“He’s fun to be around. I’m glad he’s my uncle now. And Madison’s great as my new aunt, even if she has been so busy lately in her psychiatry residency that I’ve hardly seen her.”
“You’re very fortunate to have found such a nice bonus family.” Alice didn’t care for the term “stepfamily,” so Jacqui was careful to avoid using it.
“I am lucky. I’ve got lots of family now. My dad. My mom. My grandparents in Heber Springs. My mom’s sister and her family in Colorado—I don’t see them much, but they’re nice. My dad’s father in Dallas. And now Meagan and her family. Mimi and Mitch and Madison.”
Wondering a bit where this was going, Jacqui said lightly, “You forgot to mention Waldo.”
Alice giggled. “Anyway, I’m glad I have a lot of family.”
“Then I’m glad you’re glad.”
The girl smiled again.
“I know your grandparents are looking forward to seeing you this weekend.” Beginning Friday, Alice would spend a few days with her maternal grandparents in Heber Springs. She would come home next Tuesday, two days before Seth and Meagan returned from their trip.
Her grandparents had hinted broadly that Alice should spend the entire two weeks with them while her dad and stepmother were away, but Alice had politely thanked them and reminded them about her obligations to her swim team. As it was, she would be missing a couple of practices to spend a few days with them. Jacqui knew Alice was fond of her grandparents, and she spent at least one weekend with them a month, but she had confided to Jacqui that sometimes there she missed her friends and activities at home.
Only then did it occur to Jacqui that she and Mitch would be alone in the house while Alice was with her grandparents. When they’d first made all these plans, Jacqui had assumed she would be returning to her apartment during those days, but that was before the leak had ruined her floors. She’d gone by that morning and the new carpeting still had not been installed. Her apartment was a mess at the moment, with her belongings piled on larger furniture and the floors stripped down to bare particle board, some of which had warped from water damage. The manager had assured her the repairs were being done as quickly as possible, but because several apartments had been damaged—and not all the other tenants had someplace else to stay—it was taking a while to get to them all.
She supposed it wouldn’t be a problem sharing the house with Mitch for a few days. It wasn’t as though he was here all that much. She would take great care to avoid any more awkward encounters like the one on the staircase. Staying in the background as the cook and housekeeper was the safest course—and one she fully intended to follow.
Or maybe he’d find someplace else to stay by then, she thought without much optimism.
“I guess it will be nice to stay with Grammy and Grampa—even though I was just there last month.”
Hearing a distinct lack of enthusiasm in the girl’s voice, Jacqui spoke cheerily, “You know how they love spending time with you. And your Grampa’s going to take you fishing, isn’t he? You always enjoy that.”
Alice nodded. “Yeah, I like fishing. But I’d kind of like to stay here with you and Mitch, too. That was fun the other night—playing board games, I mean. And Mitch said maybe he’d take me to the hospital to deliver toys and visit with some of the kids this weekend, but I told him I couldn’t because I’m staying with my grandparents.”
“I’m sure he’ll take you another time.”
“Yeah, he said he would. But still—”
“Your grandparents would be very disappointed if you cancel your visit with them, Alice.”
“I won’t cancel,” Alice promised. “I know that would hurt their feelings. But don’t do anything too much fun with Uncle Mitch while I’m gone, okay?” she added with a teasing smile.
Jacqui forced a smile. “I wouldn’t worry about that. Your uncle will probably hang out with his friends again when he’s not working, and I have a few tentative plans. My friend Alexis and I have been trying to get together for lunch and shopping, and we’re hoping our schedules will both be clear this weekend.”
Alexis Johnson was one of Jacqui’s few good friends in Little Rock, outside the family she worked for. They’d met in a four-week vegetarian cooking class they had both taken last year and had gotten together occasionally since. Alexis traveled a lot in her job as a flight attendant and was involved in several organizations that took a great deal of her time, but she and Jacqui tried to get together whenever they could for a few hours of girl talk and relaxation. On the surface, the friends seemed to have little in common. Alexis was very much into fashion and appearance, whereas Jacqui had only passing interest in clothes and shoes, but they’d been drawn together by similar senses of humor and a mutual fondness for Indian food.
Looking vaguely surprised, Alice tilted her head in Jacqui’s direction. Was the girl having a hard time envisioning that Jacqui had a life outside the Llewellyn family? Okay, maybe she didn’t do much other than work, Jacqui admitted silently, but she did have a few friends and hobbies of her own.
“I thought maybe you and Mitch would do something while I’m gone. You know, like go out for dinner together or something.” Alice’s tone was just a little too nonchalant, which made Jacqui frown suspiciously. Surely the girl wasn’t matchmaking?
“If your uncle wants me to make dinner for him, I’d be happy to do so,” she answered evenly. “That’s part of my job.”
“I didn’t mean for your job,” Alice insisted, raising Jacqui’s suspicions even further. “I mean—well, uncle Mitch is cute, right? And he’s pretty close to your age. Not even as much different as Milo and me…even though I still don’t think four years is all that much,” she added in a grumble.
Jacqui had no intention of getting into another debate about whether it was appropriate for Alice to hang out with an almost-eighteen-year-old boy—it could only lead to another bout of sulks because Jacqui had no intention of changing her mind. Nor did she want to get into a discussion about why she and Mitch were not a good match despite being single adults of close to the same age.
“Would you carry these empty teacups to the kitchen for me, please?” she requested, folding away her knitting as she spoke. “It’s getting late. If you want to play with Waldo a little before bedtime, you’d better go on out.”
But Alice wasn’t quite finished with their conversation. “It’s just…well, like we said, it’s nice to have family.”
“I have family, Alice,” Jacqui countered gently. She supposed it was touching that Alice worried about her being alone, even if it was somewhat awkward. “My parents are still living. I talk with them occasionally, even if we aren’t as close as you are with your parents.”
“But you really like our family, right? I mean, Uncle Mitch and Meagan and Madison and Mimi and my dad and all. And they all really like you, too.”