Goingfor an early Sunday morning run with Molly was something Becky usually looked forward to. This morning was different. She’d had to drag herself out of bed and stumble down the hallway. Going to sleep earlier would have helped but, after they’d arrived home from the creamery, Sean had stayed for coffee and they’d talked until the small hours of the morning.
Her heart felt less heavy after he left, but the rest of her body was a disaster.
By the time she’d made it to the kitchen, Mary was already up and dressed, and eating Corn Flakes at the kitchen table.
“I made you some breakfast. It’s beside the kettle.”
Becky kissed the top of her head and smiled at the two slices of toast covered in a thick layer of apricot jam. “Thank you. It looks lovely.” Mary enjoyed their Sunday morning ritual of riding her bicycle beside her and Molly, chatting away about anything and everything that was happening. They’d often have to slow down or stop because they were laughing so hard.
She wasn’t sure there would be much laughter this morning. Not after Edith’s visit.
Mary’s therapist wouldn’t tell her what had been said, but it didn’t matter. From what Mary had told them, Edith’s main objective was to convince her to move to Milwaukee.
“Have you thought about getting a kitten?”
Becky rubbed her temples. A lack of sleep combined with a massive dose of stress had given her a headache. “Not yet. Can we talk about it tomorrow?”
“Okay.” Mary pulled out a kitchen chair and opened Becky’s laptop. “Aunt Molly said if you want something real bad you need to make a list and figure out a plan for getting it.” With a worried frown creasing her brow, she lifted her eyes to Becky. “I made my plan.”
Becky was impressed and worried. If Mary had deleted any of the other files on her laptop, Happy Petals would be a lot harder to manage. And that paled in comparison to any conversations she’d need to have with her accountant if her financial records had disappeared.
With a sense of dread, she studied the document Mary had opened. It wasn’t bad for a six-year-old. “How did you learn to do this?”
“Aunt Molly showed me. She knows everything about computers.”
Becky smelled a rat—a pretty, dark-haired variety who took great photos—but a rat all the same. Molly thought Becky’s reluctance to get a kitten was based on things that didn’t matter. But she had sound, practical reasons for why it wasn’t a good idea.
“Sally said she can give us a water bowl, some kitten food, and some toys. All we have to do is teach it how to go potty.”
“That sounds easy.”
Mary’s eyes widened. “We can get one?”
“No…I mean, not yet.” The excitement on Mary’s face disappeared. “I have a really bad headache. We’ll talk about it after lunch.”
“But that’s ages away.”
“It’s only a few hours. Why don’t you tell me about the document you made?”
Reluctantly, Mary kneeled on the chair and pointed to the screen. “That’s some pictures of the kittens I like. I copied all the things they said about them on the animal shelter’s website. It tells you what they like doing and if they’re good with little children. Aunt Molly said that’s important ’cos I’m still little even though I’m six.”
“Did I hear my name?” Molly stood in the doorway wearing bright green Lycra leggings and a pink T-shirt.
Becky squinted to lessen the glare from her sister’s outfit. “Did you wear those clothes to make my headache worse?”
Molly grinned. “It looks as though someone doesn’t appreciate my sense of style. What do you think, Mary?”
“You look great. I’ve got pink shoelaces.” Mary jumped off the chair and showed Molly her sneakers.
“We match. Just wait until we get to the park. Everyone will wonder who the fashion divas are.”
Becky picked up half a slice of toast and headed toward the mudroom. “While you’re comparing outfits, I need to find my shoes. Do you have your helmet, Mary?”
“It’s in the garage.” Mary ran past Becky, hopefully to get her helmet.
Picking up the last slice of toast, Molly wandered across to the laptop. “It looks as though you’ve seen Mary’s document.”
“Thanks to you,” she grumbled. “I wish you wouldn’t encourage her to get a kitten from the animal shelter.”
