Our Fragile Hearts

by Buffy Andrews

  Piper seemed disappointed we lacked the proper utensils. She muttered something about being a princess and a princess eats with two different forks.

  I returned to making the salad, which consisted of dumping a bag of spring mix into a plastic bowl and adding a few cherry tomatoes I’d found in the fridge. I sprinkled the shredded cheese I’d set aside when I made the lasagna on top. It wasn’t the kind of salad Mary made, but it would have to do.

  The doorbell rang and Piper ran to answer it. She flung open the door just as I walked around the corner. She looked up at a tall, thin man with dark hair sprinkled with gray. He looked to be in his early fifties. He wore tattered jeans and frayed black nylon coat and looked like he could’ve been homeless. But I guessed he wasn’t. I was certain or, as Claire would put it, ninety-nine point nine percent sure it was George. What was he doing here? What did he want? My heart started to race as I went into defense mode.

  “Excuse me, may we help you?”

  Piper turned around and scurried behind me, hugging my leg.

  The man looked at me, then Piper. “Sorry, ma’am. I must have the wrong house.”

  As he walked away, Mary got out of her car.

  Chapter 20

  Mary

  When I got out of the car, Piper ran toward me. I wasn’t expecting such an enthusiastic welcome and it warmed my heart. I opened my arms to give her a big hug. I turned to make sure I’d shut the door and noticed a man looking at the car. He looked a bit disheveled and it worried me that Rachel and Piper were living in an apartment complex with such shady looking characters.

  I watched him walk away and then I walked with Piper to where Rachel stood. “Who’s that man?”

  Rachel shrugged. “He had the wrong address.”

  “Well, thank goodness because he looked like a hoodlum.”

  Piper patted my arm. “What’s a hoodlum?”

  I smiled. “That’s what my father called boys who were bad. They were hoodlums.”

  “Justin was a hoodlum today,” Piper said.

  I patted Piper’s head. “Who’s Justin?”

  “A boy in my class. He was mean to Jacy. He pulled the little braids on top of her head.”

  I nodded. “That was bad. And Jacy’s the little friend you met the first day, right?”

  Piper nodded. “She’s my bestest friend. She even made me this necklace.”

  Piper leaned forward and touched the necklace around her neck. “See.”

  “I see. That’s a very pretty necklace. It’s especially pretty because Jacy made it for you.”

  I held up the bakery bag I was carrying. “I stopped on the way here and picked up a French baguette. If you have bread, you can put this in the freezer.”

  Rachel smiled. “Thank you, Mary! A fresh baguette. Perfect. Much better than the sliced white bread I was going to serve. Should I warm it up?”

  I nodded. “You can. Just wrap it in foil and stick it in the oven for a few minutes.”

  We walked into the apartment and Rachel went to check on the lasagna. Piper pulled me toward the dining room. “I want to show you what I did.”

  She pointed to a place setting. “I set the table all by myself!” She pointed to the outermost fork. “And this is the salad fork and this is the dinner fork. Outside in.” Her toothless smile made my day.

  Then she ran over to the desk in the corner and picked up a picture she’d drawn and handed it to me. It was a picture of the three of us and had a big, bright-yellow sun in the corner and flowers on either side of us.”

  “What a beautiful picture. Thank you, Piper. I’ll have to put this on my refrigerator with the others.”

  Piper pulled up her shirt.

  “Piper, what are you doing?” I asked.

  She pointed to a squiggly line on her stomach. “I have a scar just like Madeline.”

  My hand flew to my heart. She had drawn a green appendectomy scar on her belly using a magic marker.

  “I’m as brave as Madeline!”

  I thought my heart would melt all over the floor. “You’re braver, Piper. You’re the bravest little girl I’ve ever met.”

  Piper pulled down her shirt and took my hand, pulling me toward the stairs. “Come, Miss Mary. I want to show you my room.”

  Rachel had just walked into the room and I looked at her, wondering if it would be okay. “Is there anything I can do?”

  “Go ahead,” Rachel said. “I’ll put the bread in the oven and call you when dinner’s ready.”

  Piper led me to her room and I sat on the bed because she said she wanted to show me things. She opened a small, white jewelry box with pink flowers on the outside and a ballerina on the inside. It was a music box and when you wound the key in the back, it played and the tiny ballerina spun.

  “That’s a beautiful jewelry box,” I said. “I used to have a music box when I was little, but it wasn’t nearly as nice as yours.”

  “My mommy gave it to me. She’s dead.”

  My heart was breaking. Piper was such a sweet child. “I’m sorry you lost your mommy, Piper. But I’m glad you have Rachel. She loves you very much.”

  “Rachel said we’ll be together forever. But Mommy said that, too. But she left me at daycare. I don’t want Rachel to go away – ever!”

  Tears gathered in my eyes and I sniffed. “I’m sure Rachel wouldn’t want that either.”

  Piper shrugged. “Sometimes I think Rachel gets mad because she has to take care of me.”

  “Oh, Piper, sweet child. I’m sure Rachel isn’t mad at you. It’s just that sometimes things happen that we don’t expect to happen and it takes time to get used to it.”

  “Like mommy dying?”

  “Yes, like your mommy dying. No one thought that would happen but it did. She was very young and so no one expected it.”

  “Does that mean I’ll be young when I die, too?”

  I opened my arms and Piper walked toward me and I gave her a big hug. “I’m sure you’ll live to be very old and, when you’re my age, you’ll have grandchildren to play with. You can read them Madeline.”

  “Or Cinderella,” she said.

  “Or Cinderella.”

  “Maybe I can read them both. And the house book that Rachel likes, too.”

  I smiled and heard Rachel calling us for dinner. “Guess dinner’s ready. Should we go down and help Rachel?”

  When Piper and I walked into the kitchen, the table was all set and ready to go. “Rachel, you should have called. I would’ve helped you.”

  She waved her hand. “No biggie. Did you and Piper have a good time?”

  Piper nodded and I did, too. We sat down at the table, Rachel and I on either side of Piper.

  Rachel held up a bottle of Ranch dressing. “I only have this kind. I hope it’s okay.”

  “It’s perfect,” I said. “Everything’s perfect. Would it be okay if we prayed?”

  Piper frantically waved her hand. “I’ll say it!”

  “Go ahead, Piper,” Rachel said, reaching out to hold my and Piper’s hands.

  “God is great;

  Thank you for our food.

  Amen.”

  “Did I get it right?” Piper asked me.

  She didn’t get it exactly right, but it was close enough. “It was perfect,” I told her.

  Rachel passed the bread basket to me after putting a small piece on Piper’s plate.

  I tasted the lasagna. “It’s delicious, Rachel. I thought you said you couldn’t cook.”

  “Well, I’m relieved it turned out. It’s the first time I tried making something from scratch.”

  “You did a fabulous job.” I looked at Piper. “What do you think, Piper?”

  She nodded. “Almost as good as chicken nuggets.”

  “That’s your favorite, right?”

  Piper nodded. “Rachel makes them for me a lot. She even bought dinosaur-shaped nuggets. I ate their heads off first.”

  “When I was little, my mother would fill my Easter basket with
tiny chocolate bunnies. I’d always eat the ears first. What about you, Rachel?”

  “I got an Easter basket once,” Rachel said. “And I remember there was a chocolate bunny with candy eyes and a pink bow. It was so pretty I didn’t want to eat it. Then one day I came home and the basket, which was sitting on the floor by my bed, was full of ants. What a mess! I never did get to eat that bunny.”

  Dinner was full of great conversation and I honestly felt as if I was sitting and eating with family. After we finished eating, I helped Rachel stack the plates in the sink.

  “Would you like some coffee or tea?” Rachel asked.

  “I absolutely would love some tea.”

  “We only have Lipton’s, is that okay? And mugs, no fancy tea set.”

  “Rachel, stop worrying. I love Lipton tea and a mug is fine.”

  “I can make dessert,” Piper said.

  “You can?” I asked.

  Piper jumped out of her chair and followed Rachel into the kitchen. Rachel returned with my tea, after being told by Piper to leave the kitchen. “She wants her dessert to be a surprise,” she said.

  When Piper returned, she had a big bowl filled with fruity flakes cereal and chocolate candies. The finishing touch? Whipped cream, of course.

  “That looks delicious, Piper,” I said.

  “You first.” Piper handed me the bowl.

  Rachel leaped out of her seat. “I’ll get you a dessert bowl to put it in.” A few seconds later she returned with three small bowls. I used a spoon to scoop out Piper’s dessert. Piper watched as I took my first bite. I knew she was watching for my reaction. I chewed the cereal and chocolate and swallowed. “Piper, what an incredible dessert! Did you think of it all by yourself?”

  Piper nodded. “Do you want to know what I call it?”

  “Sure.”

  “Mary Magic.”

  I started to laugh but fortunately was able to convert the laugh into a smile. “Why, that’s a lovely name for a dessert.”

  Piper sat up straight. “I named it after you.”

  “I see. Well, it’s nice to have a dessert named after me. Thank you.”

  I’m not quite sure how I managed to eat as much of Piper’s dessert as I did, but when Piper asked to finish it, I eagerly handed her my bowl.

  “Rachel,” I said, “I’ve been thinking. I’d like more help keeping up with the house. What would you say if you worked for me full-time? I’ll call the agency first thing tomorrow if you’re willing.”

  I could tell from Rachel’s reaction that the full-time job offer had come as a complete surprise.

  “Full-time? Like I’d come to your house every day?” she asked.

  “Except weekends,” I said. “But you would work for me just like you do now, only every day instead of once a week. You can come after Piper gets on the bus and leave in plenty of time to get her off the bus. And when she has time off school, you could bring her with you or not come at all.”

  Rachel’s hand flew to her chest. “I don’t know what to say. I was going to ask the agency for more hours but with your offer I wouldn’t need to do that. Thank you so much. I’d love to work for you full-time.”

  “Great. Then it’s settled. And we can talk about increasing your salary now that you’ll be working directly for me.”

  Piper looked at me and smiled. “Can I still visit and climb your tree?”

  I reached over to pat Piper’s hand. “You certainly can, Sweetie. And we’ll still have dinner once a week at my house like we planned before.”

  Chapter 21

  Rachel

  The rest of dinner and clean-up was a blur. I couldn’t stop thinking about how nice it was going to be working for Mary every day. And she even mentioned a raise. Maybe it would be enough for me to take a college class online.

  That night after Mary left and I tucked Piper into bed, I called Claire to tell her the good news.

  “That’s fantastic,” Claire said. “I’m one hundred percent certain this is going to work out great!”

  “One hundred percent? You never ever say one hundred percent.”

  Claire laughed. “You’re right. I don’t. But something tells me this is a great move so I’m sticking with that.”

  “Oh, almost forgot to tell you.”

  “What?” Claire asked. “You’re madly in love with Nick?”

  I laughed. “We haven’t even gone out on a proper date yet and you have us married.”

  “Well, you would make a great couple! So if it’s not about Nick, what did you want to tell me?”

  “A stranger showed up at my door earlier tonight, right before Mary arrived. He was dirty and smelled of whiskey and his clothes were tattered. I think he might be Piper’s dad, but I’m not sure.”

  “But I thought he was in jail.”

  “He was. Judy stopped by earlier today and told me he’d got out. Apparently he showed up at the AA meeting she oversees. He asked about my mom and when he learned she’d died, he asked about Piper. That bastard better not think he’s going to get her now.”

  “Whoa! Back up. What do you mean, get her?”

  “What if he wants her? He is her father. I need to find a good lawyer to talk to. Someone who specializes in family law. Do you know anyone?”

  “There is this one guy who comes into the bar on Tuesday nights. He’s a lawyer. Big tipper. Not sure what kind of law he practices, but I’ll ask him the next time I see him. He seems pretty sharp and he’s really nice. Not too old, either. I’ll let you know what I find out.”

  “Okay. Thanks, Claire. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  That night I had trouble falling asleep. I kept thinking about the whiskey-smelling man. I hoped I never saw him again.

  Piper was a rubber ball of energy the next morning, bouncing off the walls as if she’d eaten a boatload of sugar. I, on the other hand, felt like a slug. I woke up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat and had trouble falling back to sleep. I removed my sheets and threw them into the washer before making Piper breakfast.

  “Are you going to Mary’s today?” Piper took a bite of her cinnamon and sugar toast.

  I yawned and poured a cup of coffee. “Yes. But don’t worry. I’ll be waiting for you just like I always am when you come home from school.”

  “I colored another picture for Mary. Will you give it to her?”

  I sipped my coffee. “Sure.”

  After Piper finished eating she ran to get the picture she’d colored for Mary. “See. That’s me, you, Mary, and Rachel Rose inside Mary’s house.”

  Piper had drawn a huge house that took up most of the paper. Inside were three stick figures. The other, um, figure was the dog. “That’s beautiful, Piper. I’m sure Mary will love it.”

  I scrolled through the Facebook feed on my phone while Piper finished her breakfast. What is it about inspirational sayings? There seemed to be an unusually high number in my feed. Particularly those about dreams and not giving up on the things you want most. Claire had tagged me in a post. I read it. You and only you write your life story. How will it end?

  I thought about that for a second or two, wondering if I had writer’s block. I didn’t seem to be crafting any special life story. I had expected at this point to be finishing college and starting a great career. But I had to rewrite that story and I wasn’t quite sure how the new story would end.

  I waved goodbye as Piper’s bus pulled away. We had settled into a pretty good routine and Piper no longer clung to me each morning when the bus turned the corner.

  When I pulled up in front of Mary’s house, she opened the door. “Good morning, Rachel.”

  We hugged. “Good morning to you, too.”

  “I had such a wonderful time last night. Thank you so much for inviting me. I’m still laughing about the scar Piper drew on her belly. What a precious child!”

  I laughed. “She can be a handful.”

  “And her dessert.” Mary laughed. “Mary Magic.”

  I could tell Piper had
made Mary’s night. Listening to Mary and seeing how her whole face lit up when she talked about it made me realize how much Mary cared for Piper.

  I followed Mary into the house and, just as I expected, she invited me to have a cup of tea. But what I didn’t expect was what happened next. Mary pointed to a complete English tea service sitting on the table across from where we sat on the couch. “See that tea set over there?”

  I nodded.

  “That was my grandmother’s. She loved to drink tea as much as I do.”

  “It’s beautiful. I especially love the colors. Pink roses. It’s delicate.”

  “Just like you,” Mary said, “which is why I want you to have it.”

  My jaw dropped. “Oh, Mary. I can’t. I couldn’t possibly take something that belonged to your grandmother.”

  Mary leaned forward. “You’re not taking it. I’m giving it to you. I want you to have it. You should have a proper tea service. Think of it like this. When I visit you, you’ll be able to serve me tea the proper way.”

  Mary did have a point. But still. It was too beautiful, too personal. I stood and walked over to take a closer look. I picked up a teacup and examined it. I slid my finger over the gilded border.

  “The flowers are hand-painted,” Mary said. “It’s always been one of my favorites.”

  “I don’t know what to say, Mary. It’s the most beautiful gift I’ve ever received. Thank you.”

  I looked at Mary and noticed how glassy her eyes had become. “You deserve to have many beautiful things, Rachel. It makes me happy knowing this tea service will be treasured long after I’m gone.”

  I sat back down and finished having tea with Mary. “So what would you like me to do today?” I asked.

  “I was thinking I should go through the closets in the bedrooms. Start with the one closest to my bedroom. James kept his suits in there. I want to pack them up and donate them to charity. I’ve been meaning to do it for years, but it was too much work. But with your help, I can empty the closets and make room so when guests visit they have a place to put their things.”

  I took the last sip of my tea. “Do you often get guests?”

  Mary shook her head. “But, all the same. It would be good to clean out the cobwebs in my life. I’ve let them accumulate for far too long.”