Be Sweet

by Diann Hunt

“I’m happy where I live, Janni. I’m successful in my business. Life is good. Eddie is a jerk, but he did me a favor.”

  Janni grows quiet. “I’m sorry, Char.”

  “Let’s just forget it.”

  “I sure miss Aunt Rose,” she says.

  “Me too.”

  “I’m glad you got her place. You deserve it.”

  “She got me through that divorce. I had to get away from Tappery. The memories. The gossip. Gail Campbell. Linda and Eddie. Aunt Rose offered me a safe haven.”

  “Well, you helped her, too, in her last days when she really needed it.”

  “It was the least I could do. I never dreamed she would leave me the cottage.” I turn to Janni. “Let’s just hope I don’t have to see any of those guys again while I’m here.”

  “Tappery is a pretty small community.”

  “Thank you for pointing that out. I’ll visit the coffee shop in the off hours and do my grocery shopping the same way. Surely I can go that long without seeing them.”

  “Even Russ?”

  “Oh, Russ is okay, but I don’t want to see him if I can help it. I’m dating Peter, after all. Besides, Russ lives here. Long-distance relation-ships never work.”

  “If you just want to stay friends, it should be no big deal if you run into him, right?”

  “Well, I don’t want him to think—”

  “So you tell him where you stand up front. You’re dating someone back home. Period. You can only be his friend. ’Course, that’s all that you are with Peter too. Am I right?” She’s making a point, but I ignore her. “So it shouldn’t be a problem to run into”—she uses finger quotes here—“‘a friend’ in Tappery.”

  “I see how your mind works. And let me just say, it’s scary that I understand it.” We both laugh.

  “Good. Now that that’s settled, I need to tell you something.”

  “What?”

  “Um . . .” she looks down at her gloved fingers. “You know, Daniel was looking for some people to help with the sugaring, and, well, we have a friend who has another job, but he said he could help out here and there.”

  “That’s great,” I say, though I don’t know what this has to do with me.

  “The friend is Russ Benson.”

  After checking with Carpenter Center, I ’m relieved to find they have crystal glasses with gold accents to use with the china. So that’s one less worry. I put a checkmark beside the list in my notebook and make a mental note to shop for ribbon today. Just then the front door shoves open, causing me to jump.

  “Hey, Aunt Char,” Blake says, dropping his bulging duffle bag onto the floor.

  “Blake Ort!” I shout, bouncing out of my chair and rushing to the door to give him a squeeze. He hauls his muscular six-foot-something self over to me and pulls me into a bear hug. Like father, like son.

  “How are you, kid?” His broad shoulder reduces the sound of my voice to a muffle. He pulls away, and I look up at him. I tousle his hair, which isn’t easy to do since he’s taller than me. “Still breaking girls’ hearts?”

  A lopsided grin erupts on his face. “Can I help it if I’m so doggone good-looking?”

  “It’s your calling.”

  “Exactly.”

  It’s easy to see why Blake breaks hearts. He’s handsome and fun.

  “Hey, Aunt Char,” Ethan says, stepping through the door. A whoosh of cold night air rushes in, making me shiver. A long-haired brunette follows close behind. Ethan has the blonde hair of the Ort family, but his brown eyes and round face are every inch his mother’s—as is his body build. He’s shorter and a bit thicker. He kinda reminds me of Barney Rubble. Still, his smile could charm the sap from a maple tree.

  “Great to see you, Ethan.” I grab him and give him a hard squeeze.

  Janni saunters down the stairs, and Daniel comes from the family room to join us. Nothing short of a fire would make them run. I’ve entered the land of Mayberry.

  After everyone finishes hugging, Ethan introduces his friend. “Every-body, this is Candy Walling.” Cute dimples peek from the corners of her mouth when she smiles, and love flickers in her gray eyes, I’m sure of it.

  “Candy has offered to help with the sap. Isn’t that sweet?” Janni’s gaze goes from me to the boys who are laughing. “What?”

  “You said ‘isn’t that sweet?’ Get it? Sweet, sap? Candy? Notice any-thing?” I tease.

  She rolls her eyes. “Anyway—” She draws the word out like a Slinky. “It will be great to have the extra help.” She tosses a smile of thanks to Candy.

  “Oh, by the way, I met a girl over at the coffee shop today. She’s twenty-four and looking for a temporary job,” Daniel says.

  “What were you doing at the coffee shop? My coffee not good enough for you now?” Janni says, hands on her hips.

  “Just wanted to see what all the fuss was about. You still make the best coffee,” my brother-in-law graciously says, though we both know better, and gives her a peck on the cheek. She instantly softens.

  Blake jumps in. “Twenty-four? Would I like her?”

  “Put your tongue back in your mouth, Big Boy. You may need it for dinner,” I say.

  He shrugs.

  “I thought we could use the extra help, so I told her to be here at nine on Monday morning.”

  “Would I like her?” Blake presses.

  “We can use the help, that’s for sure,” Janni says. “And you, young man, behave yourself. By the way, you boys need to know that Grandma is staying with us for a while,” Janni whispers.

  “Why is that?” Blake asks.

  “Long story. We’ll tell you later.”

  “Which room are Grandma and Grandpa staying in?” Ethan asks.

  “Grandpa’s not here,” Daniel says.

  “Grandma’s staying in the study.” Seeing the boys’ wide eyes, Janni says, “Go upstairs and put your things away. We’ll talk later.”

  We all chat awhile, and then the kids get their things put away in their rooms. Candy will stay in Ethan’s room while Ethan bunks out with Blake.

  “Boy, it’s great to see those kids,” I say, joining Janni in the kitchen.

  “Isn’t it?” She pulls a pizza crust from the fridge, stretches it onto a pizza pan, then spreads homemade sauce on top.

  “I considered going to the high school and announcing that we needed help but thought better of it.” After washing my hands, I help top the pizza with pepperoni slices.

  “Why? You afraid you’ll run into—”

  “The Evil Friends,” I say, clawlike hands in the air, fingers wiggling. “Boo, ha, ha, ha.”

  Janni laughs. “Get me the cheese from the fridge, will you?”

  “Sure.” A package of blended mozzarella and cheddar is on the top shelf, so I pull it out. “This what you want?”

  “That’s it. Thanks.” After washing the sauce from her hands, she rips open the package and sprinkles the cheese. “Well, you don’t have to be around Russ, you know. We’ll all eat together, but you don’t have to sit by him.”

  “Oh, it’s no big deal. Besides, it’s not like he’s shown any interest in me other than being polite. Just because he had a crush on me thirty years ago, doesn’t mean anything today. We’re both different people than we were then.” Trust me on this. He’s way different. Not that I care one way or the other. “Thirty years changes things, right? I mean, all you have to do is look at my thighs to see that.”

  “You need to learn to be comfortable in your skin,” Janni says, taking a bite from a chocolate chip cookie, caring not one lick that her slender self disappeared years ago. I’m not sure if she’s comfortable in her skin or beyond caring anymore. “I think it’s really sweet of Russ to offer to help. Though I wonder if he would have offered if you weren’t here.”

  “Oh, please. He’s just being nice.”

  “Well, I saw the way he glowed right after he saw you at our house. There was more than nice in his eyes, let me tell you. So if you’re not interested, y
ou’d better let him down gently.”

  “Oh, yeah, sure. I’ll just walk up to him and say, ‘Thanks for helping with the syrup, Russ. And by the way, I thought I’d better clear the air. I’m dating someone back home, so we’re just going to keep this at the friendship level, okay?’ To which he will reply, ‘I wasn’t wanting to do otherwise.’”

  “You underestimate yourself.” Janni shoves the pizza pan into the oven and closes the door. She turns to me. “But then you always did.”

  If I’m all that, why did my husband leave me?

  eight

  On Monday morning, my eyes refuse to pop open until I’ve had my morning run to the coffee shop. My maple macchiato is just what the doctor ordered. Once I drain my cup, I wrap myself in so many clothes I could win a part in The Mummy, and then I head out the front door with the others. We’ve been collecting sap for a couple of days, so Janni and I plan to help gather sap then come back early to pre-pare lunch.

  “You guys ready to go?” Janni asks, eyes bright, skin glowing. Early in the morning. Sometimes it boggles my mind that we’re blood relatives.

  Blake, Ethan, and Candy look worse than the old-timers. Dark circles shadow their eyes. And their hair? Nothing short of hosin’ them down can fix that.

  “Wait. We can’t leave. That new girl isn’t here yet,” I say.

  “I wonder if she’s going to show up,” Janni says.

  “It’s possible her enthusiasm waned with the morning light. It happens. After all, if Godzilla hadn’t been sleeping in the next room, dis-guised as my mother, I might have stayed in bed this morning.”

  Janni gasps. “Char!” The kids laugh, and she’s trying very hard not to join them.

  Just then we see a lone walker headed our way.

  “Must be the new girl,” Blake says with a mischievous grin and wiggling of his eyebrows. He walks out to meet her while the rest of us look on. When they get closer, Blake gives me a thumbs-up and throws a “vavoom” look my way.

  She’s so cute, I half expect her to sprinkle fairy dust. She reminds me of someone. I can’t put my finger on it, but I think it’s that gal I sold the Williamson house to recently. We quickly introduce ourselves. She tells us her name is Stephanie Sherwood.

  “Thanks for coming. We can always use extra help,” Janni says.

  Stephanie stares at Janni a moment without saying anything. I don’t know if she’s nervous or if she thinks Janni’s weird, because come to think of it, I look at Janni that way too.

  Janni must sense Stephanie’s nervousness, because she reaches over and gives the young girl a hug. “We really appreciate you show-ing up.”

  That’s why everyone loves Janni. She has such a way with people. So warm and sweet. Just like a cinnamon roll. It’s disgusting. Me? I’m about as cozy as a hedgehog. I am my mother’s daughter.

  “Thanks for giving me the chance,” Stephanie says. She seems a little choked up. Before my morning coffee, I’m exactly the same way.

  We fall into step together as we all make our way toward the woods.

  “Well, I may just have to call in sick after spring break and stick around,” Blake says.

  “Stick around?” I ask.

  “Ha-ha,” he says to me, his eyes never leaving Stephanie.

  She ignores him. “So what are we going to do right now?”

  “We’re going to take the bags from the trees, pour the sap into some buckets, dump them in a big tank in the truck, put the bags back, and then Daniel will take the truck down to the Sugar Shack.”

  “What happens there?”

  “We’ll run the sap through a pipe from the tank into the Sugar Shack where it will flow into a holding tank. If we have enough sap, we’ll start the evaporator and begin the sugaring process.”

  “Do we have to make the syrup by tonight?”

  “We have to run the evaporator as soon as possible, because the sap can spoil, same as milk. But once the water is evaporated from the syrup, we can stop until tomorrow.”

  Janni jumps in, breath heaving as though she hasn’t walked this much in a month of Sundays. “The good news is several of our friends have called and will be coming at various times this morning. We should be able to empty the bags and get to the Sugar Shack fairly quickly. Then there are several who have offered to work second shift throughout the syrup process, so I’m relieved.”

  “Oh, that’s great,” I say, pushing away the twitch of envy that springs up every time I see or hear about her throng of friends. Same friends she’s always had. Lifelong friends. She’s the one with the good life.

  “Sounds like a lot of work,” Stephanie says.

  Blake’s shoulders rear back, and he gives a studly smile. “Oh, don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of help. Plus, Ethan and I know the ropes. We’ll be done in time to go out for pizza.” He tosses Stephanie a wink. She stares at him as though she’s met his kind before.

  With great effort I force myself to slow my fast clip and walk at the same pace as the others. After weaving our way through a maze of shag-bark hickories, oak, fir, and beech trees, we finally come to our first maple, where we all gather, waiting for Daniel to show up with the truck. How many times did I wander out here with Eddie where we talked and dreamed of our future together?

  A hum of chitchat joins with birdsong and the lone cry of a train whistle in the distance.

  My cell phone rings. In the heart of the forest, it seems almost sacrilegious. Quiet chatter continues in the background when I answer. “Hello?”

  “How’s my best girl?”

  That little phrase is starting to irritate me. “Hi, Peter.”

  “Oh, that was enthusiastic.”

  “Sorry. We’re ready to work on the trees.”

  “Sounds serious.”

  “You remember the pancakes and maple syrup I made you? It is serious.”

  “Oh yeah. Do you have any of that left around here?”

  “Are you at my house?” That idea bugs me a little bit, though I should be happy. He’s probably cleaning. Maybe I should tell him about the empty cookie box I stuffed under my bed.

  “Yeah, I left my suit coat over here. I came back to get it.”

  “Oh.”

  “Is something wrong?”

  “No, nothing’s wrong.” Just get out of my house, please.

  “Well, I wanted to check in and see how you’re doing. The office isn’t the same without you. The sales are down.” He laughs, but his little comment reminds me once again that someone wants me for what I can do for them.

  Before I can work up a good comeback, Daniel pulls up in his black, rusty truck. It’s seen a lot of sap seasons. The engine stops. Hard metal crunches against metal as the driver’s door opens and Daniel climbs out. But when the passenger door squeaks open, the scene seems to play out in slow motion. Dressed in jeans, slick leather boots, and a thick, black winter jacket, Russ steps out, taking long strides in our direction. Light shines on his hair and glistens in his eyes, while his hands are stuffed deep in the pockets of his jacket.

  He’s a lean, mean, macho machine.

  “Charlene, you still there?”

  “What? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I’m here.”

  Russ moves within earshot. “I miss you, too, Peter,” I say as loud as I dare. Russ’s eyes meet mine. I smile, wave, then turn around. Doesn’t hurt to let Russ know others are interested in me.

  “Huh? I miss you too.” Peter sounds confused. It’s not the first time.

  “Well, listen, I need to go. We’re getting ready to collect the sap. Make sure you lock my door when you leave.” He’s a fanatic about leaving things the way he found them, so I know I don’t need to say that. It bugs me that he still has my spare key. I gave it to him when I got tied up in a house closing so he could get preparations started for a company gathering we were having. I’d forgotten about it until now.

  “I’ll take care of it. Talk to you soon.”

  Taking a deep breath, I stand with my back turned to the group. Russ
looks good, too good. I refuse to let my heart get tangled up that way again.

  Though Peter is starting to bug me, our current arrangement works. My heart stays out of the mix. And I aim to keep my heart safe from now on, even if it kills me.

  “Hi, Charley.” Russ’s earthy-scented cologne reaches me before he does.

  One look into his warm blue eyes, and I figure I’d better get to work on my epitaph.

  “Seems we keep bumping into each other.” A nervous laugh follows. I think it’s mine, but it could have come from Russ. I’m a little dis-oriented, so I’m not sure.

  “How did you manage to get off work today?”

  “My patient list is just getting up and running. We’re a small office. Dad’s covering things today. He knew Janni and Daniel needed help.”

  It seems everyone comes to their rescue. We follow the others to the tapped trees where we start emptying the bags into a couple of big buckets. The smell of the bark, the woods, the sap, all bring a flood of memories of our family working and laughing together as we made the syrup. Funny how I’d forgotten the good memories.

  Russ lifts the bag from a tree and dumps the clear liquid into a big bucket.

  When we were kids, Dad used to put metal buckets instead of plastic bags on the trees to collect the sap. Janni and I hated cleaning the sticky sap from those buckets, so Dad would bribe us with maple cookies. Seemed as though those cookies could take the sting out of most anything. Thankfully, these days we only use the buckets for transferring the sap.

  I take a deep breath. “Listen, about the coffee shop—”

  “Forget it. I understand completely.”

  “You do?”

  “I went to the same high school, remember?”

  The fact that he understands, and remembers their loose tongues, melts me in a way I hadn’t expected.

  “So was that your boyfriend?”

  “Who?” I walk over to the next tree and lift the bag to empty.

  “On the phone—oh, never mind. It’s none of my business.”

  How can I explain what Peter is to me when I don’t know myself? “We’re good friends more than anything.”

  More of Janni’s friends soon join us in the woods and start dumping bags of sap into the buckets.