Nana shot Jim a dirty look. “Of course, I bought her one. She can look for herself.”
Jim grunted loudly, and I turned to look at him. Emmitt stood close beside him. Neither met my gaze. Both Aden and Liam smiled down at their plates. Suspicious, I looked down at my plate. Empty. The last two bites had vanished. My lips twitched again, and I shook my head and looked at Jim. Jim widened his eyes and pointed discreetly at Emmitt. Aden burst out in giggles.
I turned away from the foursome. Jim’s antics would bring the boys out of their shell. But what trouble would they learn from him?
Nana apparently had the same thought as she repacked the bags.
“Jim, if you can’t behave, you can go mow the lawn. Boys, put your plates in the sink if you’re finished. Emmitt, can you help me bring these up to their apartment?” She indicated the bags as she picked up two herself.
The way she said “their apartment” warmed me, and I smiled at her as she passed. I liked how she brought everything to order easily.
Jim put his plate in the sink, winked at Aden, and sauntered out the door as Emmitt grabbed several bags from the couch. Aden quickly put his plate in the sink and followed Jim, saunter and all. I caught Emmitt do a double take. His lips tilted at the corners before he left, too. Having Aden out of my sight for even such a short time worried me, and I was glad Liam remained by me. Together, we quickly cleaned up lunch then went outside. I easily spotted Aden.
Jim squatted next to the mower, Aden at his side mirroring his pose. I could hear Jim explaining the names of the tools Emmitt still had laid out beside the now attached deck.
“What do you think, should we take her for a test drive?” he asked Aden. I eyed the mower with concern.
Jim looked up at me. “What do you think, Michelle? If I hold him, can we go for a ride around the yard?”
Nana’s voice rang from inside the house, saving me from answering. “Jim, I think the boys would be better served if you went to the basement to look for some of your old things. I recall seeing gloves and a ball somewhere in that mess.”
Both Aden’s and Jim’s faces fell, but I was relieved that she’d discouraged the idea and saved me from saying no.
“Aden, you and Liam can wait on the porch with me,” she said as she walked out holding two plates, each with a cookie. “It won’t take Jim long.”
The boys walked toward the porch.
Jim scowled playfully. “Where’s my cookie?”
“You had more than your share of food at lunch. If you want dessert, learn to eat what’s on your own plate,” Nana said mildly and patted each boy’s head as she handed over the cookies.
Jim walked passed me and mumbled, “Notice Emmitt doesn’t get a cookie either.”
I smiled and rolled my shoulders. The ticker continued its repetition, and the symptoms crept in, a tightness in my shoulders and back of my neck.
“Michelle, I can keep an eye on them if you want to go look at the clothes quickly. You might find something you can change into. I can send the boys up as soon as they finish.”
I hesitated to leave them. Everyone here was nice, but we’d only been here a day. Both boys, still full from lunch, nibbled slowly at their cookies. Liam watched me closely.
“Is that okay, Liam?” I asked hesitantly.
He turned to look at Nana, and she patiently let him judge her. Finally, he nodded.
“I’ll be right back if you don’t come up first,” I assured them.
I took the stairs two at a time and arrived at the door out of breath just as Emmitt stepped into the hall. He gave a small smile as he passed me. I hesitated in the doorway until he reached the second landing. I didn’t want an audience when I looked through the clothes.
The bags lined the couch. I knelt and started digging through them, hurrying to sort everything into piles. At the bottom of my bag, I found new underwear, a swimsuit, and a sport bra. Gratitude swamped me. Clean clothes!
Tromping footsteps announced Liam and Aden’s impending arrival. I helped them change into shorts then begged them to watch some fuzzy cartoons on the TV while I showered and changed.
Excited, I closed myself into the bathroom, and then realized I had a problem. The towel rack sat empty. No shampoo lined the shower ledge.
Nana had graciously provided the clothes, but we still needed a few other basic items. I went to the bedroom and counted out the remaining cash. Thanks to the magazines I’d read, I could guess the cost of new shoes, tops, or designer jeans. But what did second-hand clothes cost? And what about basics like flour, milk, shampoo, and deodorant? Uncertain, I plucked two of the one hundred dollar bills from the pile. She’d brought back six bags of clothes...it had to be close. I assured the boys I would be right back and ran downstairs.
The lawnmower droned outside. Both Nana’s and Jim’s doors stood open, but I didn’t see anyone.