“Laurie, honey, why don’t you put all of those good vegetables in the pantry. They’ll be nice and cool in there until we can use them.” Emma pulled plates out of the cabinets.
“Oh, okay.” Laurie hurried away with her basket to the small doorway beside the refrigerator.
Dante grinned at his mother, raising his eyebrows. She returned the gesture. Dante let out the laughter he’d been denying. He never would have guessed farm life would suit Laurie so well.
“Can I help you, Emma?” Laurie bounced back into the kitchen.
“Why don’t you pour everyone some water? The men have been up on the roof all morning.” Emma busied herself with lunch.
Dante leaned against the counter. He smiled, watching Laurie pour water for him from the jug in the refrigerator. She went to hand him the glass and paused.
“What?” she asked. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Like what?” His smile turned into a grin.
“Like that. Like I missed a joke or something. What is it?” She folded her arms, taking his water hostage. He cocked his head to the side.
“I’ve never seen you so enthusiastic.” He reached for his water.
“I shouldn’t be?” She stepped out of reach.
“No, no. It’s nice. I didn’t expect you would get so into gardening in one morning.” Dante plucked the water out of her hands. He fought the urge to kiss her. He wanted nothing more than to take advantage of the flushed cheeks and red lips the cold, fresh air had given her.
“Well, it was exciting. Emma and I had a very nice morning, didn’t we?” Laurie walked to the kitchen table. He almost followed her, but his mother distracted him.
“Where’s your father?” Emma glanced at him over her shoulder.
“Don’t know. Thought he came in with you. Want me to find him?” He shrugged.
“Yes, please. Tell him lunch is ready.” Emma busied herself in the refrigerator.
Dante walked toward the front of the house, but didn’t see him in any of the downstairs rooms. He went upstairs. He heard a barely audible whisper coming from his parents’ room. He looked through the old key lock, and saw his father talking on a cell phone. Dante had a pretty good idea what the call was about. His father hung up the phone. Dante knocked on the door.
“Dad? Are you in there?” He asked, more for his mother’s hearing than anything else.
“Be right down.” A muffled thump emanated from behind the closed door.
“Okay.” Dante was halfway down the stairs. His father wasn’t too far behind him.
“Where did you disappear to?” Emma whirled on him, butter knife in hand.
“I changed. Stained my shirt. You’re always yelling at me for it, so I went ahead and soaked it.” Albert’s jaw hardened as he cocked his head at her.
Dante turned and Albert did, in fact, have on a different shirt. He found himself wondering if there was a real stain or not. He figured he would just rather not know. If his father lied to his mother, then he did it for Laurie and himself.
“You finally listened to me. Our son has to come home for you to finally listen to me.” Emma shook her head in wonder as she picked up and carried Albert’s plate to the table.
“Well, I thought you’d be happy. If that’s the thanks I get, I just won’t do it all next time.” Albert sat down at the table with a frown.
“Then I guess you won’t have any shirts left, because I’m not helping you buy more any time soon.” Emma plunked his lunch down on the table with a pointed look.
“I don’t need your help to buy a shirt.” Albert shook his head, taking a bite of his sandwich.
“No, of course not. You’ll come home with a dozen shirts that are either too small or too big. Then you’ll ask me to take them back because you didn’t try them on in the dressing room.” Emma sat down, thunking her water glass on the table.
“You don’t need to try them on, Emma. That’s why they have sizes. If I buy a large I expect it to be a large.” Albert waved his sandwich in frustration. He was about to say something else, but Laurie’s choking laughter stopped him.
Albert and Emma looked across the table.
Laurie and Dante were snickering into their hands, hunched over their plates like schoolchildren. Laurie was almost purple, she was trying so hard to hold the laughter back.
“What do you two think is so funny?” Albert put his sandwich down.
“You two,” Dante replied through his laughter.
“Just you wait until you’re married. Then Albert and I will laugh at you.” Emma half-smiled into her tomato sandwich. There was a knowing gleam in her eye that made Dante edgy.
“Fair enough.” Dante lowered his eyes and bit into his lunch.
“Did you get the leak fixed?” Emma looked back at Albert.
“Yes. Now we can pull in the hay. Next, we need to get some more of that corn in the south field in.” Albert leaned over the table, taking a long drink of water.
“Good. Laurie and I are going to drive on over to the orchard.” Emma smiled at Laurie.
“Emma said they have some early apples. She wants to show me how to make an apple pie.” Laurie clasped her hands together.
“Now, wait a minute. How far is this orchard? Isn’t it on a neighboring farm?” Dante turned to his mother with a frown.
“Why?” Laurie’s face fell in an instant, and it made Dante miserable, but he just couldn’t let her go wandering off.
“Laurie.” He softened his tone. “You know why. I can’t just let you go off somewhere. Not after everything that’s happened.”
Laurie nodded, staring at her plate with resignation.
“Well, why don’t you two come with us? The corn can wait a day.” Emma looked sharply at Albert.
“Emma, the corn is as ripe as it gets. We need to get it in.” Albert shook his head. Emma’s look turned to a glare.
“It can wait one day, Albert.” Emma she gritted her teeth. “I promised Laurie we could go over to the orchard. I need to make sure the fungus we spotted the last time is gone. Do you want to lose our first apple crop over the corn?”
Albert rolled his eyes.
“No, dear.” He put his napkin on his plate, heaving a sigh.
“Can we?” Laurie looked to Dante, her hands clasped in supplication. He chuckled.
“Yes.” He rolled his eyes. “We can go.”
“Thank you!” Laurie jumped up from the table, and grabbed his plate for him.
“Let’s go pull out the apple baskets and put them in the pick-up truck before they change their minds!” Emma took Laurie’s arm.
The two women half-jogged down the hallway and out the front door. The door slammed behind them with finality. Dante and Albert looked at each other. For the first time in his life, Dante commiserated with his father.
“I feel like we just got hustled.” Dante ran his hands through his hair.
“We did.” Albert gave him a grim smile. “Come on. Let’s go apple picking.”
Dante chuckled as he got up from the table.
“There won’t be enough room for us in the pick-up.” Albert handed him a set of keys. “I’ll take the car. You can just follow me.”
Dante nodded. They walked out of the front door. Emma and Laurie had the baskets all ready, so he told Laurie to get in the pick-up. He got in on the driver’s side, started it up, and followed his father out of the driveway.
“Seems like you and my mom are getting along…maybe a little too well.” Dante gave her a sidelong glance.
“What do you mean?” Laurie raised her chin. She flashed him her sweetest smile, which contrasted with the wicked glint in her eye.
“Don’t,” he said, grinning. “Don’t even start. You know exactly what I mean.”
“She’s nice. I like your mom a lot.” Laurie glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “How’s it going with your dad?”
“Fine, not much different than usual.” Dante shrugged. “Why?”