Berry turned the page and he read, “‘This is a puppy and he says…’”

She looked up at him and said, “Woof. Woof.”

“And do puppies like kittens and frogs?” he asked her. And she nodded. “I thought so,” he said. “I have a puppy,” he said.

“Gook,” she proudly informed him.

He laughed. Ah, so the d’s were g’s. “Yes, Duke. Not exactly a puppy. More of a gog.”

“Don’t mispronounce,” came Nora’s voice from behind him. “I know it’s tempting, and fun, but really…”

They both turned, looked at her and smiled.

“She seems very smart for two,” he said. “Is she?”

“She’s almost three, and she is. I need to work with her more, but there’s the time thing. We need to do letters, numbers and colors. We have worked on some, but just a few. Preschool, though a necessity so I can work, is also a gift. They’re so focused.” She gave a nod. “That’s Berry’s favorite book. Her grandpa gave it to her.”

“Papa,” Berry corrected.

Tom smiled before he could stop himself. “She likes him, I guess.”

“It hasn’t been quick. He’s been to visit twice and she will finally let him read to her a little bit, as long as he doesn’t get too close.”

“Then I scored,” Tom said. “I read three pages on our first date.”

Nora smiled. “If you want a shower before dinner, there’s time.”

He made a mock gesture of sniffing his own armpit and raising questioning eyes to her.

“Cripes,” she said. “Maxie said you’d want a shower. I wasn’t passing judgment.”

“Yeah, okay,” he said. “I’ll be down in a few.” And he left Berry and went in stocking feet into the house.

There at the table, propped up in her booster seat with a few crackers in front of her, was Fay. For some reason he couldn’t quite explain to himself, he was greatly relieved to see that the little sister looked like Nora as well—soft, light brown hair, peachy skin, golden-brown eyes. But this little one was not shy; she squealed and laughed when he walked into the kitchen and hurled a fistful of scrunched-up crackers at him. Her teeth were brand-new and in weird, adorable shapes and lengths. Happiness and confidence just rolled off her.

Maxie laughed at the scattered cracker crumbs, completely unperturbed. In fact, if Tom had to guess, his grandmother preferred baby mess to boots and expensive sweaters and no appetite.

“I’m going to grab a quick shower,” he said.

While standing under the spray, he was thinking they were cute. And although Berry seemed a little withdrawn and not easy around strangers, the family as a whole was happy. But hell, Darla was happy. Very happy! Happiest when talking about trips and clothes and money, but what was wrong with that?

Nothing at all. Nothing.

He pulled on a sweatshirt with clean jeans. He had put on boots when Darla joined them for dinner, but tonight he just slipped into his Uggs slippers, soft and warm. They were a little on the old-man-ish side, but he’d had a long, strenuous day. He’d hauled trucks full of apple crates and cases of cider. He was tired. And he was starving.

When he descended to the kitchen he found Maxie and Nora at the table, laughing over something. Berry was seated on the other side of Nora, propped up on a bunch of couch pillows covered with a towel so spaghetti sauce wouldn’t stain them.

“There you are,” Nora said, leaping to her feet. “Are you ready to eat or do you want a little time to unwind first? Want a beer or soda or something?”

He glanced at Berry, stuck out his belly and rubbed it. “Me want food!” he said, making her laugh. And he thought, What the hell was that? I don’t know anything about kids! Why was I playing to the kid? But she was still grinning at him and it made him feel something inside, like a glow.

“Good,” Maxie said, joining Nora at the kitchen counter. They had salads prepared in individual bowls, dressed and ready to go. There was a loaf of garlic bread that went on the table, aluminum foil opened. Maxie was rinsing the noodles while Nora was stirring the sauce.

Nora put the salads on the table, in front of each place. “Berry, eat a couple of bites so you get your nutrients,” Nora said.

“Does she have any idea what nutrients are?” Tom asked.

“Absolutely none, I’m sure. But Berry will have a couple of bites and even if she didn’t, she’d get the rest of dinner. I don’t punish with food. We try to be grateful for good food and blessings.” Then she smiled and added, “Greens are a little iffy, but I guarantee a good performance on the noodles and sauce!”

“Tom liked that best, too,” Maxie said.

“When I was a girl there was big trouble over things like vegetables. My mother started giving me a plate of weird vegetables and if I wouldn’t eat them all, I went without the rest of the dinner. I had to earn things like meatloaf by eating a lot of Brussels sprouts. I’m not a picky eater now, but I’m not sure that process had anything to do with it. I’m not going to do that.” And Nora tended to the bowls of spaghetti for her girls while Maxie dished for the adults. “Warning, this could be a little messy,” Nora said. And she made Tom trade chairs so he wasn’t sitting next to one of her kids.

It was a more than a little messy, but it seemed to entertain Maxie and Nora. When Fay got the noodles and sauce in her hair, the women nearly lost it, which made Fay giggle uncontrollably. Which made her put more food in her hair. Which made the women laugh, Fay giggle, etc.

What he noticed most was that Nora, who was little and slim, had seconds. And what bothered him was that he liked the looks of those trim, buxom females who seemed perpetually beautiful but he didn’t like to hang out with women who wouldn’t eat. Now how can you have it both ways?

Nora sat back from the table a little and said, “Oh, my God, please excuse me, Maxie! I ate like a pig! That was amazing!”

“Never apologize for being happy at my table,” Maxie said. “Do you have room for pie? You helped make the crust.”

“I’m so sorry, I can’t…”

“Will you take some home?”

“Yes! Absolutely! Oh, thank you! I don’t think I’ve been wined and dined like this in my lifetime!”

I’m partial to sushi… Do you like sushi?

“Sans wine,” Tom pointed out.

“Someday when I’m not carting small children in the car, I promise to enjoy a glass of wine—it’s been a while. I don’t know if you noticed, I’m not that confident a driver to start with—I need a little more practice. I’m not about to complicate that with wine, especially with my kids on board.”

“Perfectly understandable. Should we roll the ball around for a while?” Maxie asked.

“No,” Nora said firmly. “We’re doing the dishes before Fay starts to fuss. Then I have to get the ladies home for baths and bed. I start early in the morning.”

On cue, Fay wriggled in her booster chair, raising her arms and bowing her back, and sent up a loud whine.

“Oh, no, she wants a bottle. It’s time… I have one ready… Save the dishes, Maxie, until I can give her a bottle. I try to hold her for it as often as I can… .”

“I’ll do the bottle,” Tom said. And then he thought, I am going to lose my man card here. This is not what I want.

“Are you sure?” Nora asked.

“Sure. Be happy to,” he said.

“All righty. Let me get her cleaned up.” And Nora went after the little tyke’s face and head and hands with a wet paper towel. She undid the safety belt on the booster chair and handed her to Tom. “Get comfortable. I’ll bring you the bottle and the blanket.”

Not quite sure what those instructions meant, Tom carried the tot to the living room and chose Maxie’s favorite chair, a swivel rocker-recliner, which gave him a view to the kitchen. Nora was right behind him with the gear—bottle and blanket. Fay reached for them with an irritated eh eh eh eh. Then, holding her own bottle and soft blanket, she reclined into the crook of Tom’s arm and sucked away.

He looked into the kitchen where there was much going on. Berry was standing on a step stool between Maxie and Nora, mostly splashing while they chattered like they’d known each other since birth. And wonder of wonders, Berry not only talked as much, she was loud. Nothing like on the back steps where she was shy and quiet, but loud and extremely verbal. She addressed both Maxie and her mother, turning her head and looking up at one, then the other.

They rinsed, washed, dried and put away. Although Maxie had a dishwasher, she preferred not to use it unless the cleanup was major. She said the warm water was soothing on her arthritic hands.

He looked down at Fay, who was gazing up at him. The drowsy-eyed contentment momentarily filled him with a deep sense of satisfaction and adoration, as if he’d done something other than volunteer for a job he didn’t know he wanted. When she caught him looking at her, she smiled around the bottle’s nipple. He smiled back, and then her eyes drifted closed. They opened, closed, opened, closed. Finally, with just a couple of ounces left, she was gonzo. And because he’d been a little insane all evening, he lowered his lips to her head and gave it a kiss.

“I knew that would happen,” Nora said.

He was stricken. Had he done something bad?

“That last bottle of the day after a full tummy knocks her out. It’s a race to get the bath in before she crashes. Here, I’ll take her.”

“You’re going to take her?” he asked.

“Home, Tom. She needs to go to bed.”

“What about her bath?”

“You know what? A kid can live by missing a bath one day but you don’t want to skip things like food and cuddling.”

“She has spaghetti sauce in her hair and behind her ear.”

“Yeah, I might give her a little spit and polish when I change her and put her in her pajamas. Not that a little red sauce will hurt her, but I don’t want Adie trying to bathe her and don’t want the day care to think I’m negligent. Here,” she said, holding out her hands.

“I can carry her to the car,” he offered. “Is the other one ready to go?”

“Yes, wearing as much dishwater as went down the drain,” Nora said. She crouched and ran a gentle finger around Fay’s ear. “There is nothing more precious, is there? Thanks for everything, Tom. The whole afternoon and evening—it was terrific. Someday I hope I’ll be able to invite you and your family to my table.”

The soft look in her eyes was so tender and sentimental he could feel it reach way down inside of him. To cover the discomfort of such emotion, he stood with Fay in his arms. He handed Nora the bottle and pulled the blanket around the baby to keep her warm.

Nora went to the kitchen to fetch Berry. Maxie was holding her on her lap, helping her into her little hoodie, talking with her about how much fun it was to have her to dinner. Nora put the almost-empty bottle in the beat-up canvas tote that must serve as a diaper bag. “I think I have everything. Berry, did you remember your book?”

Berry nodded.

“Say thank you and let’s get going,” she said.

The little girl said a quiet thank-you to Maxie and in exchange got a hug. Then Maxie stood and gave Nora a hug. “I had such fun,” she said. “Promise to bring them back.”

“I would love to,” Nora said. “It was so wonderful. Now let’s not wear out our welcome.” She took Berry’s hand and walked out to her car, Tom following.

Tom put Fay in the car seat while Nora belted Berry in. Fay didn’t even whimper; she was unconscious. He couldn’t figure out the safety straps however. Finally Nora came around and with a chuckle, hooked up the baby easily. Then she put her arms around his waist for a quick hug. “Thanks again,” she said.