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No such luck. She turned the corner… and her mouth gaped open. Flour coated the counter, kitchen island, and was even splattered on the front of the cabinets. And was that egg white dripping onto the counter?
“Ahem.”
The girls’ heads snapped around. Cameron covered her mouth. Chocolate and flour streaked Lizzie and Mariana’s faces and both girls’ lips were red from… was that strawberries? “Oh, Mom. We didn’t think you were up.”
“I wasn’t. Until I heard giggles from the kitchen. What are you doing?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Lizzie threw her arms in the air, gesturing toward the stove. Batter flew off the spatula in her hand and splattered onto the front of the fridge. “Oops,” she said and she and Mariana broke down into giggles again. “We’re making pancakes.”
“I can see that. How about I finish cooking while you two clean up this mess?”
“They’re about done.” Mariana gestured to a plate. There were a few oddly shaped things stacked in a pile. Cameron guessed those could pass as pancakes. “We wanted to make breakfast for you… to thank you.”
Cameron didn’t have the heart to criticize the girls when they’d obviously tried very hard, so she sat at the table. “That’s really nice. Next time, I’d love to cook with you, okay?”
Cameron’s mom joined them right as the girls finished frying the pancakes, and then the four of them enjoyed breakfast. There was no sign of the illness that had driven Mariana here last night. As a matter of fact, as Cameron studied Mariana closer, Cameron didn’t see any blotches on her skin at all.
Mariana wasn’t sick. Why had she pretended? Was it so that Alex wouldn’t leave? Shoot, if Cameron thought that would work, she’d have faked sick a long time ago.
As soon as the girls finished eating, Lizzie hopped up. “Come on, Mariana, let’s go play in my room.”
“Hold on a minute, girls. This mess has to be cleaned up.”
“Oh yeah, right.” Lizzie rushed over to the counter and started throwing dishes into the sink. It wasn’t quite how Cameron would have done it, but it would suffice.
Cameron whispered in Mariana’s ear. “Can I talk to you a minute?”
Mariana exchanged glances with Lizzie and then nodded. Cameron led her into the living room and pointed to the couch. “Have a seat.”
Mariana perched on the edge of the cushion, like she knew what Cameron was going to say. All Cameron wanted to do was wrap the girl up in a hug and tell her that everything was okay. That she didn’t have to be upset or afraid. “You aren’t really sick, are you?”
Mariana slowly shook her head.
Cameron eased herself onto the couch beside the girl. “Why did you act like you were sick when you weren’t?”
“I didn’t want Daddy to leave.” She sucked in a deep breath and swiped at a tear. “I didn’t want you two to break up and you did because he was leaving, so I figured if he didn’t leave, then you could make up.”
While Cameron had suspected as much, she never would have thought the girls would have gone to such lengths. But Cameron knew her daughter. There was no way Mariana had come up with this by herself. Lizzie was knee-deep in this mess and had been from the very beginning. If only Cameron could channel that energy in other directions.
“As I told Lizzie last night, it’s more complicated than that. Your Daddy had to go on this trip. It’s his job.”
“I know, but I miss him when he’s gone.”
“Oh, honey. Alex will be back before you know it.” She rubbed Mariana’s shoulder. She could understand Mariana’s distress. When Josh had taken his trips, Cameron had constantly wondered when, and whether, he was coming back. “How about we put up a calendar and you can mark off every day he’s gone?”
“Mommy used to do that when Daddy had his trips.”
“That’s great. And any time you’re worried about him, come talk to me. N
o more tricks. Got it?”
Wasn’t that what Alex had said to her? That he was coming back and she didn’t need to worry? Of course, it was. Because he made sense. If she could have seen past her own fears, she would have heard the logic in his conversation.
Alex was coming back. He wasn’t like Josh, flitting in and out on a whim.
And she had completely overreacted because she couldn’t get over her own hang-ups.
Mariana swiped under her eyes. “Daddy told me he would send me an email every day. Can I go check?”
