“Could you get four plates out of the drainer next to the sink?” Heidi asked me as she walked toward the dining table.
Doing as she’d asked and picking up a stack of napkins laying neatly at the end of the counter, I followed behind her, making sure to give ‘it’ a wide berth. I loved dogs, in fact, I loved all animals, but that thing was a sin against nature, so I was excused on this occasion.
“Hey, sweet boy,” Mom said as I placed it all on the table.
Assuming she was talking to the dog again, I ignored it and laid out the plates on top of the mats already waiting. Fortunately, I’d brought more food than we needed, so there was enough for Mom to join us.
“Uh, Bond,” Mom snapped. When I turned around, she raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”
“About what?”
Sharing a look with Nemi, she shook her head. “I just said hey to you, and you ignored me.”
My new little buddy with a bandaged foot chose that moment to lunge for me, but I managed to catch her before she missed. “Sorry, I thought you were talking to the thing again.” Then, smiling down at Nemi, I asked, “How are you feeling, buddy? How’s your sore foot?”
The doctor had diagnosed a badly sprained ankle, so she was on crutches and not weight-bearing for a little longer until a physical therapist was happy for it to happen. I’d have preferred her not to stand on it for a year given how bruised and swollen it was, but what did I know?
“The booz goes to my baby piggy, Bond, and it’s pretty purple and blue.” I winced at the mental image. “It doesn’t fit in my shooz, but Momma says is okay just now.”
Carefully lowering her into the chair, I hooked my foot around the one next to it before Mom could take it, pulling it over to me until I was ready to sit. With a huff, she stomped around the table and sat down next to Heidi, who was laughing quietly.
“You’re mighty brave, Nemi. I broke my toe once, and I thought I was going to be sick. Heck, Reid broke his ankle playing soccer, and he did throw up.”
“He also cried like a baby,” Mom pointed out.
I refrained from saying, “that’s ‘cause he’s a little bitch.” Just. I hadn’t cussed in front of Nemi once, and I wasn’t going to, either.
Seeing that there was food on Nemi’s plate now, I leaned over and picked it up to pass to her, then remembered how Mom used to cut ours up into smaller pieces when we were her age. So, that’s what I did, except I massacred the sandwich, smiling when Nemi giggled at the state of it.
“I’ve never done that before. How did I do?”
“You’re good, Bond,” she patted me on the arm and then picked up the first chunk.
Only a few days ago, I’d felt completely out of my comfort zone with little kids, but Nemi made it easy. She was such a friendly kid that I didn’t feel like I had to pretend to be someone I wasn’t to make her relax or be able to talk to her, and it made a difference.
In fact, sometimes it felt like she was the adult and I was the kid—like when the doctor had pressed down on her ankle, and I’d growled when she’d flinched. Instead of crying, she’d smiled at me and said, “It be over soon.”
And her vocabulary—yes, she struggled with it sometimes, but for her age, wow. Katy had confirmed she was advanced, but I’m not sure anyone appreciated exactly how advanced she was. We’re talking science camp advanced.
“How’s the restaurant doing?” Mom asked as she finished the first half of her sandwich.
“It’s good. We’re fully booked for the next two weeks and only have a few tables left each day for the following two months.”
Then, looking at Heidi, I broached the cake subject. “Canon was telling me you make cakes for people with food intolerances and diabetes. We’d like to start offering a more diverse menu that takes stuff like that into account, and dessert is a big part of the meals we offer.”
“Sho’ is,” Nemi muttered as she picked up the next chunk, making me grin.
Mom leaned in and winked at Heidi. “Which is why they chose you to do them, honey.”
“I can do a range of items that fit in with different requirements. I also keep a book on people in town and allergies and the like, so if they give me permission to cross-reference it with bookings, I could also help you out with offering a more custom dessert option for people, too, for special occasions.”
That might actually work.
“I like that idea.”
“Mommy’s got all good ideas,” Nemi sang her mom’s praises to us all, making Heidi blush. “All the time, she says a idea and bang.” She smacked her hands together loudly.