“Of course.” Sky got up and went to the stove. “Scrambled eggs or biscuits and jelly?”
Maddie sat down and plunked Bunny on the table.
“Bunny goes in your lap, not on the table.”
“Sorry. I forgot.” She looked at Max’s plate. “Eggs, please.”
While Sky cooked, Maddie chatted about everything, from her good report card to her bike to Max being right about Bobby, whatever that meant. The poor man listened patiently as the child rambled on and never once seemed to be irritated or vexed by the barrage of prattle.
It wasn’t until Sky placed food in front of her that Maddie stopped to take a breath.
Max picked up his plate and turned toward the sink. “I need to get moving so I can finish Gail’s to-do list before lunch.”
Sky took his dishes and placed them on the counter. “She told me Frank hopes to go back to work soon.” A fireman, Frank Brown was injured when a roof collapsed under him a month ago. “I know he hates not being able to do much.”
“Can I help you with Miss Gail’s to-do list, Max?” asked Maddie.
“Another time, kiddo. Weatherman said we may get sleet soon, and it’s near freezing outside.”
Sky noted her daughter’s crestfallen look. “You can help me get things ready and take stuff over to Max’s.”
“Okaaaay.”
Her drawn-out reply made Sky smother a grin. On the heels of that thought came another. Maddie was so taken with Max, what would happened if their relationship fell through?
Max put away the tools and wiped his hands with a shop rag. The list of chores Gail had wasn’t long but required time to finish. She had invited him to have dinner with her family and appeared delighted when he told her Sky was cooking at his house.
The thought of a real Thanksgiving dinner, prepared by someone other than military cooks and shared by close friends instead of a battalion of strangers, made him anxious. Eyes closed, he took a deep breath and counted to ten. Please don’t let anything happen today to ruin this. Another deep breath brought with it the smell of wood smoke from someone’s chimney and the faint aroma of a spice he couldn’t name. And just like that, the encroaching anxiety disappeared, replaced by the desire to see Sky and listen to Maddie prattle on about whatever she wanted to prattle on about.
He tried not to read too much into the whole affair; it was just a meal after all. But, at the same time, he wanted it to be the kind of holiday meal he had only dreamed about. He took in the grey and gloomy clouds overhead. God…I know we haven’t talked much…okay, never, but since I’ve never asked for anything, maybe you could see fit to give me today.
He glanced at his watch. Eleven-thirty. He had time to freshen up.
A gust of frigid air had him looking upward as the first pellets of sleet hit the ground. Jaw clamped tight, he frowned.
Guess I got my answer.
Sky stood in the middle of Max’s kitchen and mentally checked off the items yet to be completed. More than anything, she wanted this dinner to be perfect. Not just for Max, who she suspected needed it the most, but for all of them. Each one had a history of holidays and special occasions that went by with hardly a flicker. But not today.
Today they would celebrate.
Max opened the door, and a gust of cold air entered with him. “Sleet started.”
His deep baritone held a note of sadness she hadn’t heard before. Had something happened? He didn’t look upset, only sad.
Maddie skipped in from the living room. “Hi Max, wanna watch the parade with me?”
He ruffled her hair as he walked by without looking at Sky. “Later. Need to clean up.”
Maddie watched him walk out and turned to Sky. “Is Max all right?”
“I’m sure he’s fine. How about we start setting the table?”
Before they got the tablecloth down, a heavy knock said their other guest had arrived.
Sky opened the back door and stood back as Big John walked in, a gift bag in one hand and a coloring book and box of crayons in the other.
He handed the bag to Sky. “I thought a nice Merlot might go well with dinner.”
“How sweet. Thank you, John.” She placed the bag on the counter. “Let me take your coat.”
He handed Maddie the coloring book and crayons. “A little something for you, too, Miss Maddie.”
“Thank you, Mr. John, I love to color.”
He pulled off his gloves and stuffed them in the pockets of his heavy coat. “I really appreciate the invite, Miss Sky.”
“My pleasure. Please, just Sky. And make yourself at home while I finish things up.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“No, I’m good, thank you. Rolls need maybe another fifteen minutes to rise and twenty to cook, and we’re ready.”
“Mr. John,” interjected Maddie, “Wanna watch the parade with me and Max when he’s done cleaning up?”
