Be Sweet

by Diann Hunt

  “Hey, we sort of look like each other here,” Janni says off the cuff.

  “Yeah, funny, isn’t it?” Stephanie’s eyes meet Janni’s.

  In that instant, it seems as though the dust in the room stops circu-lating. No one moves. Janni swallows, then looks from Stephanie to me, then back to Steph.

  “Am I missing a joke or something?”

  “No joke.” Stephanie’s eyes are still pinned on Janni.

  Janni appears confused. “It seems I’ve missed something, but okay,” she says, brushing the air with her hand.

  “No, wait.” Stephanie grabs Janni’s hand. “There is something.”

  Stephanie looks over to me for support, and I give a short nod. I pray Janni is up for this, what with the jail thing and all. And that Stephanie can handle the truth.

  “There is a reason we resemble one another.”

  Uh-oh, here it comes. Somebody is going to be disappointed.

  Janni gives a tiny gasp. “What are you saying?”

  Stephanie cups Janni’s hand between both of hers. “I’m not here to stir up trouble, Janni. I just wanted to get to know you.”

  Janni’s eyes grow wide. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

  Stephanie swallows hard, then looks at her. “I believe I’m your daughter.”

  All color drains from Janni’s face, and for a minute I ponder where it has gone.

  Silence engulfs the room. Janni must be trying to come up with a way to tell this poor girl she’s mistaken.

  “I know this has to be hard for you,” Stephanie says.

  Just as I’m about to jump in and help Janni out, she speaks. “You’re my dau—daughter?”

  Stephanie manages a hesitant nod. Why isn’t Janni telling her it can’t be? I’m confused.

  Janni bursts into tears, and when she regains her composure, looks at us both. “Looks as though I have some explaining to do.” I’m shocked to the core. Her lips start moving and I hear the words, but it takes a moment for them to sink in. A college love, bad choices, pregnancy, adoption.

  To say she burst my bubble and has now been stripped of her saint-hood is an understatement. I visually see myself ripping the saintly crown off her head.

  “Char, say something.”

  “All these years, you let me think you were Miss Perfect?”

  “No one is perfect, Char. Least of all me. I told you that over and over. You thought up that perfect business all by yourself.”

  I feel betrayed somehow. I resented her for being perfect, and now I resent her for not being perfect. “Am I the last one to know?”

  Janni looks down at her fingers. “No,” she whispers. “No one knows.” She turns to Stephanie. “Will you please keep this to yourself for a few more days while I sort through all this, Stephanie? I’ll have to ease the news on the rest of the family. It obviously won’t be easy, but—I’m so glad you’re here.”

  They both embrace for the longest time, crying together. They’re having a memorable moment, and I realize that I’m just mad. How could Janni keep this from us? I’m her sister. All this time she let me think . . .

  “What happened to my dad?” Stephanie asks.

  Janni bites her lip. “Alex Winters. We were not together after I found out I was pregnant, and then he died in a car accident three weeks before you were born. I’m sorry, honey.”

  Janni. The perfect one—who lived a double life.

  Seeing Janni’s reunion with her daughter—a daughter no one knew anything about—and wondering how this news will affect the family, has robbed me of sleep tonight. I think I’ve worked through most of my anger and decided Janni’s going to need me to get through this. She was there for me during my divorce; it’s the least I can do for her. Even though she never told me, her own sister, about Stephanie. Like I said, I’ve worked through most of my anger.

  My covers feel hot, and I whip them off, leaving only the sheet over me. The small fan that’s on the stand next to my bed keeps my face cool but doesn’t always help the rest of me. If Daniel keeps the house so cold, why am I hot? The thought that it might be hot flashes hits me, but I’m not buying it. I’m just not the hot flash type. I need only to get back to my own house. It agrees with me.

  After wrestling with the covers and heat for a while, I finally give up. Putting on my light robe and socks, I slip down the stairs, careful not to wake anyone.

  The boards creak beneath my feet more than usual—or maybe it just seems that way because of all the pie I’ve been eating. My foot eases off the offending board. They really need to get some things fixed around here.

  The sweet scent of blueberries fills the air and something tells me someone has already beat me to the kitchen. When I walk into the room, Janni is bent over the stove, checking on a tin of muffins.

  “Have I ever told you about the blueberry muffins I get at the Bagel Station back in Seafoam?” I reluctantly grab the coffeepot and help myself to a cup. “They totally melt in your mouth.” Reaching into the cupboard, I retrieve a saucer which my cup settles onto with a slight tinkle.

  “Well, my muffins aren’t from the Bagel Station, but they’re Daniel’s favorite. I haven’t made them in a while.” Janni walks over to me. “Listen, Char, I’m sorry about everything.”

  “Forget it. I’m the least of your problems.” The shadows beneath her eyes tell me she feels the same way. I touch her arm. “It will be all right, Janni. You’ll see.” Walking over to the table, I settle into a chair. “So, are you making these for Daniel to soften the blow?” I take a sip from my mug. The scary thing is, Janni’s coffee is starting to grow on me.

  “Something like that,” she says, pulling off her oven mitts and joining me at the table. “Like it?” Janni’s eyes are twinkling as she watches me. “I bought a new brand—from the coffee shop.”

  “You bought ground coffee from the coffee shop?”

  She nods.

  My heart warms that she went to the trouble for me. “It’s good, Janni. Really.”

  “I’m glad.” After a long sigh, she says, “You know, you’ve been asking me if I’m depressed, and I can tell you now that though I believe much of it is hormonal, since the boys have left home, I’ve had more time to think about the daughter I never knew. I tried to bury my past, and it worked for a while, but having so much time these days to spend alone with my thoughts has brought the guilt back in full force.”

  I don’t know what to say.

  “What am I gonna do, Char?”

  “It will work out. Things always do.”

  Janni shakes her head. “I’m not so sure. Daniel is big on honesty, and while I wasn’t trying to be dishonest, I just wanted to put the past behind me and not talk about it with anyone, ever.” She looks up at me. “As though it never happened, I guess. I should have known it would catch up with me.” With her fingers, she twirls a strand of hair.

  “Daniel loves you. He’ll get over it.”

  “Mom and Dad don’t know. My kids—Blake! He’s been flirting with her—” Her hand covers her mouth.

  “Nothing happened. Stephanie made sure of it.”

  “How do you know?”

  “She told me that night she told me about you being her mother, and I fell out of the tree.”

  Janni’s eyes widen to the size of muffins. “That’s what made you fall out of the tree?”

  I nod.

  She looks as though she’s not sure whether to laugh or cry. Suddenly, a chuckle bubbles out, then another, and another, until she’s erupted into a full fit of laughter. I soon join her in side-splitting guffaws. Tension rising up and out with every chuckle. By the time we’ve finished, the weight of the world has lifted from my shoulders.

  “Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry, Char, but it’s just that I can picture it all.”

  “It’s all right. It’s good to see you laugh.”

  She squeezes my hand. “Thank you, sis, for being here.”

  Before I can respond, Daniel steps into
the room.

  “Umm, something smells good,” he says, fidgeting with his belt buckle.

  “Do you have help at the store today, or do you have to go in?” Janni asks.

  He rubs the back of his neck. “I’m free to work here all day.”

  “Before you get started, would you mind if we talked a little bit?”

  One glance at Janni’s face, and Daniel doesn’t hesitate. “Sure, Sweet Girl. Whatever you want.” He looks at me, then back to Janni. “What’s up?”

  “Let’s eat some blueberry muffins first. Then we’ll take a walk.”

  “Did you see them?” I ask Stephanie when she joins us in the woods. I pull the bag from a maple tree and dump it into the bucket.

  Stephanie shakes her head. “I sure hope everything is okay. How long have they been gone, do you know?”

  “About an hour or two by now,” I say.

  “Well, I just came down to let you know I got called into the coffee shop. I’ll check back in later.”

  “Okay.” She turns to walk away. “Stephanie?”

  She looks at me.

  “Don’t worry. Things will be fine.”

  “Thanks.”

  It’s hard to say how long we work before Daniel comes over to me. “You might want to go to the house, Char. Janni could use your help getting ready for lunch.” His eyes look red-rimmed and distant.

  My stomach dips, and I swallow hard.

  The trees offer a calm presence as I make my way to the house. They’ve sheltered us from the storms of life, provided sustenance, kept us together as a family. Janni’s right. We can’t let this farm go. We need the trees. We need each other. We’ll get through this.

  “Janni?” I call out when I step inside the house.

  “I’m in the kitchen.” Her voice is shaky, as though she’s crying.

  Quickly, I go to her. “Are you all right?”

  She turns away from the sink and lifts puffy, red eyes my way. “I’ve hurt him terribly.” She dabs at her nose with a handkerchief.

  “Give him some time. He’ll get used to the idea.”

  She shakes her head. “I never meant to hurt anyone. And what will this do to Mom and Dad?” She looks at me. “How will the boys take it? I’ve made such a mess of things.” She pulls her hands to her face and sobs.

  I put my hand on her shoulder. “Janni, take it one step at a time.”

  She takes a deep breath.

  “So tell me what happened.” We find our places at the table.

  “We took a walk, and I told him everything. He listened intently, hardly ever interrupted me. When I finally finished, I was afraid to look at him, afraid of what I would see.”

  “And?”

  “He stopped walking, put his hand on my arm, and turned me to him so that I had to look square into his eyes. Then he said, ‘I just wish you had trusted me enough to tell me. How can I know there aren’t other things you’ve been keeping from me?’ What could I say? He went on to tell me that he had a past he wasn’t proud of, but I knew about his, and I should have trusted him enough to be honest up front. He believes a good marriage demands honesty.”

  Right then my ears perk, and I want to know what’s in his past that I don’t know about, but now doesn’t seem the time to ask.

  “He told me he loved me, but it will take some time for him to digest everything.”

  “You see? He’ll come around.”

  Janni wipes her nose again and nods. “Now I have to tell the others. It’s hard. Part of me feels sad that I have hurt Daniel, and I’m afraid of hurting the boys, Mom, and Dad. Yet another part of me is so happy and relieved. As I said, thoughts of my daughter have been a big part of my restlessness lately. ”

  I give her a hug.

  “Guess we should get the bread ready; the group will join us soon.” We both get up from our chairs and head over to the cupboards. “Enough about me. When’s Russ coming over again?”

  “Didn’t I tell you we’re going out tonight?”

  “No, that’s great.” Janni pulls the French bread from the refrigerator and slices off the top.

  “Two friends going out to dinner. It’s not time to order the invitations.”

  She blows her nose, then chuckles, washes her hands, and starts buttering the bread while I set the table. Her back is to me, and I watch how she moves around the kitchen. She’ll get past this and be just fine. Better even. She has a wonderful husband who adores her, two great sons, and now a beautiful daughter.

  I have a house on the beach, a noncommittal boyfriend, and a date with a dentist.

  twenty-five

  By evening, we’ ve managed to stave off any major confrontations with Mom over the whole breaking-and-entering thing. Mostly because no one told her last night, and she’s spent her day cleaning Russ’s condo and then shopping with her friends while we worked the syrup, which is starting to slow down. Unfortunately, she has just arrived home. Now, call me psychic, but I think we’re about to face the music.

  Mom bulldozes her way into the family room where Janni, Daniel, Dad, and I have gathered. Fists planted firmly on her hips, she frowns at us as though we’re Gertie’s offspring.

  “I turn my back for a minute and you two manage to get yourselves in jail?” Her voice is high-pitched and nasally.

  I decide to face the family matriarch head-on. “I would call it a mis-understanding.”

  She stares at me hard. “Let’s call it what it is, Charlene Marybelle. Sin, pure and simple. You broke into the Tuckers’s home.”

  Can we talk about the sin of a loose tongue?

  Janni slinks in her chair and tries to hide behind her hand. Amusement lights Daniel’s face, the first genuine smile I’ve seen all day.

  Dad peers over his newspaper. “The damage is done, Viney. The girls learned their lessons. Let it go.”

  “Don’t you take up for them, Milton Haverford.” One glance at Mom’s face, and I’d say she’s about to become syrup, because she’s definitely reached seven degrees above boiling.

  “What’s done is done.” The firmness of Dad’s voice makes us all turn to him. “I’m tired of the squabbling, and I don’t want to hear another word about it.” He awkwardly folds the newspaper and slaps it down on the ottoman in front of him.

  Okay, this is tense. I’m almost sure Mom is smoldering. She could combust at any moment. Just when I think one poof will take her to Jesus, she stomps off toward the stairs.

  That’s probably a good thing, because I really didn’t want to face the twenty questions that were sure to come when Russ picks me up for our date.

  Before we can figure out how to get out of this uncomfortable situation, someone knocks on the front door.

  “Oh, that’s Russ. I’ll get it,” I say, rising from my chair. With a crank of the knob, I open the door. “Oh, hello.”

  “Yes, um, my name is Carol Sherwood, and I believe my daughter, Stephanie, is staying with you?”

  There is a definite audible gulp here. Mine.

  Before me stands a tall, stately woman in an expensive black wool coat. Her creamy complexion, aged only slightly with a couple of faint lines, is framed by short, stylish auburn hair—I’m guessing bottled.

  “I’m sorry. I know I’ve caught you off guard. I plan to stay at a hotel in town, but Stephanie called and asked me to come.”

  “Well, don’t just stand there, Char, invite her in.”

  General Sherman’s back.

  “I was going to, Mom.” I step out of the way. “Please, come in.”

  By now everyone else has come to see who’s at the door. I make the introductions and notice that the few freckles sprinkled over Janni’s nose completely disappear.

  “Won’t you sit down?” Janni’s voice hovers somewhere between a squeak and a croak.

  “So, you’re here to see Stephanie?” Mom wants to know.

  Carol’s eyes brighten. “Yes.”

  “She’s working down at the coffee shop tonight,” Janni offers. />
  “Oh, do you think it would be all right if I went over there to see her?” Carol fidgets with the gloves in her lap, then looks up.

  “It would be all right, but they’re pretty busy this time of night. She wouldn’t be able to talk much,” Janni says.

  “Do you know when she gets done?”

  “She closes tonight, I’m afraid. Won’t be home until around mid-night.” Janni glances at the Precious Moments figurine on the stand and swivels it to its northern position.

  “Well, I’ll just find a hotel and call her in the morning.” Carol stands. “If you’ll please let her know I stopped by?”

  “You’ll do no such thing,” Mom says. “We have plenty of room right here.”

  Sure, why not? The more, the merrier.

  “Oh, I couldn’t do that.”

  “Yes, you can,” Mom says, leaving no room for argument, as though this is her house. Guess she’s forgotten Janni and Daniel took over the payments. There are no words to express the look on Janni’s face right about now, but if looks could kill, Mom would be setting up camp in heaven at this very moment.

  Just a few more days, and I can get out of this madhouse, head back to Maine, and leave this all behind me.

  “I don’t want to be any trouble,” Carol says.

  “You’ll be no trouble at all,” Janni assures her.

  I hate to point this out, but my sister is lying through her teeth.

  “Let’s see, Stephanie has moved to Blake’s room, and you can take Ethan’s room, since they’re both at school,” Janni says.

  “So tell us about Stephanie,” Mom says, settling in for a good chat.

  “Well, I’m sure you already know most everything,” Carol says.

  My sister and I lock eyes.

  “Carol, could I get you something to drink? Coffee, iced tea, water?” Janni cuts in before Carol can tell everyone in the room the truth about Stephanie.

  Carol blinks. “Well, uh, yes, iced tea would be lovely. Thank you.”

  “Would you care to join me? I can show you our kitchen.”

  Not exactly Parade of Homes, but it will have to do.