“Do you think Mrs. Warner should have to clean the mess you made in here? Is that fair?”
He shrugged then looked down. “I guess not.”
She set down her soda can. “Should I have to clean it up?”
“No, Meri. It’s not your fault.”
“Oh, good.” She let out a dramatic sigh of relief, playing on his sympathy now. “I’m still pretty worn out from tennis. And I promised to help Kat with football skills in a bit.”
“You play football too?” His eyes lit up.
“Sure. We call it soccer back in the States. But it’s basically the same thing.”
“I asked Papa to teach me, but he’s too busy.”
“Kat could help you.”
He gave her an exasperated look equal to Kat’s eye rolling.
“Yes, I suppose that doesn’t work out too well,” she admitted. “If you didn’t have all these toys to clean up, I’d invite you to play with us. You could work on your own skills while I coach Kat.”
“Really? You’d let me come?”
She waved her hand. “Sure, if you clean this place up.”
“I can do that.”
“Okay, you get this room into good shape then come on outside and join us.” She pointed to a soccer ball in a far corner. “Bring that ball with you.”
“Okay!” He was already down on his knees scooping LEGO pieces into a bright blue plastic storage bin.
“I’m going to speak to Mrs. Warner for a bit. If you see Kat, tell her I’ll meet her out on the field at…” She checked the playroom clock. “About three. Think you’ll be done by then?”
“Uh-huh.” He was still crawling about, eagerly gathering handfuls of the plastic bricks and tossing them into the box.Pleased that her little bribe was working, she headed to the kitchen to hunt down Mrs. Warner. Mishka was easy since he seemed convinced that she was wonderful. She hoped she wouldn’t disappoint him. Having two oppositional children would be a handful.
She found Mrs. Warner putting something into the oven. “Excuse me,” Meredith said quietly. “Can I ask you something?”
“Yes, of course.” She stood, wiping her hands on her apron. “I’m glad you came by. A friend of yours called while you were outside with the children.”
“A friend?”
“The same woman who called me before you first came out here.” Mrs. Warner looked at a notepad. “Yes, here it is. The one from the US Consulate. Carrie—”
“Carrie called here?” Meredith felt a rush of hope. “Did the police recover my stolen property?”
“No, she did mention that nothing has been recovered. And although there’s a rush on your passport, it may take another week or two. Most of all, she wanted to hear how you were doing.” Mrs. Warner smiled. “I told her you were getting on well with the children.”
“Did she want me to call her back?” She grimaced. “Although my phone was stolen along with my other things.”
“No, she didn’t say to call. She was just checking in. Nice sounding woman.”
“Yes, very nice.”
“Now, you wanted something. What can I do for you, miss?”
“I wondered if I’d be allowed to use the laundry facility.” She pointed to her T-shirt, which would need a good washing by the end of the day. “You see, with everything stolen, I’m pretty low on clothes. And all this playing with the children, well, I’m not exactly fresh as a daisy.” She tugged at her T-shirt with a wrinkled nose.
“Oh, yes, of course. I’m happy to do your wash. Just set your things in the hamper in your bath and I’ll get to it.”
