by Ashley Nemer
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Nadia woke up the next morning at exactly five forty-five a.m. Her mind was alert and ready to go. She felt like herself again, she had a mission, a purpose. Her sister was asleep in the bed next to her and she didn’t want to disturb her, so she quietly slipped from the sheets and grabbed a pair of tennis shoes and her bra. She needed to run, clear her mind and thoughts. She grabbed one of Kain’s sweaters that was lying on the back of the couch and put it on. She felt the cold chill brush along her skin when she opened the door. The sky was still pitch black, and the air had that cool winter scent to it.
She jogged down through the grass to the sidewalk; she loved the sound of grass crunching under her feet. She listened to the sound of her jogging on the concrete, her feet hitting over and over. Deep breaths in and out, the cool air cleaning her lungs out. When she turned the corner of the street, she saw cars lined on either side of the road. It made her think about the time she was learning to ride a bike with her father and she ran into a parked car. It was early evening; the sun was starting to set. She had her training wheels taken off her bike for the first time, and she was determined to ride her bike like her older siblings.
Her father let go of the bike while she was peddling as hard as she could. One second, two seconds, three seconds passed and bam. She ran into a parked car. The neighbor kids all ran over to her along with her father. He scooped her up in his arms and grabbed the bike. The two of them went home and her mother cleaned the cut on her knee from the fall. Attempt number one, epic fail, Nadia thought. Only she would run into a parked target.
The time lapsed during her run, and when she returned to Kain’s house she didn’t know how long she had been gone. It appeared everyone was still asleep, so she took the sweater off and kicked her tennis shoes off to the side. She heard Triple T making noise in the other room. She opened the door, and he came scurrying out. She picked him up and walked into the kitchen; she needed to feed them both.
Walking towards the kitchen she saw something moving under the blanket on the couch. How had she missed him earlier when she was leaving? She sat down next to Daman on the couch and rubbed her hand on his back.
“Lil’ man, you want to go to bed?”
He shook his head and rubbed his eyes, she watched him look up at her grinning and then reaching out for the kitten. “Was waiting for you Aunt Dia. Where did you go; did you get us donuts?”
“I went for a run, and no, I didn’t get you donuts. Do you want me to make you some?” He looked like he had just won the lottery, nodding his head yes.
“Your special kind, with filling and sugar?”
“Like there’s any other kind. Come on, you can help me.”
They set Triple T on the couch and he jumped up onto the back of the couch, curled into a ball, and watched them walk into the kitchen. “Daman I’m going to need a rolling pin, do you have one?”
Nadia washed her hands, and then pulled out the bowls and other ingredients she needed. She brought them to the table and organized them.
“Here you go,” Daman said. He handed her the pin and reached for the flour.
“Hey, hold on there, grab hands. Go wash your hands.” She batted his hands away from the baking goods and shoved him off to the sink. She had everything laid out nicely, and when he came back to sit at the table with her, she was ready to begin.
“Alright, let’s make the dough. We have everything right here, so let’s combine the ingredients into one big bowl. Can you stir it all to make it smooth lil’ man?”
“Yup yup!” He grabbed the fork, poured the water into the bowl, and started to stir. Nadia laughed at his efforts and began pouring the other items in as well. When the mixture started to harden, she took his hand in hers and helped guide it around the bowl, making sure the dough was forming.
“Alright, now we need to pinch some and put it into a ball.” She started to move her hand to grab the dough when she felt Daman pinch under her arm. “Ow! Hey what was that?”
“You said I need to pinch someone, so I pinched you.”
“No, I said pinch some. Not someone. Like this, see, you put your clean hands into the dough and grab a piece of it. Now you drop it onto the wax paper like this.”
“Ohh I see,” He reached his hand into the bowl and pulled off a huge piece that he had to hold with both hands. “Like this!”
She laughed and nodded her head. He placed the dough on the wax paper too, and she sprinkled flour onto each of the balls. “Now we have to roll them out. I’ll add a little flower every now and then if you roll them. Can you do that?”
“Yes, watch.” He grabbed the pin and started to push it against the dough; he was having trouble getting enough of an angle so he stood on the chair. He put all his might into it and started to roll them properly. Nadia applied flour here and there, and Daman’s grin indicated he was having the time of his life.
“You missed a spot, Daman.”
He looked up at her and with a serious expression and said, “I did not.”
“Yes you did lil’ man, right here.” She took a pinch of flour and sprinkled it on his nose. He laughed and put the roller on her arm and began rolling. “Hey, I’m not the dough.”
Daman laughed and then asked, “What’s next?”
“Okay, now we have to put the filling in. Watch how I do it, then copy me.”
He watched her carefully apply the fillings and fold the dough over and seal it off. “I got this, Aunt Dia.” He copied her actions precisely and carefully rolled the dough into a ball and sealed it.
“Good job. Okay, now I’m going to fry ‘em. Stay here; I don’t want you to get splashed.”
She picked them up, took them to the pan, and set them on the counter. She warned some oil up and then dropped them in. Daman came over to her and tried to look up. He wanted to see what was going on.
“It sounds like its cooking; I want to see.”
“No, go sit back down. I’ll bring your finished one to you.”
He sulked for a minute, then brightened back up when she brought his donut back to him and sat it down in front of him.
“Let it cool off for a minute or two; the filling will be hot.” She collected the items from the table and went to put them away while the donuts cooled.
“We didn’t make any for the others. What will they eat?”
“We ran out of dough, but don’t worry, lil’ man, we’ll figure something out.”
“Okay, can I eat now?”
“Not yet, we have to add the powdered sugar. You want a little or a lot?”
“A LOT!”
Nadia sprinkled her donut first with the powdered sugar and then Daman’s. There was no spot left unsprinkled. “I think you forgot a spot, Aunt Dia.” He brought his hand up and tapped the tip of his nose.
“Indeed I did; forgive me.”
Daman tilted his head back and Nadia took the spoon and sprinkled him with sugar. He giggled and laughed, then she sat down and they both picked up their donuts and took a bite. He grinned up at Nadia as the filling rolled down his chin.
“Wiff is goof, Aunt Dia!”
“Don’t talk with your mouth full, and I’m glad.” She smiled at him and finished her donut. She knew she was going to be heading home today, but it was little moments like this that made spending the night at Kain’s worthwhile.
“Thanks for the donut.”
“Anytime, you want to watch a movie?”
“Yeah, can we watch one with the Chevy that chases someone at Christmas?”
“I think you mean Chevy Chase stars in A Christmas Vacation.”
“Yeah, that!”
Alright, go get it out, and we’ll snuggle up on the couch and watch it.”
Daman ran off to the video shelf and put the DVD inside the player. Nadia pulled the blanket out, spread it over her, and smiled at Daman as he came running up to her and jumped on the couch. They snuggled together, and the movie started playing.
“Aunt Dia, you can st
ay here, you know? You don’t have to go home.”
“Nah, I need to go back. I have a job and stuff to do. Now shhh, you’re gonna miss what happens.”
“Is that Las Vegas?” He pointed to the screen and the opening scene of the movie began.
“Yeah, it is, now shhhh.” She elbowed him slightly and pulled him into her grasp for a tight hug. They stayed like this long enough to both fall asleep.
