by Gail Sattler
Melissa felt her face turn ten shades of red, making her very glad Josh couldn’t see her on the other end of the phone. “Oh, well, yes, I guess I have.”
“If you need some time to think about it, that’s fine. Take all the time you need. I just want to warn you, things are a little, uh, well, less formal here at home than in a restaurant.”
She couldn’t help but smile. Lunch at the restaurant had been an adventure in itself. She couldn’t imagine six males at the same table where there were no restrictions or codes of decorum.
And since Josh asked, she had been praying for an opportunity to speak to Cleo. If she couldn’t figure out how to get Cleo to come to her, then she had prayed for a way to go to Cleo. Now the chance had been laid in her lap. She couldn’t turn it down, even if it wasn’t exactly the way she thought it should be, or that the thought of actually meeting Cleo face-to-face scared her silly.
Melissa cleared her throat. “Yes, I’d like that. What time tomorrow?”
She smiled at the muffled sound of Josh putting his hand over the mouthpiece of the phone and whispering, “She said yes,” to the boys. His voice then came through the phone loud and clear. “That’s great. If you want to get a pen, I’ll give you directions.”
As she wrote everything down, her smile dropped as what she was about to do started to sink in.
This was it. She was going to meet Cleo. She had no idea what she was going to say or do, but she did know one thing. Instead of sleeping tonight, Melissa would be praying like she’d never prayed before.
❧
Melissa sucked in a deep, deep breath, steeled her nerve, and began the seemingly endless walk up Josh’s brother’s sidewalk.
Rather than drive herself crazy, she refused to think about meeting Cleo. Instead she forced herself to think about what Josh might be cooking for supper. Bradley had assured her countless times of the quality of his uncle’s cooking skills, although the only dish he ever seemed to mention was spaghetti. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d made dinner for eight people, if she ever had. Feeding a large group made her think of the potluck dinners her church had every once in awhile, except that with Josh and the boys, every day would be a potluck. She didn’t know what he would be able to cook in such massive quantities every day. She didn’t even know what the average single man knew how to cook in the first place. If it were her feeding a large group on short notice, she would probably make. . .spaghetti.
Today at school she had taken Bradley aside first thing in the morning and asked him to please keep the fact that she was going to his house for supper just between them and not to mention it to anyone, not even his best friend. Knowing children as she did, she had been careful not to use the word “secret.” If she had, it would have quickly become a bulletin through the entire school population by the time recess ended.
He hadn’t understood why she didn’t want anyone to know, so she did her best to explain it in a way that a six year old would understand, telling him that if the principal found out, she could get in trouble. The trouble was, she wasn’t lying. Her only course of defense would be that she had accepted Josh’s invitation to give the incident with the dog closure.
Following Bradley’s agreement not to say anything, he had broken into a gleeful smile. He told her that they hadn’t had dessert at home since Uncle Josh moved in, but he’d heard Uncle Josh talking to Cleo about making something. Bradley proceeded to tell her about his mother’s chocolate cake and how a whole cake never lasted until bedtime, even if the first piece wasn’t cut until supper.
The concept of raising five boys was so mind-boggling that Melissa wondered if part of Bradley’s mother’s illness needing such drastic treatment in a faraway place had a lot to do with mental stress.
She had been about to ask Bradley a question about what Josh and Cleo were going to make when Bradley started talking again. He told her how he heard Uncle Josh doing something in the kitchen after he and the other two younger boys were in bed while Tyler and Cleo went for a walk.
The concept that a woman wouldn’t even help with company coming for dinner made Melissa both sick and angry.
Now if she could only release that anger, she would be able to talk to Cleo and Josh in love as a Christian sister.
Melissa stood outside the door, counted to ten, and raised her fist to knock. Before she made the second rap, frantic barking increased in volume, ending with thumping and scratching against the door.
Children squealed and yelled; the blow-’em-up sounds of a video game went suddenly dead, followed by a mad scramble on the other side of the door, along with more barking.
Suddenly, the noise on the other side of the door went completely silent, and the door flew open. The three youngest boys stood neatly in a row, smiling ear to ear at her. Andrew and Tyler stood behind them, and Josh stood off to the side, half standing and half leaning as he held back a frantic tan-colored dog. The little grouping almost made Melissa wish she had a camera.
She smiled at them all. “Hi.”
Josh’s warm smile did funny things to her insides, but she convinced herself it was just hunger.
“Hi to you too,” he said, his deep voice coming out with a skip as his dog made another frantic lunge that made his whole body jerk with the movement. “I hope you like dogs.”
“Yes, I like dogs.”
“In that case, brace yourself.” Josh released the dog, who immediately leapt toward her. “Melissa, meet Cleo.”
Melissa froze. “Cleo?” She braced herself so the impact of two huge paws on her stomach wouldn’t knock her over, and before she could gather her thoughts, a wet, rough tongue washed her face.
Seven
Josh felt his stomach take a nosedive. He had expected Cleo to jump on Melissa, but he hadn’t expected the dog to go so far as to kiss her in the face or jump so hard that she almost knocked Melissa over.
He quickly squeezed his way past the boys and dragged Cleo down and away.
“I’m really sorry, Melissa. She doesn’t usually kiss strangers. Just us.”
His stomach clenched even more as he watched Melissa wipe her mouth with the back of her hand, then brush off the spots where Cleo’s feet had been on her clothing. “It’s okay,” she mumbled. “Cleo just wasn’t who, er, what I was expecting.”
“I know what you mean. I’ll admit she’s not very well trained, and she’s kind of chunky for a yellow Lab, but I’ve been making sure that she gets a walk every day, even if it’s just Tyler taking her out for a short one in the evening when I don’t have time. She’s actually lost a little weight recently.”
Ryan’s voice piped up behind him. “No, she hasn’t, Uncle Josh.”
“She has so,” Andrew replied.
“She’s not fat!” Bradley said, running to hug Cleo as he spoke. “It’s not her fault.”
“No, it’s your fault for leaving food on the coffee table,” Kyle taunted.
“Is not!”
“Pizza isn’t good for dogs, you know.”
“Yeah, she could get sick on it, and that would be all your fault.”
“It’s the chili you left on the table that made her barf, Stupid.”
“You’re the one who didn’t clean up the dishes when you were supposed to. That was your fault.”
“You’re the one who let her knock the glass over and get broken!”
“Yeah, she almost cut her foot, you know. That was your fault.”
Josh waved one hand in the air to get everyone’s attention, not exactly sure when he had lost control. “Boys! Boys! Let’s settle down and let Miss Klassen go sit in the living room, okay?”
He turned to Melissa and forced himself to smile. “The living room is this way.” He released Cleo, who trotted faithfully behind him like she was supposed to. “Have a seat. You want some coffee?”
“Only if it’s made. Would you like some help?”
He glanced briefly in the direction of the kitchen. If she went in now she’d see t
he mess, and he didn’t want that. Not that he’d been great at housekeeping before, but he had always prided himself on not being a total slob like some of the other single guys he knew. He couldn’t believe how much he’d lowered his standards in the past month. “No, you’re my guest. You stay here. I won’t be long.”
Josh hustled into the kitchen and dumped the frozen carrots into the boiling water, then added more water because he wasn’t sure how long it had been boiling, and the water had gotten a bit low. He started the coffee while the water returned to a boil and then went back to the living room, but what he saw stopped him in the doorway.
Melissa sat in the center of the couch, surrounded by all the kids. Even Cleo lay sedately nestled at her feet. He didn’t know what was so funny, but everyone was smiling. Even Tyler wore a grin from ear to ear. If Josh didn’t know any better, he would have said that Cleo was smiling too.
Not that he was jealous, he was just sorry he missed out.
Only Cleo noticed him reenter the room, but when she stood and wagged her tail, everyone turned.
Melissa smiled at him as he sat in the chair on the other side of the room, since he couldn’t get near the couch with the crowd around her. “I was just telling them that something sure smells good, and I’ll bet it isn’t spaghetti.”
“Uh, no,” he muttered, wondering why she thought he might serve spaghetti, because it was something he tended to make a lot.
“You know, it almost smells like turkey.”
“Uh, it is turkey.”
Her eyebrows raised, and her eyes went wide, which Josh thought rather cute. “Turkey? You made a turkey?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “It’s really not a hard thing to cook a turkey. It’s just like a big chicken. I took it out of the freezer last night when you said you would come, and all I did was stick it in the oven before I left for work and set the timer. I bought this great book that tells how long to cook things and all that stuff.”
“I guess I’m only used to having turkey for special occasions when there are a lot of people to feed, but you have to feed a large group every day.”
“Not really. Kyle and Bradley are still little. They only count as half a kid each.”
“Uncle Josh!”
The two younger boys sprang from their places beside Melissa and jumped on top of him, poking Josh enough to make him defend himself, which he did by tickling them and poking them back until they squealed. The ruckus started Cleo barking, so he started to push away before everything got too carried away. “That’s enough, guys. I think it’s time to—”
“Dog pile!” shouted Ryan.
In a split second Ryan and Andrew were also on top of him, and he was helpless beneath the mass of small bodies.
He heard Tyler talking to Melissa. “This happens all the time. Don’t worry, no one ever gets hurt.”
“That’s good,” Melissa replied in a tiny voice.
At the sound of her voice, the kids suddenly remembered they had company, scuffled off of Josh, and quietly returned to the couch, sitting perfectly still with their hands folded neatly in their laps as if nothing had ever happened.
Josh rose from the chair, which now felt rather lonely with four less people in it. He ran one hand down his shirt to smooth the wrinkles out of it, then ran his fingers through his tousled hair, knowing what he really needed now was a comb. “Anyway, I was going to say that it’s great to cook a turkey during the week, because then there’s leftovers for sandwiches, and if I figure out everything else right, I won’t have to cook too much tomorrow.”
“I suppose.”
“If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go pour that coffee and get everything together. I know the boys will entertain you.”
He’d barely stepped one foot into the kitchen when he heard Melissa’s voice behind him. “Please, Josh. Let me help.”
Josh’s heart nearly stopped. He didn’t know why, but he had wanted to impress her by showing her that he could do a good job looking after his nephews and cook a decent meal at the same time. After the scene at the front door, then the ruckus in the living room, his last hope for any semblance of respect would have been for him to put out a nice, organized supper. But now she’d seen the state of the kitchen.
As he turned around, Melissa stood in the doorway watching him with her head tilted to one side. “Surely there’s something I can do. Can I mash potatoes or something? Slice the turkey? I want to help—there’s so much to do.”
She would get no argument from him there. Everything was cooked and ready to be dished up. With another adult in the kitchen, they could do it in half the time.
“I guess. Everybody’s hungry, so the faster we get supper on the table, the better.”
“I see you set the dining room table instead of eating in the kitchen.”
The reason was so she wouldn’t see the mess, but it was too late for that. He had wanted to impress her, although he didn’t know why. It shouldn’t have mattered, but it did.
Josh turned around and picked the oven mitts off the counter. “The dining room table is bigger,” he mumbled.
As he turned his head, he caught Melissa peeking into one of the pots on the stove and poking the contents with a fork. “It looks like the potatoes are done. Would you like me to mash them?”
He felt his cheeks heating up. “Melissa, this feels so strange. How could I be the one to give you instructions on what to do? I thought I’d be okay with this, but I’m not. I feel strange giving a woman orders in the kitchen. Especially when you’re supposed to be my guest. If I were a guest for dinner at your house, I would be sitting down and letting you do everything, and I wouldn’t feel guilty. You shouldn’t be doing this, but I’m not going to turn you down.”
“Good. I was expecting hamburgers if you didn’t make spaghetti. I certainly wasn’t expecting a delicious meal like this.”
Josh couldn’t help himself. He grinned as he backed up with the turkey roaster and plunked it on top of the only empty spot he could find on the counter. “Don’t say that until you’ve tasted it.”
He removed the oven mitts, poured two cups of coffee, and started slicing the turkey while Melissa dished everything out. When they were almost done, he poked his head around the corner to call the boys, who dutifully came one after the other into the kitchen. Each of them carried a bowl or plate of food to the table without argument and sat down quietly, exactly like they’d discussed.
When all were seated, Josh folded his hands in front of him on the tabletop. All the boys quietly did the same.
He noticed Melissa’s little smile as she also folded her hands in front of her, so Josh lowered his head before she noticed that he was smiling too. “Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for this good day and that we are joined as a family to share it together. Thank You for our guest and thank You for all this great food that we now get to eat. Amen.”
“Amen!” they all shouted, except for Ryan, who shouted “Yea!”
Ryan slapped his hands over his mouth, then glanced sheepishly at Melissa. “I meant ‘amen,’ like Uncle Josh said.”
She smiled back. “That’s okay, Ryan. God likes everyone to be happy.”
He nodded as he reached for the bowl of carrots. “I forgot what to say. Yesterday was the first time we did this.”
Bradley nodded beside him. “Yeah. Uncle Josh says it’s good for us. Like vegabulls. And God likes it too. We gotta start being spectfull to God. Like, cuz He made us and everything.”
Josh pasted a smile on his face as he turned to Melissa. “It’s a start.”
Her returning smile made his heart do funny things. “It looks like you’re doing wonderful, Uncle Josh. Pretty soon I’ll have to give you my Sunday school teacher’s job.”
“Uh, I don’t think so.”
“I still can’t believe I’m having turkey dinner on a Friday night. You even made stuffing.”
“Don’t be too impressed. It’s the kind that comes out of a box.”
“It s
till tastes good.”
Andrew nodded. “Yeah. Uncle Josh makes lots of stuff that comes out of a box. He doesn’t cook like Mom, but he makes lots of good stuff.”
Kyle picked up the bowl of salad and handed it to Melissa. “I helped make the salad. Uncle Josh told me to.”
“The salad looks delicious, Kyle. The whole meal is delicious.”
Tyler rested his elbows on the table and grinned. “You should see the dessert, Miss Klassen. Uncle Josh finished it last night after the other kids were in bed. And then we hid it.”
Bradley offered Melissa the bottle of salad dressing. “While Uncle Josh got to do the fun stuff, we had to clean up. Are you pressed?”
“Pressed?” Melissa turned to Josh.
If he thought his cheeks were warm before, not only were they hot now, but so were his ears. “I, uh, told them I wanted you to be IMpressed by how neat the house was. I should have known better than to expect them to not say anything.” He didn’t think she was that impressed now, but if she would have seen the mad scramble to get everything picked up and the place vacuumed, she would have been. The place looked so different than a short hour before she got there that even he had been impressed.
“It’s okay, Josh. I honestly don’t know how you do it. I don’t know if I could do it, and I have experience with children every day. Running a household is different than a classroom. I admit that at school I see them at their best. You have to dress them and feed them and get them there.”
Ryan rested his hand on Melissa’s arm to get her attention. “It’s not so hard. Uncle Josh is happy if everyone has a lunch to take to school, no one goes to school naked, and no one goes to bed at night hungry.”
“Ryan!” Tyler called out. “I don’t think Miss Klassen wants to hear that.”
Josh wanted to either bury his face in his hands or crawl under the table and never come out.
