“Yeah. Yes.”
Bear says, “Can I eat some more. Please?”
Tyr looks at him and then at me. “Sure.”
He turns back to the stove. My heart pitter-patters for a moment, wishing it were my mom at the stove every day. She comes around the corner, dressed in jeans and a sweater I’ve never seen before. She already has makeup on, and the sight hits me right in the gut. Something must be wrong, really wrong. I look her up and down and don’t understand the day and nightshift she’s made in her life just because of Tyr. Something’s not clicking, and it makes me uneasy.
“Lucy, baby. Good morning.”
I smile softly. “Good morning, Mom.”
She crosses the kitchen and hugs me. Her arms go all the way around my shoulders, the way they did when I was a kid, before she let herself go. She smells like new perfume, and her sweater is soft. When she kisses my cheek, I still. I don’t know what to do with myself, but she moves to Tyr.
“That smells really good, babe.”
Babe?I cringe. I glance at Bear who’s still playing on his Switch.
We sit at the kitchen table, and this is the third time we’ve had a meal together as a family since Tyr has entered our lives. Tyr puts pancakes and bacon in front of me and an extra fluffy pancake in front of Bear. He gives my mom a tiny pancake and a few pieces of bacon. He pours me coffee in the mug with the chip on the rim, which is the mug I used to use when I lived here. He pours my mom a second cup. He sits down across from me with his own plate and says, mid-bite, “Lucy, you have to hear this.”
I glance around, heartbeat racing around my body. “Hear what?”
“I’m working on a kitchen reno in Tecumseh. The couple is very nice. The kitchen is very nice. The contractor before me was not very nice. Installed the upper cabinets a full half inch out of plumb across the entire run.”
“Half an inch?”
“Half. An. Inch.”
Bear with his mouth full says, “So?”
“So the doors don’t close, Bear. So when you try to put a plate in the cabinet the door swings back open at you. So you cannot put a wine glass on the upper shelf without it falling out. So thewife of this couple has been trying to use this kitchen for six months and she has been losing her mind.”
Bear says, “Why didn’t she tell the first guy?”
“She did. He told her she was wrong.”
“Why didn’t she fire him?”
“She did. She fired him and called me. I have been there for three days, and I am taking down every cabinet in that kitchen and rehanging them properly, and her husband keeps coming in to make sure I’m doing the job right. I have to keep showing him the math.”
Bear nods. “Oh, that’s why you’re telling Lucy.” He looks at me. “She’s the math wiz.”
My mom smiles, glancing at me. “That’s my girl.”
I cough when I hear those words.
“You okay?” she asks. “Drink some water.”
I grab my glass and drink because she’s watching me. It’s odd to be here and have my mom now. I begged her for years to get up, and she only did it for a man. I put the cup down and glance at Tyr.
“Sounds like you’re good at math, too,” I say to him.
He shakes his head. “That stuff you were explaining to us last night was wild. Really out of this world.” He sips his water and puts his hand out. “I was thinking, Lucy, that we would go to the arcade later today and maybe play some mini golf.”
I look at Bear and my mom. “Really? You guys are doing that?”
My mom nods. “Do you want to come?”
The words at the tip of my tongue don’t come out. I want to scream at her. I want to ask her if she’s fucking serious. I want to wake up from this weird dream. And then she calls my name, and I realize I’m just staring at her.
