one day before the wedding…
Jordan balanced six feet off the ground on a step ladder, with wires and electric candles in hand, while outside there were children’s voices counting down from ten, “Ready or not, here I come!” Then, whoosh. A streak of yellow and red and loose brown hair, breezing by with such force that the ladder swayed, even though the tiny girl couldn’t have weighed forty pounds. Maria’s girl, Johanna.
One of these kids would be the death of him. Or might have been, had his days not been numbered here. So, in that regard, he wasn’t mad. Someday he knew he would even remember the chaos of all this with fondness.
But, in any case, it wasn’t safe. “Not in the barn today,” he called out.
“I need to hide,” Johanna hissed from underneath the table, in something between a whisper and a dinosaur growl.
Johanna was the littlest of the bunch. Stephanie’s girls were bigger and should know better, but Johanna was only four. Jordan came down from the ladder.
“Awesome job hiding, but you have to stay where your mom can see you from the kitchen window. She can’t see you in here.”
“But you can see me in here.”
“But I have to work. There’s ladders and wires and tools, and see those, that’s glass. It’s dangerous.”
Johanna sprung up from the floor. “Wow! Can I hold it? It looks like a fish tank. Can we put a fish in it?”
“It does look like a fish tank, but it’s not one. It’s for candles to go in.”
“But it could be a fish tank. Can I get a fish from the pond? I did it before. It’s easy.”
Of course she did it before. He wondered what happened to the poor fish.
“I bet you did, but no fish in here today. There’s a wedding here tomorrow, it can’t smell like fish.”
She giggled at the idea. “Can I light a candle?”
“Hmm, I don’t know, you should probably ask your mom.”
“Can I ask you instead?”
He chuckled. “I don’t think it works that way.”
“Oh.”
She was so disappointed. It was such a little thing. “Well, maybe just one. I bet your mom wouldn’t mind.”
He found a long neck lighter and flicked the starter—she wouldn’t have had the finger strength—and held it in front of her. “Here, hold behind my hand.” And together, they guided the flame to the candle wick.
“Fire is really hot,” she informed him. “I’m not gonna touch it.”
“Good. I’m glad.”
Nobody knew that Jordan was leaving yet. It was nice that Sharon let them bring the kids sometimes while they worked, but that only worked because Jordan was out here, the ever watchful eye, the neighborhood dad. Whatever handyman Sharon found next might not like all these kids running around, might not be willing to look out for the ladders and unplug the power tools and break up the fights and patch the scraped knees. And, well, he worried about wild little Johanna if that was the case. Who would look out for her?
They were all going to be so disappointed in him. They had such a good thing going here.
“Okay, so I have to finish these lights. Do you think you can play with Willow and Lily for a little while now?”
Willow Nova was athletically inclined like her mother, and she was also tall like her mother, with long strong limbs and lots of stretch. Naturally, she was excellent at the monkey bars. She just turned seven years old.
But Johanna wasn’t tall enough. She couldn’t reach. “I wanna do it, too.”
“I think you’re too little,” Willow said.
“I am not!”
“It’s okay if you’re too little. You’ll get big someday.”
“I’m not too little!” JoJo roared. “But how did you learn it?”
“My mom taught me.”
“My mom can’t do that. She can only do Zumba.”
“Oh, what about your dad?”
“I don’t have a dad,” Johanna said.
“Oh.” Willow thought ugly thoughts about her own father. “I don’t have one either,” she decided. “But tomorrow I’ll have a stepdad.”
“How do you get a stepdad?”
“‘Cause my mom is getting married. Then you get a stepdad. But your mom’s not getting married, so I can teach you.”
“Okay.”
“Maybe, like, jump?”
Before Willow could explain that she meant, be careful, Johanna leapt up to the bar and held tight.
“Whoa!”
“I did it!”
“You did it.”
“What do I do now?”
“Now you have to swing, then reach the next bar.” Willow swung across a few bars to show her.
“I’m doing it! See, I’m big.”
“Yeah, okay, but can you get up here?”
Willow kind of hoped Johanna wasn’t going to try, because she looked like she might. Willow was the oldest here. She knew if Johanna got hurt, then she’d get in trouble. “Maybe let’s go play soccer instead.”
Jordan nodded once, then Maria felt self-conscious that he agreed. So he didn’t think she was a firecracker? Noted. Maybe he liked firecrackers. Like Ingrid.
Jordan balanced six feet off the ground on a step ladder, with wires and electric candles in hand, while outside there were children’s voices counting down from ten, “Ready or not, here I come!” Then, whoosh. A streak of yellow and red and loose brown hair, breezing by with such force that the ladder swayed, even though the tiny girl couldn’t have weighed forty pounds. Maria’s girl, Johanna.
One of these kids would be the death of him. Or might have been, had his days not been numbered here. So, in that regard, he wasn’t mad. Someday he knew he would even remember the chaos of all this with fondness.
But, in any case, it wasn’t safe. “Not in the barn today,” he called out.
“I need to hide,” Johanna hissed from underneath the table, in something between a whisper and a dinosaur growl.
Johanna was the littlest of the bunch. Stephanie’s girls were bigger and should know better, but Johanna was only four. Jordan came down from the ladder.
“Awesome job hiding, but you have to stay where your mom can see you from the kitchen window. She can’t see you in here.”
“But you can see me in here.”
“But I have to work. There’s ladders and wires and tools, and see those, that’s glass. It’s dangerous.”
Johanna sprung up from the floor. “Wow! Can I hold it? It looks like a fish tank. Can we put a fish in it?”
“It does look like a fish tank, but it’s not one. It’s for candles to go in.”
“But it could be a fish tank. Can I get a fish from the pond? I did it before. It’s easy.”
Of course she did it before. He wondered what happened to the poor fish.
“I bet you did, but no fish in here today. There’s a wedding here tomorrow, it can’t smell like fish.”
She giggled at the idea. “Can I light a candle?”
“Hmm, I don’t know, you should probably ask your mom.”
“Can I ask you instead?”
He chuckled. “I don’t think it works that way.”
“Oh.”
She was so disappointed. It was such a little thing. “Well, maybe just one. I bet your mom wouldn’t mind.”
He found a long neck lighter and flicked the starter—she wouldn’t have had the finger strength—and held it in front of her. “Here, hold behind my hand.” And together, they guided the flame to the candle wick.
“Fire is really hot,” she informed him. “I’m not gonna touch it.”
“Good. I’m glad.”
Nobody knew that Jordan was leaving yet. It was nice that Sharon let them bring the kids sometimes while they worked, but that only worked because Jordan was out here, the ever watchful eye, the neighborhood dad. Whatever handyman Sharon found next might not like all these kids running around, might not be willing to look out for the ladders and unplug the power tools and break up the fights and patch the scraped knees. And, well, he worried about wild little Johanna if that was the case. Who would look out for her?
They were all going to be so disappointed in him. They had such a good thing going here.
“Okay, so I have to finish these lights. Do you think you can play with Willow and Lily for a little while now?”
———
Willow Nova was athletically inclined like her mother, and she was also tall like her mother, with long strong limbs and lots of stretch. Naturally, she was excellent at the monkey bars. She just turned seven years old.
But Johanna wasn’t tall enough. She couldn’t reach. “I wanna do it, too.”
“I think you’re too little,” Willow said.
“I am not!”
“It’s okay if you’re too little. You’ll get big someday.”
“I’m not too little!” JoJo roared. “But how did you learn it?”
“My mom taught me.”
“My mom can’t do that. She can only do Zumba.”
“Oh, what about your dad?”
“I don’t have a dad,” Johanna said.
“Oh.” Willow thought ugly thoughts about her own father. “I don’t have one either,” she decided. “But tomorrow I’ll have a stepdad.”
“How do you get a stepdad?”
“‘Cause my mom is getting married. Then you get a stepdad. But your mom’s not getting married, so I can teach you.”
“Okay.”
“Maybe, like, jump?”
Before Willow could explain that she meant, be careful, Johanna leapt up to the bar and held tight.
“Whoa!”
“I did it!”
“You did it.”
“What do I do now?”
“Now you have to swing, then reach the next bar.” Willow swung across a few bars to show her.
“I’m doing it! See, I’m big.”
“Yeah, okay, but can you get up here?”
Willow kind of hoped Johanna wasn’t going to try, because she looked like she might. Willow was the oldest here. She knew if Johanna got hurt, then she’d get in trouble. “Maybe let’s go play soccer instead.”
———
In these last few hours before the big event, Maria and Drake had more to do in the kitchen than Jordan had to do out here. Everything on Jordan’s end was mostly put together, lights strung, plugs plugged, chairs in rows. But the nature of cooking was different. Chicken only kept so long and cakes got stale. They were swamped, and Maria was here all day. Which meant, so was Johanna for much of the day. Until Aunt Lou picked her up after work later.
As much as everyone told Stephanie to go home and get ready for her wedding, she had been here all day too, on and off, meddling in the last minute preparations. These girls have all had quite enough of each other by now, and they’d started bickering in the side yard over a soccer ball.
Jordan went to mediate the dispute. “Whoa, girls, can’t we play nice?”
“Hey, Mr. Felix’s dad. She started it,” Lily tattled. “She keeps dropping the ball. It’s not our fault she can’t keep it up for more than two seconds. She’s too little. She needs to go play baby toys.”
“I’m not too little!” Johanna shouted.
“Yes, you are!” the girls countered.
“No, I’m not!”
“Yes, you are!”
“Why don’t you teach her how?” Jordan suggested.
Willow whined, “Why do I always have to be the one to show her things? I showed her so many things today! I already have to show Lily things and Benji things. She’s not my sister!”
Lily yelled, “You don’t have to show me things!”
Then the Nova sisters were fighting with each other, now, too. Tongues pointed. Noses scrunched. They were all tired and worn out by the sun, little tempests of rage and fury, arms thrashing, teeth bared. Willow was tired of being the oldest, in charge of all the things, and having to drag little Johanna around all day who really couldn’t keep up. Lily was born entitled and needed no excuse to complain about things. And Johanna was little enough to still need an afternoon nap, but old enough to fiercely reject taking one.
“Uh oh,” Stephanie said, coming outside.
“It’s okay, it’s over now.” Jordan said.
Stephanie rounded up her girls to finally go home to rest up for her big day.
“Come on, Jo Jo, let’s go find your mom.”
Johanna glared at the big girls as they followed their mom home. Jordan reached for her shoulder in case restraint was needed, but there were only teeth snarled and no claws drawn today.
———
Jordan followed a delicious scent to find Maria working in the kitchen. Johanna burst into the room and into her mother’s arms. “Mommy! You’re my favorite. I don’t need to make any friends, you can be my best friend.”
“Oh, baby, you’re mine too. What happened?”
“Just a little play yard scuffle,” Jordan said. “She wanted to keep up with the big girls.”
“Oh no, she has such a temper sometimes, I don’t know what to do with her. She’s a wild animal, I need to get her a rabies shot.”
“She’s a firecracker,” Jordan agreed.
“She doesn’t get it from me.”
“You never know, kids are random,” he said. “Our Felix is like a perfect blend of both of us, sporty like me, assertive like his mom, but Milo, he’s a total wild card.”
“Well, what if she does take after her dad, though? Even though she hardly knew him.” Maria wondered this out loud. She often wondered what impression Johanna might take from the father she barely met. She wondered, if she were lucky enough to find a stepfather for the girl someday, would Johanna fashion herself off of that man instead? Or would she grow up without a father’s influence at all, as she had for the first four years of her life? Maybe that was the problem. But Maria hadn’t meant for Jordan to dwell on this.
“Did he have a temper?”
“Joseph? Oh, well, no, not a temper, really. He wasn’t like that. He was never really mean. I think it was more like he was stern. Very serious.”
“Really? Serious? But you’re so funny. I can’t see you with someone serious.”
She swooned inside. “You think I’m funny?”
“Well, yeah.” He smiled. “In a quiet sort of way. It’s a good thing.”
A good thing, also noted. So maybe he liked funny women. Was Ingrid funny, too? Please, God, don’t let Ingrid be funny, too.
And please, God, let me have this, Maria prayed sometimes. Granted, she was well aware that praying for a man was probably far beneath an almighty being’s concerns. But this, specifically, she needed this. What she felt for Jordan was special and gentle and pure, and she’d been alone now for years because no man she’d ever met could match what she felt for this one.
“So, what did you like about him?” Jordan asked.
“Oh, like about who?” Maria was still lost in delightful reverie.
Jordan laughed. “Joseph. I mean, you married the guy, right? He must have been awesome. What was he like? I mean, what did you like about him?”
There was an intense curiosity on Jordan’s face, like somehow knowing about her dead husband could make or break his life. And why? She would have given anything to get inside his head right now, but he wanted inside hers, so she would oblige him. “Oh, he was okay. Well, he was an officer in the Air Force. He was only a few years older than me, but he always seemed so grown up. Like, he was probably even grown up as a little kid. He liked classical music and tennis and crossword puzzles. Um, he wasn’t super religious or anything, but he always went to church, like it was something he felt he need to do. He volunteered. And he was really good at saving money.”
Jordan nodded. “The kind of guy who has all his shit together.”
Maria shrugged. “I guess he did. He took care of everything. He didn’t need me for anything.”
“Don’t say that,” Jordan said. “People have all kinds of needs.”
“Okay, maybe he enjoyed hearing me play my violin.”
“You never told me you play violin.”
“I guess because I don’t play much anymore. It was a long time ago. I’m out of practice now. I lost track of it when we got married, then I had Johanna, then the war and everything… and now here I’ve come to my final resting place.”
Jordan laughed. “Yikes.”
“Well, I’m a single mom, you know. Who wants all that baggage?”
He tilted his head. “She’s a kid, not a prison sentence.”
“Are we talking about the same kid? That kid over there with rabies?”
Johanna clicked away at the keyboard. On her game, a tiger roared.
“Even that kid,” Jordan said.
“Well, anyway, I don’t even remember how to date. It’s rough out there. Stephanie invited me to this wedding as a guest, plus one. I don’t even know who I’d ask. I don’t even know people, except my lesbian neighbors on one side, and the elderly couple on the other side. And the people here at work. Unless, maybe, you’re not doing anything tomorrow night…”
“I wish,” he said, smiling kindly. “But I’m on the roster as staff.”
I wish, he said. He wished? Was she reading too much into that? It made her heart race and her mind bend into twists trying to figure it out. “Well, damn, I guess you should have been nicer to Stephanie.”
“Yeah,” he said with a wistful sigh that seemed to be about so much more than not getting invited to a wedding.
“Well, sorry about the kids,” she said. “I bet you have a lot of work to finish.”
Not work to finish with Ingrid, she meant.
“It’s okay,” he said. “I need to find something for lunch anyway.”
“I’ll make you some lunch. I was going to whip something up for Johanna anyway. It’s the least I can do. For looking out for my little feral animal. Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
He took a seat at the counter next to Johanna. She was playing a computer game about matching animals to their habitats. “Hey Jo Jo, what kind of animal are you?”
“I’m a wolverine, grrr!”
Jordan laughed. “I believe you.”
———
Ingrid is really something. Made me blush too. 😁 Maybe Maria needs to step up her game a tiny bit. Or buy a broken van. Or start making candles. 😏
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Ingrid and Maria are just about as opposite as two characters could get. Jordan’s mind must be spinning in circles, lol!
DeleteAw, Maria and Jordan are cute! I have to say, I love Ingrid though! She has to be one of my favorite characters of yours.
ReplyDeleteI can’t even keep Jordan out of the kitchen when Maria is working, so Maria could let that fact soothe her fears a little. But yes, Ingrid is a fan favorite around here! Ever since TS3 days. I think she speaks to an inner wild child that many of us don’t let out to play often enough. That’s certainly what sparked an interest for Jordan. What kind of interest, though, we’ll see.
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