Instant Family. Donna Gartshore

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СКАЧАТЬ chin or the funny expression he got when he was trying not to laugh.

      The screen door of the cabin banged and startled her.

      “What time is it?” Rae asked, poking her head out of the door.

      “It’s early, Sweet Pea, really early. What are you doing up?”

      Frankie looked affectionately at her daughter, wearing her SpongeBob pajamas, her hair a fuzzy cloud around her face.

      “I’m excited for today.”

      “Today?” Frankie teased, “Hmm, what’s today?”

      “Mom!”

      Frankie winked at her and reached out an arm to pull her in for a little side hug.

      “I know. But you’ll have to be excited for a little while longer. The Nature Center doesn’t even open for a couple more hours. You’ll have to find something to keep you busy until then.”

      The day before, when they had visited the Nature Center, there was a sign advertising that anyone interested could go there to learn about how the displays were put together and then how to make displays of their own.

      It had warmed Frankie’s heart to see Rae’s enthusiasm. Maybe it was true, she mused, that there was something healing about the lake. Did she dare to hope that it could do the same for her? If she could be satisfied that Rae was back to her ardent, artistic self, would Frankie then feel free to unearth the dreams in her own heart?

      Rae bounced up and down a little. “Can I have something for breakfast?”

      “If you’re hungry, you know where the cereal and milk are, or there’s toast.”

      Her daughter wrinkled her snub nose. “That’s boring.”

      “Well, it’s what we’ve got.” Frankie gave her one more squeeze and stood up to stretch and take her coffee cup in for a refill.

      “What time do you think Ben and Al will get up?” Rae looked in the direction of their cabin.

      The cleaning crews had done their best and the side of the cabin looked much better than it had, but a gray dinginess still lurked as a reminder under the fresh paint. There also continued to be graffiti that showed up randomly on other cabins and buildings. No one knew who the culprit or culprits were, or if they did, they weren’t saying. Frankie wondered if Ben was right about the rich parents and their children who had too much time to get into trouble. She didn’t like the way it hummed like an out-of-tune buzzing underneath the harmony of the summer days.

      “Mom!” Rae tugged her hand, letting her know she hadn’t been listening.

      Oh yes, Ben and Al...again.

      Frankie was going to try this one more time. “Look, Sweet Pea, I think that Ben and his dad probably want some quiet time to enjoy the summer. Remember that Al is sick.”

      “He doesn’t look sick.”

      “Well, it isn’t the kind of sick that you can always see.” Frankie tried to think of a way to explain. “I told you that Al has Alzheimer’s disease.”

      Rae shifted from one foot to the other. “Is that when people forget stuff?”

      “Well, that’s mostly what people think of when they hear about Alzheimer’s, and that does happen. It’s kind of like when you have all the pieces of a puzzle and you just can’t think of how to make them fit together. Al might recognize a lot of the things around him but when he tries to put it into a whole picture it doesn’t make sense to him, and that’s why he gets upset sometimes.”

      “Because he’s scared?” Rae asked very softly.

      “Yes, Sweet Pea, that’s exactly right.”

      After a few seconds of silence Rae asked, “Will Nana and Pops get it?”

      Frankie thought of her parents. They were probably up early, too, and working in their garden. They were both healthy, but one never knew for sure. Ben had said he’d thought his father would be the last person to suffer from it.

      “I don’t think that’s something we need to worry about today,” she said. “Now, why don’t you go get your breakfast and pick out the clothes you’re going to wear.”

      Frankie followed Rae inside and decided to forgo another cup of coffee and have a glass of water instead. After she made sure that Rae had what she needed, she went back onto the deck, taking the morning newspaper with the hope of absorbing herself in the crossword puzzle.

      Outside she saw Ben across the way on their deck and she considered dashing back inside again before he spotted her. But it was too late. He lifted his coffee mug in a kind of salute. Then he pointed at himself and at her, with his eyebrows raised in a question, asking if he could join her.

      Frankie groaned under her breath. Naturally, she thought wryly, first thing in the morning and he had to look like a male model advertising the virtues of the great outdoors. She didn’t even want to think of what she must look like to him with her bedhead hair and her grubby lounge wear. She wished she could say no and go back inside, but she couldn’t think of a way to do it now without it being rude.

      * * *

      Ben had purposely got up early to get some quiet time in before his day was taken over by his father’s constant needs. When he spotted Frankie on her own deck, he guessed that she, too, must need the quiet. He could only imagine that single-mom duties could easily overtake her day, as well. But the next thing he knew, he was asking to join her, almost as if he had no will of his own. Or was he just using her as a pleasant distraction from the regrets that almost constantly haunted him?

      “Ah, the morning crossword puzzle,” Ben said. He spotted the pencil in her hand. “Not brave enough to do it in ink?” he teased her.

      She fixed him with what he’d already begun to think of as “the Frankie face” and said, deadpan, “I don’t want to show off.”

      Ben made himself at home in the other chair and took a sip of his coffee.

      “Is Rae still asleep?”

      “No, she’s inside having breakfast and getting ready. I wish she had slept in a bit later,” Frankie confessed. “I signed her up for those classes at the Nature Center and she’s pretty excited about it.”

      Ben nodded his acknowledgment. From Frankie’s expression, it was evident that she was happy Rae had something to look forward to.

      “Dad used to love crossword puzzles,” he mused. “He was really good at them, too.”

      “You said he was a minister?” Frankie asked. “Have you followed in his footsteps?”

      “No.” Ben shook his head. Many things rushed through his mind that he could offer as a way of explanation, but he decided to stick with the basic facts. “I’m a general contractor, but I did want to do something worthwhile, so I’ve been on a few mission trips to help with construction and repairs. I also did a bit of work with literacy programs. It was great sharing Jesus with people in a way that felt natural to me.”

      Frankie СКАЧАТЬ