Maggie sits at the kitchen counter when I walk in, staring at her phone and watching brain rot. She’s done with finals and home for the holidays, so she’s taking every advantage to do nothing.
“Hello Magnolia,” I greet and kiss her head.
She throws me an evil glance as she shovels a spoonful of something that looks like confetti soaked in milk. My daughter has never been a fan of her name. Yes, we named our girls after flowers and maybe Magnolia is a bit “out there”, but I love it and it fits her perfectly. Unique, strong, beautiful. However, she hasalways asked that everyone call her Maggie. I’m sure one day she’ll change her mind.
I ignore her growl and grab the ziploc bag that I filled and hid especially for today. The girls and I have been gnawing on the other bars for the last twenty-four hours since we perfected the recipe, so I knew I had to set some aside or they’d all be gone by morning.
“Hey,” Maggie exclaims, her words muffled from all of the cereal. “You sneak. You hid those from us.”
“Hide what?” Daisy asks when she comes walking in.
“Dad hid those cranberry pecan bars.” Maggie is now standing up from her seat, the dripping spoon still in her hand, and Daisy looks at me with fire in her eyes.
“Howdareyou, father. We were looking for some this morning. Now, hand them over.” Daisy holds out her hand and does little grabby fingers, but I tuck the bag behind my bag.
“I hid them because I knew you girls would eat them all and I’m taking some to Regal. I want to do a little taste test and thought I’d ask Santiago and Serena.” I open the fridge, one hand with a death grip on the bars, and reach in for a soda.
“We already did the taste test. They’re good. Product approved. Now give us the bars old man, and no one gets hurt.” Maggie holds her spoon, pointed directly at me, and Daisy is right beside her with finger guns locked on me.
I hold my hands up, both occupied with goodies, and shake my head. “Listen. I don’t want any trouble. I just want to get my stuff and get out of here.” I start walking backwards slowly in the direction of the garage.
“Don’t make any sudden moves, Steele. We don’t want to hurt you. You’re old and could very likely throw out your back. Just slide the bars over and we’ll let you leave.” Daisy moves one step closer and I move back.
“I can’t do that. I need these and you’ve had enough. You have an addiction and you need some help. I can give you that. We’ll make it through together, and find something else for you to love.”
Maggie shakes her head. “We’re not addicted. We can quit any time we want. But now is not the time. So set the bag down and slowly back off.”
“What’s going on?” Aster walks in on our stand-off and Daisy turns one of finger on her. “Woah. Chill Daisy.”
“Dad has cranberry pecan bars and he’s taking them to Santi and Rena,” Daisy growls.
Aster’s eyes turn dark blue like stormy clouds and calmly she puts her hands into her pockets and pulls out her high powered hand gun. We haven’t had a stand-off like this in years and I’m afraid they have youth on their side and I have a bad knee.
“You heard them. Leave the bars and we’ll let you live to make more.” Aster holds her hands up like she’s a tactical member readying for a take down.
“Fine,” I lie. “You win. You can have them. I’m going to set them down and go. Okay?” They all nod, still locked on me, and I slowly start to bend my knees as if I’m going to drop the bag. But instead of dropping it, I make a quick jerk towards the mud room and bolt.
“Get him!” One of the girls shouts and I slam the door behind me, flicking the lock just in time. “Hey!” They bang. “Open up.”
I run to my truck and here one of them says, “We’ll surround his truck. Move move move.”
I jump into the driver’s seat and press my remote to open the garage door and fire up my truck. My tires squeal as I throw it in reverse and barely miss taking out the door. I look out the driver’s side window and see the girls running towards me. Their hands are shaking at me to stop and their faces are red as they yell. I don’t take my foot off the gas and speed down thedriveway. As I drive off, I can see the three of them chasing after me, yelling and throwing me some not so nice sign language gestures.
I laugh because even though my life seems to be in chaos right now, I can always count on my girls to remind me what’s most important. In this case, it’s getting away with the goods.
I walk nervously into the Regal kitchen and find it empty. I know where Serena’s office is, but I’m suddenly feeling like maybe I shouldn’t just barge in. I’m a guest here, not an employee, and I can’t just wander around. I decide it’s best if I just send a quick text.
Me: Hi Serena. It’s Burke. I was wondering if I could borrow you for a taste test.
I hit send then immediately panic.
Me: I mean, could I ask you to come taste me.
“Fuck!”
Me: Come taste something for me that I made. A new product. I’m in the kitchen.
I shove my phone in my back pocket and drop my head to the stainless steel counter. Would it be weird if I took off running and told her my phone was hacked? I’m flustered and there’s absolutely no reason for me to be acting like a tongue tied, bumbling boy.
