing,” she said. “I seldom make pasta, but we eat a lot of potatoes, and I make a mince potato pie that I think you would enjoy.”
I smiled. “I love pasta. It’s comfort food. Say, Grams, who’s watching your house while you live here?”
“Your aunt Diedre. She sends her love.”
My paternal grandmother was dead, but Father’s sister had stayed in Scotland, and she had never been to the US, even for his funeral. Diedre had moved in with Grams once Grandma died, having never married or moved out on her own.
“Grams, why hasn’t Diedre ever lived away from home?” I knew as little about my aunt as I did my father.
Grams hesitated a moment. “I don’t want to make your guests uncomfortable,” she said. “Some family secrets can be difficult to hear?—”
“Don’t mind us,” May said. “We aren’t here to judge anyone. If it’s private, maybe you’d better wait until you’re alone with your great-grandmother to ask, Elphyra.”
Grams stared at May for a moment, then shook her head. “I trust you. I’m extremely good at sizing up people, and I haven’t been around for over a hundred years without learning how—and who—to trust.” She turned to me. “Your aunt Diedre has a different father than your father did. She’s part succubus.”
And just like that, she opened a can of worms.
CHAPTERFOUR
The silenceafter her revelation was deafening. I stared at Grams. May stared at Grams. Bran sat in startled silence, but he—too—stared at Grams. Fancypants was the only one not paying attention. His face was deep in his plate of spaghetti.
