Piper twirled her pasta beautifully, of course. I did my best to copy her with mixed results.
I was surprised at Preston. He ate everything with no complaint, and twirled his pasta, copying Piper, as best he could.
“More cheese please!” he said when half his pasta was left.
Piper sprinkled cheese on his plate.
“Thank you!” Preston said. He was an effusive child. She must have fun with him.
“You’re very polite,” I said to him.
“Mama taught me,” he said with a serious face. “You should always be kind.”
“That’s right,” Piper said, and our eyes met.
“What are you doing this weekend?” Natalie asked.
“Uh, not sure. I have family dinner and class on Sunday, but Saturday is up in the air,” I said. It made me uncomfortable talking about weekend plans with Piper right there, but I didn’t know why.
“We’re doing a picnic day on Saturday at the lighthouse, if you want to come,” Natalie said. “It’ll be most everyone and you don’t have to bring anything.”
Julia had already asked me to come on this excursion and I was on the fence.
“Come on, it’ll be fun,” Natalie said.
“Fun!” Preston cheered.
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll come.”
Preston clapped, even though he had no idea what was going on.
“Are you done?” Piper asked.
“Yes,” Preston said, and Piper helped him take his plate to the dishwasher and wash his hands.
“Ice cream?” he said, looking up at her with big eyes.
“Okay, time for ice cream. Do you want some, McKenna?” Piper asked me. Warmth rushed through me when she said my name. It felt like a gift.
“What kind of ice cream?” I asked.
“Cookie dough,” Preston said.
I leaned down and whispered in his ear. “That’s my favorite.”
He giggled and smiled at me.
“Ask Mama if you can have a big bowl,” he said in what he probably thought was a whisper, but which carried through the room.
“I will. Thanks for the advice.”
“You are welcome,” he said, and then started jumping up and down, as if he couldn’t contain his excitement.
“Okay, baby, here you go. Want to eat your ice cream outside?”
“I wanna eat with Nattie,” he said. “And Kenna.”
My heart did a little jump at the new nickname. Several of my niblings had trouble with my name and had used Kenna for me.
“I’d be honored,” I said, taking the bowl from Piper, our fingers brushing. I hoped I didn’t react too much to her touch.
“Okay, let’s all eat outside,” Piper said, filling a bowl for herself.
Preston chattered away as we arranged the chairs on the porch so we could all sit together.
Preston sang to himself and swung his legs back and forth.
“Thanks for lunch. And for this,” I said, holding up my bowl. Piper had the good stuff. The kind my mom would never buy because they only made tiny containers and you couldn’t feed seven kids with anything but jumbo tubs of ice cream that Dad kept in the chest freezer in the garage.
Preston got ice cream all over his face and shirt, but Piper just laughed.
“Are you trying to get a bath?” she asked, trying to wipe his face with a napkin as he giggled and thrashed around in her arms.
“No bath,” he said.
“Then stay still and let me wipe your face,” she said. Her patience for her squirming son was amazing.
“Mama needs a shower, though. She’s stinky after her yoga.”
“Stinky Mama,” Preston said, admonishing her with a finger.
She gathered him up in her arms and kissed his sticky cheeks.
This moment also felt too intimate and I knew it was definitely time to leave.
“Bye, Preston. It was fun to have lunch with you today,” I said. He stuck his thumb in his mouth and leaned back into Piper’s lap.
“Bye-bye,” he said, his eyes starting to shutter. Looked like it might be time for a nap soon.
“Thanks for everything,” I said, meeting Piper’s eyes. They were identical to her son’s. It was good that he looked so much like her. Probably made it a little easier.
“You’re welcome. Anytime.” Piper hugged Preston close.
“I don’t know if I can make it on Sunday, but I’ll try to be there, and I’ll try not to be late this time.” She rolled her eyes.
“It’s fine. Come if you can.” She nodded and I said I’d see Natalie on Saturday.
I gave the little trio on the porch one last look before getting in my car and going back to the farmhouse.
Julia was in the kitchen with Amanda when I got back. I was surprised to see her there and then remembered that the daycare had closed.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hey, you missed lunch,” Julia said. “Where were you?”
I almost let out a sigh. Julia wouldn’t even have known if she wasn’t here. What did it matter?
“Piper fed me. She had Preston home with her.”
“What a mess,” Julia said, and then told me all about the pipes and the flooding.
“So hopefully, it’ll be taken care of by Monday. We’re closed for the rest of the week. I feel so bad for the parents,” Julia said. “I’m actually going to watch a couple kids tomorrow. It’s probably not allowed, but I don’t care. The parents have to go to work.”
That was Julia. Always taking care of anyone she could.
“Preston is adorable. He’s so excited about everything,” I said.
“It’s true. He’s a little ball of sunshine. Don’t tell anyone, but he’s one of my favorites.” Julia whispered the last part, as if anyone was going to overhear besides Amanda.
“What are you making?”
“Pierogis,” Julia said, gesturing.
“Wash your hands and join us,” Amanda said, and I did just that.
The rest of my day was spent making pierogis and hanging out with Julia. It was nice to have her here on a weekday.
She said she felt like a walk, so we headed to the trail in the woods I always took, and ended up running into Charli, who was taking a break from her job doing marketing for Sweet’s Sweets.
“You can walk with us if you want,” I told her, trying to work on my friendliness.
“Oh, you’re sweet, but I have to get back.” She checked her phone and cringed. “I should get back. I’ll see you both on Saturday.” She beamed and skipped away, heading toward her car, her pink ponytail bouncing.
“She’s so cute,” Julia said.
“She is,” I said.
“Do you mean cute in a heterosexual way, or cute in a non-heterosexual way?” Julia asked and I almost tripped and fell over.
“Wow,” I said. “How long have you been wanting to ask me that?”
Julia blushed. My family knew that I wasn’t exactly heterosexual, but they seemed to want to know more details.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t pry.”
I sighed and kept my eyes on the trail ahead of me.
“It’s complicated,” I said.